Ofgem's Energy Redress Scheme crosses £250 million and one million customers served since 2018

Ofgem's Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme has reached £250 million in cumulative funding and crossed the threshold of one million customers supported, the regulator announced in a press release published in August 2026 - the highest totals recorded since the scheme launched in 2018^[1].

How the scheme works

The Energy Redress Scheme channels voluntary payments from energy companies that may have breached Ofgem-administered rules into grants for charities and community organisations across England, Scotland and Wales. The scheme is operated independently by the Energy Saving Trust on behalf of Ofgem, and distributes voluntary payments to energy-related projects that support vulnerable consumers, drive innovation, and reduce carbon emissions across Great Britain.

The mechanism is designed for situations where direct compensation to affected customers is not practicable. Redress funds are used when direct compensation cannot be appropriately targeted, ensuring money benefits consumers via charities and community organisations.

Recent enforcement actions illustrate the pipeline. National Grid Electricity Transmission agreed on 11 March 2026 to pay £20 million into the scheme after accepting historic failures to properly monitor, maintain and repair civil assets at the Harker 132 kV substation near Carlisle, Cumbria, covering the period November 2016 to November 2021. Ofgem's enforcement function collected more than £92 million in compensation to customers, redress payments and fines in 2024 alone.

What the money has funded

The scheme has operated across multiple phases and funding rounds since 2018. Grants are distributed through several streams, including:

• A main fund for projects supporting households in vulnerable situations (grants up to £2 million)
• A small project fund for targeted local interventions (grants from £20,000 to £49,999)
• A just transition fund for community renewable energy projects benefiting consumers in vulnerable situations
• An impact fund for monitoring the effectiveness of energy advice and other interventions

More than £55 million has been allocated to fuel voucher projects providing help to vulnerable customers at risk of disconnection, while energy advice has been delivered to more than 700,000 households, with more than 200,000 small energy efficiency measures such as LED bulbs and draught-proofing provided to 72,000 households and referrals for insulation and heating upgrades made to more than 16,000 households.

Previous successful projects have also included community-owned rooftop solar sites, impartial energy advice services, and research tailored to the needs of elderly and disabled people.

Scale of the scheme over time

The £250 million figure represents a significant acceleration from earlier milestones. As of July 2025, the scheme had allocated £181 million to 721 projects, supporting over 800,000 households. The jump to £250 million and one million customers in the months since reflects both the pace of enforcement activity and the opening of phase three.

On 2 June 2026, the scheme opened the first funding round of phase three, making £30 million available to charities and community energy groups that support people most at risk from cold homes and high energy bills across Great Britain. Since 2020, Ofgem has secured over £400 million through compliance and enforcement activity, with much of it directed to the Redress Fund to support vulnerable people and accelerate progress towards net zero.

What to watch

The phase three opening in June 2026 set a 23 June 2026 application deadline for the first round. Whether the scheme sustains its recent pace of enforcement-driven inflows - and how the regulator allocates the growing fund between immediate consumer relief and longer-term decarbonisation projects - will determine whether the £250 million milestone proves a plateau or a waypoint toward a larger programme.