Consumer power in regulatory consultations

by Richard Winstone in Chatham, Medway, United Kingdom

Total raised £2,957

raised so far

135

supporters

Calling for parliamentary review of Ofgem's performance during the energy crisis, with the aim of securing governance changes in Ofgem's MO.

by Richard Winstone in Chatham, Medway, United Kingdom

We're still collecting donations

On the 26th July 2024 we'd raised £1,237 with 62 supporters in 56 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

The Goal

The work I'm currently undertaking is a report on Ofgem's performance and, more importantly, decision making processes between August 2021 and December 2023. I had discovered that Ofgem made around 20-25 active decisions to increase the price cap during this time, thats aside from the wholesale energy costs that automatically increased the price cap. This resulted in two copmlimentary outcomes, first our bills were increased by £100s above what was being dictated by the wholesale energy market and second, large energy suppliers like British Gas posted record profit levels over 10 times higher than previous years.

As Ofgem's remit is to protect consumers, I'm investigating and reporting on how successful they were during this period, and I'm presenting this report to Parliament for review. I'll be calling for a further review by parliament and for alterations to the mandate set forth for Ofgem. I'll use my petitions to garner further support for a parliamentary review, as well as my contacts in consumer groups and charities that work directly with Government officials. 

The report will also look into how Ofgem's lack of regulation in the non-domestic energy market (i.e. the cost of energy for businesses) has fueled the cost of living crisis, forcing businesses to vastly increase prices for a sustained period of time. 

It's my honest opinion that this work is of the utmost importance, and I'm doing it whether I get funding or not. So back to the original, question, where is your money going? It'll go to funding this work. If I'm able to raise upward of £5,000 then I can fund myself and the business for at least a month, allowing me to focus on just this report and not other money-earning ventures elsewhere. So, please, If you can spare even £1, then donate. If you cannot donate but still want to support this campaign, please share a link on your facebook, twitter, instagram, or any other social media page you can think of. 

Thank you. 

About Me

I guess my story starts in 2019. I started a business called Over50smoney in 2019 with the CEO of the company I worked for from 2015-2019. During my time with Over50smoney, I started a petition against Ofgem to change the way the price cap calculated profits for suppliers, it calculated profits as a percentage of the other costs added together, which meant that as the crisis worsened, energy suppliers were actually becoming more profitable (as we've all seen). This petition reached over 350,000 signatures and was handed in to 10 Downing Street in July 2023.

1717158545_writing_number_on_box.jpg

I've been actively campaigning against many of Ofgem's decisions since the beginning of the energy crisis and I've been involved in dozens of Ofgem consultations over the last three years, always giving a voice to consumers and calling for Ofgem to bring our bills down. (Most of my content is on the over50smoney website and youtube channel, but the newer stuff is on theregulatorguy.co.uk and the regulator guy youtube channel). 

1717158592_petition_hand_in_-_number_on_box.jpg

I became so involved in my energy campaigning work that I felt my attention divert away from Over50smoney, so at the end of March 2024 I decided to leave Over50smoney and become The Regulator Guy full time.

Not being distracted with running another website was supposed to allow me more time to focus on energy regulation consultations and expand further into the remits of Ofcom and Ofwat, but it hasn't quite worked out that way. The fatal flaw with my plan is that I haven't focused on funding, which means I've inevitably wound up focusing on work that pays rather than focusing solely on regulatory and governmental consultations as planned.

1717158462_ofgem_consults_1_-_why.png

So, I've created UK Consumer Champions Limited (couldn't use "the regulator guy" as a business name because it has "regulator" in it) and I'm fundraising to fund this business whilst I find alternative revenue streams. Initially, it'll just be me in this business, but as funds come in I will look to expand the company and take on more experts in each field to help guide our regulators toward making the right decisions for our finances.

Any support anyone offers would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or want to talk to me about specifc consultations we should be getting involved with, please email me on [email protected].

Rewards

This project offered rewards

£20 or more

£20 Reward - Your name on the report

If you want to have your name on the report then select this option and I'll produce a list of supporters that want to see drastic regulatory changes to Ofgem's operation procedures and decision making processes. I will contact you prior to publication of the report to confirm if you'd like your name printed on the report, so if you donate £20 or more but don't want your name in the report, it won't be there.

£50 or more

£50 Reward - Review the report early

I will contact you prior to publication of the report so you can provide your views on the Ofgem Report and to confirm if you'd like your name printed on the report. This allows you the opportunity to shape what we are saying about Ofgem's conduct over the last 3 years, as well as have your input on the regulatory and political changes we'd like to see.

£100 or more

£100 Reward - Online conference with Richard

On Wednesday 18 September I will hold a Teams meeting with anyone that donates £100 or more to discuss the production of the Ofgem Report, your experiences over the last 3 years and the changes to Ofgem's procedures and governmental mandate you'd like to see requested. All thoughts and options put forth in this meeting will be considered and voted on (by those attending) to decide whether they are implemented in the Ofgem Report.

Show your support

Payment and personal details are protected