Half-year CEO update: Energy Ombudsman

Interim CEO and Chief Ombudsman, Ed Dodman, gives an update on Energy Ombudsman.

The first half of 2026 has given us a clear view of both the pressures facing the energy sector and where Energy Ombudsman needs to keep pushing forward.

It remains a challenging time for the energy sector, with continued pressure on prices and increasing levels of consumer debt. Energy Ombudsman has an important role to play in supporting consumers when things go wrong, while helping suppliers resolve and prevent issues wherever possible.

Being open about what we are seeing in the market, as well as our own performance, is an important part of that role.

Performance in H1 2026

• Complaints continue to rise. Complaints to Energy Ombudsman increased again in Q2, marking the third successive quarterly increase. Across the first half of 2026, cases accepted by our service were 16% higher than during the same period last year.

• Signposting has improved but remains too low. For suppliers correctly signposting to our service, we did see some improvement, with average signposting rates increasing from 48% at the end of 2025 to 53% during the first six months of 2026. Whilst the improvement is positive, it still suggests that 1 in every 2 consumers not being made aware of their right to access Energy Ombudsman.
• Supplier remedy performance varies. Across the market around 10% of remedies take longer than necessary to complete. However, the best-performing suppliers have close to no overdue remedies.

Alongside the regulatory KPIs published by Ofgem, our quarterly reporting now provides greater visibility of measures including average resolution times, customer satisfaction and appeal rates.

Fairer, Faster Redress

In June, the Government confirmed measures designed to improve how energy consumers access and experience redress. We believe these changes have the potential to create a faster and better journey for consumers.

Our focus now is on implementation. We will continue to work collaboratively with Government, Ofgem, suppliers, Energy UK, Citizens Advice and other organisations across the sector to make this happen.

Looking ahead

This year marks 20 years since Energy Ombudsman was established. Our organisation and the role we perform have evolved significantly during that time, but there is more we can do to meet the changing needs of consumers and suppliers.

Alongside Fairer, Faster Redress, our priorities are focused on enhancing our service and increasing openness and transparency. We are already making progress.

• Making it easier for vulnerable consumers: Working with Citizens Advice and Advice Direct Scotland, we have introduced a direct transfer process for consumers who need additional support, reducing the need for them to repeat their journey.
• Strengthening how we work with suppliers: We have launched a new Supplier Dashboard and brought our operational and relationship management teams closer together to improve the way we share insight. We are also reviewing our approach to remedies to improve the clarity and consistency of outcomes.
• Increasing transparency and accountability. We have agreed a clearer process with Ofgem for sharing and escalating supplier performance information, and we are publishing more of the insight we gather from complaints.
• Using AI carefully and responsibly. We are carefully introducing AI to support areas such as evidence summarisation. These tools are designed to support our people and improve accuracy and efficiency, not to make decisions, and our approach to dispute resolution will remain human-led.

There is plenty still to do, but our direction is clear: resolve issues more quickly, share more of what we learn, and continue improving the service we provide to consumers and the energy sector.

Ed Dodman
Interim CEO and Chief Ombudsman