Ofgem opens ‘disclosure room’ to review price cap data

Ofgem has announced it will open a “disclosure room” to review “sensitive and confidential” data regarding the development of the impending default energy price cap.

The data which has been received concerns smart metering costs and wholesale allowance models, the regulator outlined.

A letter from Ofgem’s deputy director of retail price protection, Anna Rossington, confirmed the publication date for its statutory consultation on the temporary tariff cap for customers on standard variable tariffs (SVTs) and those on default tariffs will run from 6 September to 8 October.

Rossington added: “As part of our policy development process, Ofgem has received information and/or data from a number of parties to inform the development of the default tariff cap.

“In light of the particularly sensitive and confidential nature of the underlying data, Ofgem considers it necessary to disclose the underlying data to a limited number of approved external legal and/or economic advisers of the relevant parties. In doing so, Ofgem intends to disclose the underlying data through a disclosure room.”

The disclosure room will be open on each Ofgem working day from 17 September until 3 October inclusive between 9.30am and 5pm.

Rules will govern access, with limitations on the number of individuals allowed to use the room.

External advisers, and the firms they represent, will be required to sign legally binding undertakings and agree to comply with the disclosure room rules before they will be granted access to the room.

Only seven people per party will be allowed to access the room and only the authorised advisers will be allowed in, subject to a maximum of two authorised advisers at any one time.

Interested parties have been invited by the regulator to submit expressions of interest to access the room and their reasons for doing so.