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Suppliers must include collective switch tariffs in the Cheapest Tariff Message (CTM) required on customer bills, Ofgem has ruled.
Suppliers must now include any tariff offered through a collective switch if the tariff remains open to customers after the winning supplier has been chosen.
Ofgem said it was updating the requirements following a change in the way collective switches have been offered so customers using the message will be provided with more accurate information.
In the past only customers already registered to collective switch organisations could switch to the collective tariff, but recent collectives have allowed new customers to join after the winning supplier has been chosen.
Ofgem said: “We will review supplier practices in this area to ensure that they are compliant with requirements to display available collective switch tariffs via the CTM.
“We will also monitor how suppliers and scheme organisers react to the clarification of our requirements.”
“More broadly, we will keep the CTM and other information tools under review in the context of any changes that the Competition and Markets Authority investigation may enact as a result of their energy market investigation.
The cheapest tariff message was introduced in 2014 as a prompt to customers to switch supplier, and is required on key supplier communications including bills, annual statements, end of fixed term notices and price increase notices.
Independent supplier First Utility welcomed the announcement saying it is a “clear victory for transparency and openness in the energy market.”
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