Ofgem announced on 27 October 2023 that it had accepted actions proposed by Community Energy Scheme UK Ltd (CES) and Community Energy Scheme Stoke Limited (CESS) to address concerns about sales practices conducted up to September 2019, contracts signed by consumers, and billing information1. The regulator has since monitored implementation and, on 19 July 2024, closed the case after CES and CESS provided information showing the agreed actions had been completed1.
The investigation opened on 20 August 2021, examining whether CES had contravened consumer protection legislation through its sales and customer service practices1. In December 2022 the scope was widened to include CESS, another legal entity contracting with consumers1. CES operates the Community Energy Scheme, under which it installs solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roofs of social housing in Stoke-on-Trent and sells the electricity from those panels to tenants1.
Under the agreed actions, consumers who signed up before 30 September 2019 had a one-off opportunity to leave the Scheme for free1. They received a letter by 27 November 2023 and had 90 days to communicate their decision, then 150 days from that date to arrange an appointment for the PV system to be reconfigured; they also had to pay or agree a payment plan for any outstanding bill for electricity consumed1. Ofgem reports that a small number of consumers communicated their decision to leave but did not engage to arrange an appointment within 150 days, so they remain in the Scheme1.
All existing and new contracts have been amended to include a new termination clause allowing consumers to leave at any time by paying a termination fee1. The fee was calculated by CES and CESS based on the characteristics of the installed PV system and reduces for each remaining year of the contract1. Consumers who remain in the Scheme but do not sign a revised contract still have their existing contract treated as amended to include the clause1. Bill formats for monthly, quarterly and final bills were amended to show whether a bill is estimated or actual, what the charges are, and the amount owed or in credit, with the changes introduced in September 20231. Ofgem states that monthly and quarterly bills have been issued regularly since October 20231.
"Ofgem considers the implemented actions have had the effect of achieving a similar outcome to that the Authority may have obtained by exercising its enforcement powers to seek a court order or formal undertakings."
Why it matters for households
The case concerns a model in which a household does not buy electricity from a conventional supplier but from the company that owns panels on its roof. For those homes, the terms of that arrangement, rather than a standard supply contract, determine how easily a household can change how its electricity is supplied. The termination clause now written into all contracts gives a stated route out of the Scheme at any time, at a fee that falls as the contract runs down1. Ofgem has not published the fee levels, so the cost of leaving for any individual home has not been reported.
The billing changes matter for the same reason: a household that cannot tell an estimated bill from an actual one, or what it owes, has limited means to check what it is paying for the electricity its roof generates. Ofgem says the amended format should help consumers understand their solar energy consumption and raise queries or complaints1. The regulator's own guidance for consumers with concerns about the conduct of CES and CESS points to the Citizens Advice consumer service, and to Citizens Advice Staffordshire North and Stoke on Trent on 01782 408625 for local residents1. General routes for complaints are set out in the site's guide to energy complaints and redress, and the regulator's wider remit is covered under Ofgem.
What happens next
The investigation is closed, with the status recorded as closed1. No further dated steps are set out. Ofgem has not reported any penalty, redress payment or formal undertaking in this case, and no figures for the termination fee have been published1.