Transcript of oral evidence to the BEIS Committee on energy pricing and the future of the energy market

Transcript of oral evidence to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on Tuesday 8 February

Subject: Energy pricing and the future of the energy market

Witnesses I:

Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive Officer, Ofgem; Neil Kenward, Director of Strategy and Decarbonisation, Ofgem; Neil Lawrence, Director of Retail, Ofgem.

Witnesses II: Peter Smith, Director of Policy and Advocacy, National Energy Action; Jonathan Marshall, Senior Economist, Resolution Foundation; Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder, OVO Energy; Emma Pinchbeck, Chief Executive, Energy UK.

Extract

Stephen Fitzpatrick: Going back to 2009, we set up a gas licensed company, an electricity licensed company and a group company. We also have an FCA-regulated entity that provides insurance for consumers and so on. Yes, we have that structure.

Our trading partner, Shell, is part of a broader credit group. The whole entity is secured against our trading relationship with them, which has given us access to all the hedges that we have needed. When you look at other companies that have not had that structure in place, that have not been able to hedge properly, they have gone out of business very quickly. For us, it has enabled us to hedge properly throughout the whole winter.

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