British Gas fined £1m over renewables quota errors

BRITISH Gas was yesterday fined £1 million after it miscalculated how much of the electricity that it supplies to its business customers had come from renewable sources.

The company - which trades as Scottish Gas north of the Border - will also have to effectively repay more than 2.8m in rewards to the UK government because it did not come as close to meeting its renewable energy targets as it previously claimed.

Energy regulator Ofgem said British Gas' business division would have received a "much higher" penalty but it reported the error itself and co-operated with the investigation.

The mistake, which occurred over a seven-year period before it was reported in May, was caused by British Gas Business's incorrect interpretation of the reporting requirements and insufficient procedures, according to Ofgem.

Kanat Emiroglu, managing director of British Gas Business, said: "We take any failure to meet Ofgem reporting obligations very seriously, and we are sorry this error has occurred."

Earlier this year, National Grid was fined 8m after it provided inaccurate information about a gas replacement programme, which is used by the regulator to set price controls.

Ofgem said the pair of fines sent "a clear message to all energy companies that accurate reporting is essential".