CENTRICA boss Chris O'Shea reignited calls yesterday for the ringfencing of consumer balances, and has urged market regulator Ofgem to speed up the process of enacting reforms across the energy sector.

He argued it was vital that the customer's money was protected by suppliers, and used only for the purchase of energy supplies - not to fund commercial ambitions at the company.

The energy chief said: "When customers pay up front for their energy, they are trusting their supplier to look after their hard earned money. They would be appalled to learn their money was being used to fund day to day business activities, but that's exactly what's happening today."

Earlier this week, Ofgem announced a raft of reforms to the energy sector, but has stopped short of backing complete ringfencing of customer balances - a source of frustration for the firm.

O'Shea explained: "We welcome this consultation but we are worried at the length of time it is taking to make the changes necessary and we urge Ofgem to work with greater urgency to protect customers fully and to prevent the events of last year ever happening again."

Centrica is the owner of British Gas - the UK's largest energy supplier.

Rival energy firm Octopus Energy remains opposed to ringfencing.

It considers the measure an inadequate method for tackling the causes and costs of supplier failure, which it considers driven by insufficient hedging and poor management.

Its own research suggests it would put more pressure on customers, adding up to £30 to customer bills every year, while increasing supplier profits.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper