OCTOPUS Energy wants to work with rival
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By contrast, Octopus argues its counter-proposals for a travel insurance model would only add £5 per year to household energy bills.
An Octopus spokesperson told City A.M.: "We're in an energy crisis and everyone should be focused on bringing bills down - so it seems crazy to propose a 'fix' that costs six times more than the problem, which is why Octopus urge the regulator and industry to find a better value solution. We'd love to work together with
Ringfencing refers to Ofgem proposals for energy firms to hold consumer credit balances in a special account, with the funds only spent on securing energy supplies rather than being used to fund commercial operations.
Octopus' call for unity reflects a change of tone in an escalating dispute between the two rival energy firms, which have been at loggerheads over ringfencing for several months.
He said: "Regulation on this needs to change or we run the risk of history repeating itself. Despite the many failures, wealthy private energy company owners are still using customer money as free working capital today. If they are successful, they become even wealthier, and if they lose,
Its own research, undertaken by consultancy experts Oxera, argued Octopus' proposals would "not be appropriate" for fixing the market.
It has been ringfencing customer credit balances as a matter of company policy since March earlier this year.
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