Citizens Advice response to Last Resort Supply Payment claim (LRSP) process open letter

Citizens Advice response to Last Resort Supply Payment claim (LRSP) process open letter [ 210 kb]

Citizens Advice recognises the need to facilitate faster payment to suppliers who have incurred additional costs by taking on customers through the supplier of last resort (SoLR) process. This will enable suppliers to support future SoLR events, ensuring continuity of supply to customers of failed customers, and so is in the best interests of consumers. The process by which the final value paid to SoLRs is assessed, following the ‘true up’ claim, should be consulted upon to ensure it is fair to consumers.

However, it is not acceptable for consumers to be expected to fund these levy claims from April 2022, which would be the result of these proposals, at a time when the retail price cap is expected to be increasing significantly anyway. The recovery from customers should be deferred until 2023 and then spread over a number of years.