Ofgem

What Ofgem does

Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) is the statutory regulator for the gas and electricity markets in Great Britain, operating as the administrative office of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA) under the Gas Act 1986 and Electricity Act 1989. Established in 2000 as a non-departmental public body accountable to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and ultimately to Parliament, Ofgem licenses energy market participants, enforces compliance, sets price controls (notably the Energy Price Cap affecting approximately 29 million domestic households), and administers an extensive portfolio of environmental and social schemes including the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, Smart Export Guarantee, Energy Company Obligation, Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Great British Insulation Scheme, and Renewable Heat Incentive programmes. From January 2026, Ofgem became the statutory regulator for heat networks in England, Scotland, and Wales, marking its first major scope expansion since founding.

The organisation's core technology infrastructure comprises the Electronic Public Register (epr.ofgem.gov.uk) for licensing and regulatory decisions, an interactive Data Portal publishing retail and wholesale market indicators, smart metering governance systems, and REMIT (wholesale energy market integrity) frameworks. Ofgem operates the RIIO (Revenue = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs) price control framework, approving £28 billion in initial network expenditure for the RIIO-3 period (April 2026–March 2031), and runs the £500 million Strategic Innovation Fund in partnership with Innovate UK to support projects such as the FoSMo shared AI grid asset monitoring system. Headcount is 1,001–5,000 with headquarters at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London.

Ofgem does not sell products or services and does not generate commercial revenue. It is funded through regulatory fees (licence fees from regulated companies) and government appropriations. Its "outputs" are regulatory determinations, licences, enforcement actions, scheme registrations, and consumer protection frameworks. Customer segments include all 29 million GB domestic energy consumers (primary), licensed energy suppliers and network operators (National Grid, SP Energy Networks, SSEN Transmission, UK Power Networks, Electricity North West, ScottishPower, Northern Powergrid, E.ON, OVO, British Gas, Octopus, Tesla Energy Ventures, etc.), and energy investors and market participants. Enforcement actions in the data include £112m British Gas, £10.4m OVO, £20m National Grid, and £1.5m Octopus settlements.

Name

Ofgem

Legal name

Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA)

Website

https://ofgem.gov.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Ofgem is the UK statutory regulator for Great Britain's gas and electricity markets, licensing operators, setting price controls, enforcing consumer protections, and administering environmental schemes for approximately 29 million households and all licensed energy market participants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Regulation

NAICS

Regulation and Administration of Communications, Electric, Gas, and Other Utilities (926130), Regulation and Administration of Communications, Electric, Gas, and Other Utilities (92613), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900), Electric Services (4911), Natural Gas Distribution (4924)

akta.pro primary industry

Energy, Utilities & Natural Resources Regulators (BPAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

FERC/PHMSA/State Commission Rule Compliance (Cross-Regulatory) (EUAJAIAH), Power Market Design & Pricing Regulation (Wholesale/Capacity/Ancillary) (EUAMANAG), Tariffs, Net Metering & Distributed Generation Regulation (EUAMANAD)

Keywords

• Energy market regulation
• Consumer protection
• Energy price cap
• Renewable energy schemes
• Network price control

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Regulatory funding: Ofgem is funded through regulatory mechanisms including licence fees from regulated companies, rather than direct government funding. The organization operates as the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA) to protect energy consumers and ensure fair market operation.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ofgem is the UK statutory energy regulator for Great Britain. It administers environmental and social schemes (Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Energy Company Obligation, Smart Export Guarantee, Great British Insulation Scheme, Domestic and Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive, Green Gas Support Scheme), enforces the Energy Price Cap and consumer protection rules, oversees network price controls (RIIO framework), issues and manages energy licences, and funds innovation through the £500 million Strategic Innovation Fund. It does not sell commercial products; its outputs are regulatory programmes and statutory decisions.

Product overview

Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) is the energy regulator for Great Britain, not a commercial product company. Ofgem's offerings consist of regulatory schemes, programmes, and digital services administered under statutory authority. The core offerings include: energy subsidy schemes (Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs, Smart Export Guarantee, Energy Company Obligation, Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Great British Insulation Scheme, Green Gas Support Scheme, and domestic/non-domestic RHI schemes) that incentivise renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency; consumer protection mechanisms (Energy Price Cap, smart meter rollout, heat networks regulation); innovation funding (Strategic Innovation Fund); and digital services (Data Portal, licence application systems, scheme registers). These are administered regulatory programmes rather than commercial software products with integrations or APIs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Energy Price Cap Statutory cap on the amount licensed energy suppliers can charge domestic customers per unit of gas and electricity, protecting approximately 29 million households from excessive pricing while allowing competitive supply.
• Renewables Obligation (RO) Scheme Statutory scheme incentivising renewable electricity generation by awarding Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) to generators for each MWh of qualifying renewable electricity produced.
• Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) Scheme paying participants for generating renewable electricity, including export payments for unused electricity fed back to the grid (export rate £76.40 per MWh for 2026-2027).
• Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) Statutory scheme requiring licensed electricity suppliers to offer export tariffs to small-scale low-carbon generators exporting electricity to the grid.
• Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) Government grant scheme providing upfront payments to homeowners and landlords installing low-carbon heating systems such as air source and ground source heat pumps, administered by Ofgem.
• Energy Company Obligation (ECO) Statutory scheme requiring licensed energy suppliers to install energy efficiency measures in domestic properties, particularly targeting vulnerable and low-income households.
• Smart Meter Rollout National programme to replace traditional gas and electricity meters with smart meters enabling real-time energy monitoring and more accurate billing, governed by Ofgem through supplier licence obligations and Guaranteed Standards of Performance.
• Heat Networks Regulation Statutory regulatory framework under which Ofgem enforces consumer protections, licensing requirements, and technical standards for heat network operators across England, Scotland and Wales from 27 January 2026.
• Long Duration Electricity Storage Cap and Floor Scheme Government scheme providing revenue guarantees to encourage investment in long-duration energy storage technologies. Window 1 selected 16 projects totalling 7.6 GW of capacity including pumped hydro and other storage technologies.
• Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) £500 million innovation funding programme for the RIIO-3 price control period (April 2026 to March 2031), delivered with Innovate UK to support energy network innovation across grid modernisation, flexibility, and decarbonisation.
• Smart Meter Guaranteed Standards of Performance Mandatory compensation rules requiring energy suppliers to automatically pay £40 to customers experiencing smart meter installation failures, missed appointments, or unresolved issues beyond statutory deadlines.
• Licence Application Services Regulatory service for companies seeking GB energy licences including gas (transporter, interconnector, shipper, supplier) and electricity (transmission, offshore transmission, generation, supply) licences, administered via epr.ofgem.gov.uk.
• Energy Market Data Portal Interactive data portal providing charts and downloadable data on energy topics including retail markets, wholesale markets, networks, and customer service across Great Britain.

Quantifiable outcome

• Energy price cap protects 29 million households from excessive charges
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National GridcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026National Grid and Keen AI received £355,985 in Alpha-phase funding from Ofgem's Strategic Innovation Fund to develop FoSMo, Britain's first shared AI system for electricity network asset management. The project unites all of Great Britain's transmission operators—National Grid, SP Energy Networks, and SSEN Transmission—alongside distribution operators UK Power Networks and Electricity North West.
• Keen AIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Keen AI secured funding from Ofgem's Strategic Innovation Fund to develop the FoSMo AI model for grid asset monitoring. Keen AI serves as technical steward with all data hosted domestically within UK control as critical national infrastructure expands.
• SP Energy NetworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransmission operator partner in the FoSMo consortium developing shared AI asset monitoring for Britain's electricity networks.
• SSEN TransmissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransmission operator partner in the FoSMo consortium for shared AI grid asset monitoring.
• UK Power NetworkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistribution operator partner in the FoSMo consortium pooling anonymized data for AI asset monitoring.
• Electricity North WestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistribution operator partner in the FoSMo consortium for shared AI grid monitoring.
• National Energy System Operator (NESO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfgem works closely with NESO on grid connection reforms, clean power targets, and energy system planning. NESO manages the GB electricity transmission system and operates the capacity market.
• Innovate UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfgem partners with Innovate UK to deliver the £500m Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) for the RIIO-3 price control period, funding innovation projects across the energy sector.
• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfgem coordinates with DESNZ on energy policy implementation, clean power targets, and regulatory framework development. DESNZ sets strategic direction that Ofgem implements through its regulatory functions.
• OfcomminorOthersData centres have been designated as 'operators of essential services' under the updated Network and Information Systems (NIS) framework, bringing Ofcom oversight alongside Ofgem's grid connection regulation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ofwat: Ofwat is the economic regulator for the water and wastewater sector in England and Wales, operating under a near-identical statutory model to Ofgem (price controls, licensing, consumer protection). Direct peer for benchmarking regulatory structure, RIIO-equivalent price determinations and enforcement approach.
• Utility Regulator (Northern Ireland): Statutory regulator for electricity, gas and water in Northern Ireland. Operates a directly comparable licence, price-control and consumer-protection framework to Ofgem, making it the closest jurisdictional peer for energy-market regulatory design.
• ACER (Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators): EU agency coordinating national energy regulators across electricity and gas. Directly comparable in function to Ofgem's wholesale-market, REMIT and cross-border interconnection oversight, and a key counterparty for Ofgem's market-integrity work.
• NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation): International regulatory authority for grid reliability across North America. Directly comparable to Ofgem's cybersecurity (NIS Regulations), security-of-supply and grid-standards oversight functions.

Regional players

• Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA): Germany's federal energy regulator covering electricity, gas, telecoms, rail and post. Operates an incentive-regulation framework broadly comparable to RIIO and is Ofgem's principal counterpart on European electricity-market coupling.
• CRE (Commission de régulation de l'énergie): France's independent energy regulator overseeing electricity and gas networks and markets. Comparable to Ofgem in scope (price controls, licensing, consumer protection) and in coordinating with ACER on European market integration.
• FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission): US federal regulator for interstate electricity transmission, wholesale markets and natural gas pipelines. Comparable to Ofgem on wholesale-market design, transmission incentives and enforcement authority over cross-jurisdictional energy infrastructure.
• AEMC (Australian Energy Market Commission): Australian national energy rule-maker and market designer for the National Electricity Market. Comparable to Ofgem on wholesale-market design, network-access reform and integration of distributed energy resources.

Broad incumbents

• Ofcom: UK regulator for communications, with growing overlap into data-centre oversight under the updated NIS framework (explicitly referenced in Ofgem's data). Comparable as a fellow UK economic regulator with consumer-protection and spectrum/licensing authorities analogous to Ofgem's energy remit.
• CMA (Competition and Markets Authority): UK competition regulator with jurisdiction over mergers, markets and consumer enforcement. Directly comparable to Ofgem on enforcement architecture and increasingly relevant as Ofgem's market-conduct remit intersects with CMA authority over energy-market competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ofgem
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ofgemtv
• Facebookfacebook.com/ofgem
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ofgem

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ofgem