Clearsight Energy takes part in Ofgem roundtable on energy broker regulation

Clearsight Energy’s managing director, Adam Kelly, attended one of Ofgem’s stakeholder roundtables this summer as part of the regulator’s review of third-party intermediaries. That’s the term Ofgem uses for energy brokers, consultants, comparison sites and anyone else who arranges a supply contract on a customer’s behalf, and it includes Clearsight.

The session was held under Chatham House rules, so we won’t be reporting what was said or who else was there. What we can say is that we were pleased to be invited, and that we’d rather help shape how this works than read about it afterwards.

Why Ofgem is looking at brokers

Business energy brokers have never had a regulator. Suppliers are licensed by Ofgem and have been for decades. The firm that sits between a business and its supplier, negotiates the contract and takes a commission for it, has been governed by general consumer law and whatever voluntary code it chose to sign up to, if any.

In October 2025 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published its response to a consultation on that gap and confirmed that Ofgem would become the regulator for the whole TPI sector. The model is general authorisation combined with formal registration, paid for by the sector through annual fees. Once the legislation is through there’ll be a sunrise period of twelve to eighteen months in which firms register and pass a fit and proper person test, and after that compliance is mandatory. Ofgem will be able to write rules, investigate firms, order redress where a customer has lost out, and fine or remove firms that don’t comply.

Ofgem opened a market review in June 2026 asking for evidence on how the sector is structured and where the incentives go wrong, and that closed in the middle of July. A blog from its consumer protection team a few days later set out what it’s concerned about, which was lack of transparency, mis-selling, hidden commissions and poor access to help. The same blog says Ofgem expects to finish its review this year and consult on its first regulatory proposals in 2027. The stakeholder roundtables are part of that evidence gathering.

Where Clearsight stands

We’re in favour. Greater transparency across the industry is good for customers and, in the long run, good for brokers too, because it’s hard to trust a sector where you can’t see how anyone gets paid. Businesses should know what they’re paying for, know where to go if something goes wrong, and come away from the process feeling well looked after. Regulation that delivers those three things will lift trust in brokers generally, and it will make it easier for customers to find the firms that have been working that way already.

What this means if you use a broker

Nothing has changed yet. Ofgem’s first proposals are expected in 2027 and mandatory registration comes after that, once the legislation has passed and the transition period has run. The regime won’t be retrospective, so a business that believes it was overcharged on a contract signed in 2022 still has to go to the Energy Ombudsman if it qualifies, or through the courts if it doesn’t.

What a business can do now is ask the questions the rules will eventually require. How is the broker paid. How much is it on this particular contract. Who do you go to if something goes wrong. Ask for the answers in writing. A firm that’s comfortable putting them in an email is usually fine to deal with. We’ve written a longer piece on what business energy brokers do and how to choose one for anyone who wants the detail.

Ofgem is still gathering evidence and has said it wants to hear from customers as well as the trade. Businesses with an experience of a broker that they think the regulator should know about can write to TPI@ofgem.gov.uk. We’ll cover the proposals when they’re published next year.