OFGEM must “clamp down on excessive profiteering” by energy distributors, the Unite union said today.

In a letter to chief executive Jonathan Brearley and chairman Martin Cave, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused the energy regulator of “failing to rein in firms which have been holding the public to ransom for too much and for too long.”

The call follows Tory ministers capping soaring electricity and gas bills at £2,500, a record annual average, until March 2023. 

Unite Investigates, the union’s research arm, found that major energy suppliers, distributors and generators made £15.8 billion in profits last year, with massive profit margins of more than 50 per cent expected this year.

Distribution network operators include companies such as UK Power Networks, owned by Hong Kong-based holding company CK Hutchison. 

The firm also owns Felixstowe Ports, where workers have taken intermittent strike action this year against real-terms pay cuts.

Unite called on regulators to reopen a recent price review and set a “clear cap” on distributor profits.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “Electricity distributors are milking profits during this energy crisis [and] the regulator is failing to properly rein them in.

“Ofgem is a regulator that doesn’t regulate — time for that to change.

“How long must the public pay for profiteering from the likes of UK Power Networks? It’s time to pull the plug on the energy profiteers.”

An Ofgem spokesperson told the Morning Star that its priority was to “protect consumers and businesses and ensure they pay a fair price for their energy.”

Supporting a transition to “cheaper, greener energy will help save people money, safeguard our security of supply and ensure we are no longer at the mercy of international energy prices,” the spokesperson added.