Costs to rise and powers to fall for dormant retailers

From 5 November, "dormant" trading parties – those who are licensed to retail in the non-household market but who do not have any supply points – will have reduced powers in the market and will face increased costs.

Ofwat has approved CPW119/CPM042 which proposed a new "Dormant Member" status is introduced for trading parties that have not held at least one supply point for 12 consecutive months.

Dormant members will be:

• subject to restricted voting rights – able to attend and speak at MOSL meetings but not vote;

• required to seek market re-assurance when acquiring a supply point, costing £500-2,500; and

• required to pay market operator charges of a minimum of £250 per month – equivalent to the charge imposed on trading parties with a single supply point.

The changes are designed to address the risks of inquorate meetings, loss of expertise/knowledge through inactivity, and dormant suppliers incurring cost to the market without contributing to its running costs.

As of May 2021, there were seven trading parties with no supply points.