What is OFGEM
OFfice of Gas and Electricity Markets
OFGEM is a non-ministerial government department and an independent regulatory body (recognized by the EU). They are tasked with protecting the interests of existing and future electricity and gas users.
If you have any questions about energy supplies, need help with paying or understanding your energy bills, want to know what to do in a power cut or want to know how to complain about your supplier then OFGEM is the official body to contact.
OFGEM is governed by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA) which is the Authority that determines strategy, sets policy priorities and makes decisions on a wide range of regulatory matters, including price controls and enforcement.
Keeping an eye on electricity generation:
It makes sense to check up on the state of our electricity supply, that way you may be able to see when cuts are most likely so won't be taken by surprise, fortunately because of the new transparency regulations the national grid has to upload all it data on generation including the current state, projections and warning.
This falls on a body called The New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) now called ELEXON who run a system named the Balancing Mechanism Reporting System (BRMS) which provides near real-time and historical data about the Balancing Mechanism which is used by the National Grid as a means of balancing power flows on to and off the electricity Transmission System in Great Britain.
You can use the data at BRMS reporting. to see the state of our electricity supply and predicted demands.
There is a lot of information and it can be confusing to those outside of the industry so a very nice chap has set up The Gridwatch Site to make things a lot easier to see and understand for everyone else.
The Gridwatch Site is an independent website that uses the real-time BRMS data and shows it as an easy to read dashboard using clocks dials and graphs.
Energy costs money, compare your providers tariffs now. Go to The Energy Helpline a OFGEM accredited comparison site and see how much you can save. Switch and save it's quick easy and free.
Save money now follow the tips on our Energy Saving Page and cut your heating and energy bills