Christine Farnish said the energy audit had not “struck the right balance between the interests of consumers and the interests of suppliers”. Her resignation led to accusations that the government is “asleep at the wheel” over energy market regulation as families and businesses face rising costs. Ofgem has faced criticism in recent months for not doing enough to protect families during the global energy crisis. Ms Farnish, who served on Ofgem’s board for several years, told The Times: “I resigned from Ofgem’s board because I could not support a key decision to recover additional supplier costs from consumers’ bills this winter”. He believes the move will “add several hundred pounds to everyone’s bill to support a number of suppliers over the coming months”. Her resignation is understood to be linked to Ofgem’s decision to change its price cap methodology to allow suppliers to recoup some of the high costs of energy ‘backlash’ sooner rather than later. Energy bills for the average UK household are set to hit a devastating £4,266 a year in January as wholesale gas prices rise. Industry experts described Ofgem’s decision to change its methodology during the crisis as “unwise”. An Ofgem spokesman said: “We are grateful to Christine for her many years of dedicated service to Ofgem. “Due to this unprecedented energy crisis, Ofgem has to make some incredibly difficult decisions where carefully balanced trade-offs are weighed up all the time. But we always prioritize the needs of consumers, both immediate and long-term. “The rest of the board decided that a shorter recovery period for energy costs was in the best interests of consumers in the long term, reducing the real risk of supplier collapses, which would further burden bills and add unnecessary worry and concern to an already very Tough moment”. Ms Farnish’s resignation comes amid growing pressure on the government to take additional measures to tackle rising inflation and rising energy bills. The issue has overshadowed the race to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak repeatedly under pressure over their plans to help struggling households. Ed Miliband, the shadow climate change secretary, said Ms Farnish’s resignation showed the government was “asleep at the wheel”. “For 12 years, the Conservatives have completely failed to regulate the energy market. No other country has had 32 energy suppliers collapse. “We cannot allow the British people to suffer any further increases in bills. It is unacceptable that the Conservatives continue to not offer solutions to this crisis and oppose Labour’s plan.” A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We are aware of a resignation on Ofgem’s board, which has been accepted.”
