Ofgem’s penalties statement and procedural guidelines for REMIT have reached the “decision stage” following the consultation that has been running since June. The finalised documents can be found here.

There are several interesting things outlined in the decisions reached:

Prioritisation and proportionality – Ofgem clearly state that they will focus on breaches that arise from wilful attempts at manipulation rather than minor technical infringements. The message is that they will adopt a “common sense” approach rather than one that “nit picks”

Penalising companies rather than individuals – There is a clear slant towards penalising companies rather than individuals, except in clear cases. Another reminder that despite the technical implications of Article 15, Market Participants are well advised to set up a good monitoring regime internally.

Publication of investigations – In general, they will only publicise an investigation when it is over, except in some high profile cases.

This all seems like a sensible but rigorous implementation.