What the New TPI Regulation Means for UK Businesses

What the New TPI Regulation Means for UK Businesses

The government has confirmed how it’s going to regulate energy brokers. If you’re mid-conversation with one, or about to start one, it’s worth knowing what’s changing and why it matters more than the headline suggests.

What’s actually changing

Government has confirmed Ofgem will become the direct regulator of third-party intermediaries — brokers, comparison sites, auto-switchers, and bill-splitters. That’s a step up from where things stand today, where TPIs mostly operate under voluntary codes of practice rather than formal authorisation.

Under the new framework, Ofgem gets the power to set rules, investigate conduct, order redress, and — this is the part that matters — require authorisation before a TPI can legally operate in the market at all.

The timeline

• Ofgem opens a detailed market survey in the first half of 2026
• A sunrise period of 12–18 months follows, during which the detailed rules and registration process get built out
• After that window closes, operating as a TPI without Ofgem authorisation becomes illegal

None of this is retrospective, and it isn’t instant. But it’s a fixed direction of travel, not a consultation that might not go anywhere.

Why the government is doing this

The stated reasoning is blunt: commission-driven models create a conflict of interest, and current voluntary codes aren’t consistent enough to manage it. The response specifically flags hidden fees and non-transparent payment structures as the problem it’s trying to close.

Two protections are being made mandatory rather than optional:

• Fee and commission transparency — disclosure becomes a requirement, not a courtesy
• ADR membership — every TPI dealing with domestic-adjacent activity will need to belong to a recognised dispute resolution scheme, not just claim to have a complaints process

What this means if you’re choosing a broker now

You don’t need to wait for 2027–2028 to ask the question the regulation is designed to force: does this broker disclose commission before you sign, and do they have a real dispute route if something goes wrong?

At Telnergy, both of those are already how we work, not something we’re planning to bolt on once it’s compulsory — we disclose commission on every contract we arrange, and our complaints process already sets out escalation and ADR routes. Worth checking whether whoever you’re talking to can say the same.

Common questions

Does this affect contracts I’ve already signed? No — this is a forward-looking regulatory framework, not retrospective. It governs how TPIs operate once authorisation becomes mandatory, not existing agreements.

Is my current broker doing anything wrong by not being “authorised” yet? Not necessarily. Authorisation isn’t required until the sunrise period ends. The useful question isn’t “are they authorised” — it’s whether they already disclose fees and offer a real complaints route, since that’s what authorisation is going to require anyway.

Does this replace Ofgem’s existing TPI Code of Practice? It builds on it. The current code is voluntary; this puts equivalent expectations on a statutory footing with enforcement behind it.

Where can I read the government’s actual response? Direct from GOV.UK: Regulating third-party intermediaries (TPIs) in the retail energy market — government response.

Send us a bill. We’ll tell you where you stand.

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