Drax power firm pays £25m penalty over inaccurate data

On closing its investigation, Ofgem said Drax was found to have lacked the necessary data governance and controls in place.

That meant it did not give the regulator “accurate and robust” data on the type of wood it used at the North Yorkshire site, it said.

But the watchdog did not find any evidence that Drax’s biomass was not sustainable.

Ofgem said Drax would pay £25m to its voluntary redress fund as a result of the findings.

Jonathan Brearley, the regulator’s chief executive, said: “This has been a complex and detailed investigation.

“Energy consumers expect all companies, particularly those receiving millions of pounds annually in public subsidies, to comply with all their statutory requirements.”

Mr Brearley added: “The legislation is clear about Drax’s obligations – that’s why we took tough action.

“Drax has accepted that it had weak procedures, controls and governance which resulted in inaccurate reporting of data about the forestry type and sawlog content being used.”

Drax Group chief executive Will Gardiner said: “Although Ofgem has noted there is no evidence to suggest Drax deliberately misreported its profiling data, we recognise the importance of maintaining a strong evidence base.”

The firm was “continuing to invest to improve confidence in our future reporting”, he said

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here, external.