Ofgem is failing small businesses by not forcing the big energy companies to pass on taxpayer-funded energy subsidies, a Conservative MP has said.

David Simmonds, MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, said the energy regulator had to “pull its finger out” and clamp down on the energy suppliers that are yet to pass on the discounts available under the government’s Energy Business Relief Scheme [EBRS] to thousands of businesses.

The savings under the scheme, which runs until the end of March, should be applied automatically. But four of the five biggest energy providers in the UK – British Gas, EDF, ScottishPower and SSE – told The Times last month that thousands of small business customers had yet to see the relief reflected in their bills.

EDF blamed “systems issues” and all four said that customers would receive backdated discounts if they had been overcharged. But Simmonds said this was not good enough as struggling businesses may “go to the wall” in the meantime.

“The big frustration is Ofgem’s decision not to intervene on the fact that these energy companies can use customers’ money as working capital for their businesses. That really concerns me,” he said.

Simmonds was the first MP to raise the matter in parliament in January after a number of his constituents said they’d not seen the subsidy applied. One of them, a small wine shop, had seen energy bills increase from £1,500 a month to £9,000 and “had not received a penny of help”, despite being eligible.

Simmonds said it remained a “significant” issue. “A lot of these businesses survived Covid by the skin of their teeth… and are now not seeing the relief they should be getting.”

“We in parliament think ‘We’ve done our job here. We voted this thing through and that means they’re going to get this money and it’s going to help them,’ but it isn’t – it’s not making it through to their bottom line.”

The politician, who worked in financial services before entering politics, advised affected small businesses to “contact their member of parliament, because the more people know about the situation, the easier it is to get something done.”

He said he was hopeful that the prime minister’s decision to separate the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and create a dedicated Department for Energy Security and Net-Zero would bring about “a renewed focus” on the problems faced by small firms trying to access the support scheme.

Ofgem said: “We are ready for enforcement action if necessary to make sure customers receive the help that they are entitled to.”

But it would not confirm if it was looking into the admissions by British Gas, EDF, SSE and ScottishPower that they had not passed on the EBRS discount to all small business customers. “Ofgem does not comment on any enforcement action it may or may not be undertaking,” said a spokesperson.