Reference guide — UK energy supply licence
Priority Services Register audit: PSR compliance explained
A working reference for compliance and customer-service teams at UK energy suppliers: who must be on the register, the categories of need, what Ofgem expects on data quality, and the evidence you need to be able to produce per record.
What the rule says
The Priority Services Register is required under the gas and electricity supply licence conditions, which set out a supplier's obligations to customers in vulnerable situations. Ofgem's consumer guidance on the PSR describes the register as the mechanism by which a supplier knows which customers need extra support — from priority reconnection in a power cut to bills in alternative formats, knock-and-wait visits, and password schemes.
In its broader vulnerability guidance, Ofgem makes clear that identifying vulnerability is an ongoing duty, not a one-off registration step. Suppliers are expected to identify customers in vulnerable situations proactively and to keep their records accurate and up to date. A register that is collected once and never reviewed is not compliant.
The five questions suppliers actually ask
- What is the Priority Services Register?
- The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a record that energy suppliers must keep of customers who need extra help or support — for example because of a disability, chronic illness, age, language, or because there are young children in the household. It is required under the gas and electricity supply licence conditions and sits alongside a supplier's broader vulnerability obligations.
- Who has to be on the PSR?
- A customer must be registered where they or someone in the household falls into one of the recognised categories of need. These include: pensionable age; disability or chronic illness; hearing or sight loss; speech difficulty; language difficulty; pregnancy or young children; and a situation where the customer could not safely use a prepayment meter. Suppliers must proactively offer registration, not wait for the customer to ask.
- How long does PSR registration last?
- A PSR registration is not a one-time event. Suppliers must review and update their PSR data on an ongoing basis. Ofgem expects records to be kept current — a customer whose circumstances change must not be left on an outdated record, and a customer who qualifies must not be missing from the register because a vulnerability was never captured.
- What happens if the PSR is wrong?
- An inaccurate or out-of-date PSR is a compliance failure in its own right. More seriously, it means a customer who needed support — such as priority reconnection, alternative format bills, or a knock-and-wait visit — did not receive it. Suppliers are expected to be able to show that their PSR is reviewed regularly and that data quality is monitored, not merely collected at onboarding.
- How does a supplier evidence PSR compliance?
- By being able to show, per record, when the vulnerability was recorded, what category of need was identified, when the record was last reviewed, and whether any gaps exist between the registered population and the customers who should be on the register — with an audit trail that records each review action and cannot be edited after the fact.
Where the gaps build up
Registered customers with no review in over 12 months
A vulnerability record that has not been reviewed recently may no longer reflect the household's situation. Ofgem expects ongoing review, not a one-time registration.
Customers who qualify but are not on the register
Gaps between the customers who should be on the PSR and those who are represent the most common compliance finding — a vulnerability was identified but never recorded.
Duplicate or conflicting records
The same customer appearing under two different categories, or with conflicting needs, is a data-quality signal that the register has not been reconciled against a single source of truth.
Records that cannot be traced back to a review action
An auditor will ask when each record was last reviewed and by whom. A PSR that cannot answer that question per customer is a register without an audit trail.
Important
This page is a plain-language reference, not legal advice, and it is not a determination that any licence breach has occurred. The licence conditions themselves, and Ofgem guidance, are the authoritative source. PowerView output is a triage signal for your own review.
Check your own PSR in 48 hours
PowerView reviews a PSR extract for registration gaps, stale records and duplicate or conflicting categories — and writes every review action to an immutable SHA-256 audit trail you can re-verify. The rule set is published in full on the methodology page before you send a single row of data.