The UK’s energy regulator confirmed non-executive director Christine Farnish resigned from the board.
Farnish, who also chaired Ofgem’s People and Remuneration Committee, quit the board after six-and-a-half years.
Farnish said the regulator “gave too much benefit to companies at the expense of consumers,” according to a leaked internal Ofgem announcement, the Guardian reported. Across the UK’s 27m retail energy customers a £400 annual bills increase could cost households more than £10bn.
She told The Times the regulator failed to strike a balance “between the interests of consumers and interests of suppliers" following recent changes to the energy price cap.
"Due to this unprecedented energy crisis, Ofgem is having to make some incredibly difficult decisions where carefully balanced trade-offs are being weighed up all the time,” a spokesperson for Ofgem said.
"But we always prioritise consumers' needs both in the immediate and long term."
This month, Ofgem said it would switch to a quarterly review of the energy price cap, which sets a limit on energy tariff increases, that would take place four times a year rather than seasonally.
The price cap is expected to rise to up to £3,359 in October after the current seasonal pricing threshold ends, according to analysts at Cornwall Insight.