Ofgem fines Centrica's British Gas £1 million

LONDON (Reuters) - Energy regulator Ofgem is to fine Centrica's British Gas one million pounds for misreporting the amount of electricity it supplied under the renewables obligation (RO).

Ofgem administers the renewables obligation that requires energy suppliers to provide evidence of the amount of electricity supplied from renewable sources relative to total electricity supplied.

"Over a period of seven years, British Gas underestimated the amount of electricity supplied by an average of 0.62 percent per year," the regulator said in a statement on Friday.

The company is retiring an appropriate number of renewable obligation certificates to address the error, it added.

Ofgem added it imposed a reduced fine after British Gas brought the error to its attention and co-operated through the investigation.

"The level of the penalty reflects both the importance of compliance and the significant co-operation of British Gas, including action to address the harm caused," Ofgem Finance Director David Pimm said. "Without this, the penalty would have been much higher."

Earlier this year, the regulator fined National Grid for misreporting information during a gas mains replacement programme between 2005 and 2008.

Centrica shares were up 0.22 percent at 1:44 p.m..

(Reporting by Adveith Nair; Editing by Sarah Young)