Fury as bosses at power watchdog Ofgem run up a £1.2million bill on luxury rewards for staff... while consumers are still hit by sky high price hikes

Bi ll included meals at Michel in- starred restaurants a nd five-star hot el stays

More than £40,000 was logged as 'staff travel - accommodation'



Revelations come as one in five are said to be living in fuel poverty



Staff at energy watchdog Ofgem have spent more than £1.2million on luxury hotel stays and Michelin-starred restaurants.

The body, which has been criticsed for paying executives six-figure salaries, ran up the huge credit car bill over three years while one in five households are living in fuel poverty and energy bills have risen by a staggering 37 per cent.



Spending included £5,373 for 'room hire' at Cardiff's five-star St David's Hotel and Spa, £2,400 for meals at upmarket restaurants, including the double Michelin-starred L'Atelier, and £10,000 on reward schemes.



Culinary delights: Staff at Ofgem used taxpayer-funded credit cards to dine at the double Michelin-starred restaurant L'Atelier

Luxury: The huge bills included 'room hire' at the five-star St David's Hotel and Spa which overlooks Cardiff bay

More than £40,000 was logged as 'staff travel - accommodation' while a further £29,000 was listed as 'staff travel - air'.

Officials generated more than £24,000 on stays at Blythswood Square, a five-star hotel in Glasgow and, on eight occasions, spent more than the average monthly household bill (£106) in single night at eaterie Osteria Dell' Angolo.



Nearly £8,000 was spent on John Lewis reward schemes and £660 was spent in antique shops.



The data, obtained through a freedom of information request, shows that £612,225 was spent in 2011-12, £359,587 in 2012-13 and £311,695 this year.

The money was spent all over the world, with transactions being recorded in Rome, Berlin and Brussels, while flights with airlines including Singapore Airlines, Adria Airways of Slovenia and Oman Air were booked.

Spa: Officials spent more than £24,000 at the Blythswood Square Hotel in Glasgow On eight occasions, staff spent more than the average monthly household bill (£106) in an evening at Osteria Dell'Angolo

The figures have been revealed just weeks after the Big Six energy firms posted bumper profits following a hike in energy costs. Sine 2011, household bills have risen eight times faster than the rate of earning.



Energy secretary Ed Davey wrote a letter to Ofgem's chief executive Andrew Wright, urging the regulator to investigate the big companies.



In October 2013, Ofgem data revealed that wholesale energy prices have only risen by 1.7 per cent despite energy companies blaming this for hiking up household bills by 11.1 per cent.

Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance condemned the bill and said: 'Households faced with sky high energy bills have had to cut back so the same restraint should apply to Ofgem.'

Ofgem is funded by a licence fee levied on the energy industry, and not by taxpayers.



A spokesman said: 'Ofgem takes a rigorous approach to keep costs as low as possible.



'We cap our costs to 3 per cent below inflation through our own self-imposed price control and this and other measures have saved more than £18 million pounds since 2005.



'Ofgem also sets high levels of transparency with all senior management expenses and all expenditure over £25,000 published on our website.'

