A COUNTY MP who helped a Derbyshire resident win compensation from a power firm was told by a company official to keep quiet about the victory.

Mark Todd challenged Npower after being contacted by a constituent who believed he had been mistreated by the firm – the UK's largest electricity supplier.

Soon after, Npower agreed to pay Mr Todd's constituent £85 as a "goodwill" gesture – but told the Derbyshire South MP in a letter that he should not discuss the case with anyone else "under any circumstances".

A spokesman from the firm claimed the comment was a standard part of such letters and intended to protect against any breach of data protection law.

But Mr Todd says energy companies like Npower should be more open and accountable – particularly where complaints, like his constituent's, relate to issues that may affect thousands of customers.

Mr Todd said: "There is not a data protection issue here because I was dealing with this case with the permission of my constituent. I don't owe any responsibility to Npower not to discuss this case – but I do owe a responsibility to Npower customers in my constituency."

In February this year energy watchdog Ofgem completed an investigation into price changes Npower had made to its gas tariffs in 2007.

The investigation related to so-called "two-tier" tariffs.

Every time Npower altered its charges it bumped some people whose consumption had taken them into the lower level of payment back into a higher level.

The regulator was concerned after receiving complaints that customers had not been properly notified of the changes, resulting in some households paying out extra.

Npower was not found to have broken regulations but – recognising some customers could have benefited from better communication – agreed to pay-out £1.2m to 200,000 people.

That meant on average each would receive about £6 – but many claimed they had lost up to £70 or more as a result of the changes.

One was Mr Todd's constituent who, after the MP's intervention, received a payment of £85.

After sending out the cheque, Npower sent a letter to Mr Todd which read: "We hope that you appreciate that such action is particular to the circumstance of [the constituent's] case and we must therefore ask that this letter be treated in the strictest confidence and not be disclosed to any third party under any circumstance."

Mr Todd said the issue highlighted that a stronger energy regulator than Ofgem was needed to protect customers from big power companies.

He will raise the issue in a debate in Parliament tomorrow which will be attended by new energy minister David Kidney.

"If you look at the explanation of some of the changes that Npower had on their website they are far too complex for anyone to be able to understand," he said.

"I want the regulator to offer stronger consumer protection which reflects the importance of this sector to customers' lives."

A spokesman from the power company said that the payment to Mr Todd's constituent was not in any way a reflection of money lost due to the 2007 changes.

It was instead another "goodwill" gesture to make up for delays in the way the customer's complaint had been dealt with.

Furthermore, the request for Mr Todd to treat the case with "strictest confidence" was standard to such letters, he said, to address data protection issues.

In a statement, Ofgem said: "Ofgem concluded that the payments that Npower agreed to make would address the loss suffered by many consumers.

"However, Ofgem's decision does not preclude individual consumers who consider they have not received sufficient payment from pursuing this with Npower and, if necessary, subsequently with the energy ombudsman or a court."