(Reuters) -Drax Group said on Thursday that Britain’s financial watchdog is investigating its biomass sourcing statements from January 2022 to March 2024, following a similar probe by the country’s energy regulator last year.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also looking into the compliance of Drax’s 2021–2023 annual reports with financial disclosure rules.
The FCA’s probe intensifies scrutiny of Drax, which was penalised 25 million pounds ($33.77 million) by British energy regulator Ofgem in 2024 over misreporting biomass data, particularly concerning sourcing from Canadian forests.
The energy company, which supplies about 5% of Britain’s electricity via biomass-converted coal plants, said it is cooperating with the FCA, but provided no further details.
Drax reported a half-year profit drop in July due to weak UK wholesale power prices, but saw strong wood pellet production, a key fuel for renewable electricity generation.
($1 = 0.7402 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
