Cadent Gas Ltd., a British gas distribution network company, reached a £44 million settlement with the U.K.'s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets after acknowledging past gas supply failures.

The company agreed to pay £24 million and set up a £20 million community fund to support consumers in vulnerable circumstances, the regulator, known as Ofgem, said in a May 22 news release. It also committed to implementing an improvement plan to address "three serious failings" after intervention from Ofgem.

"Cadent acknowledges that it failed these customers by leaving many without gas for longer than necessary, failing to properly compensate some of those affected and not having the proper systems in place to keep records of all the high rise blocks of flats it supplies," said Ofgem CEO Dermot Nolan.

The company will also double the statutory compensation payments, at an estimated cost of £6.7 million, made to customers who experience an unplanned gas supply interruption for longer than 24 hours over the next two years.

Following the settlement, Ofgem closed its investigation into Cadent Gas that the regulator launched in April 2018 after the gas supply failures, which included a loss of records of 775 high rise blocks of flats in its gas network.