Energy Crisis

[SueEllen]

https://www.theguardian.com/business...-supplier-bust
Another two UK energy suppliers have gone bust after the collapse of Bulb Energy earlier this week, bringing the number of households affected by a supplier failure since August closer to the 4m mark.

The energy regulator confirmed that Orbit Energy, which supplied 65,000 households, had shut down alongside Entice Energy, which had 5,400 customers.

That brings the total number of suppliers that have failed to 24 in fewer than 12 weeks, as record energy market prices have taken their toll amid a global gas supply crunch.

[SueEllen]

Bulb gone!


https://www.theguardian.com/business...administration
Bulb Energy has collapsed into administration, the company said on Monday.

The energy regulator will rescue Bulb’s 1.7 million customers after drawing up plans over the weekend to put the company into a special administration.

A Bulb spokesperson said: “We’ve decided to support Bulb being placed into special administration, which means it will continue to operate with no interruption of service or supply to members. If you’re a Bulb member, please don’t worry as your energy supply is secure and all credit balances are protected.”

[SueEllen]

British Gas and Eon think they can charge customers what they like.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b...ules-jrvjpb8bf

Britain’s biggest energy companies have been threatened with fines of up to 10 per cent of their revenue after charging customers hundreds of pounds over the price cap.
British Gas and Eon face the prospect of an investigation by Ofgem, the energy regulator, after only allowing households to apply for packages that are £700 more expensive than the level of the cap, which was put in place by Theresa May in January 2019 to protect consumers.

[SueEllen]

Another day, another failure of regulation.

Energy companies are obliged to take on customers who are having a completely new supply.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...isis-in-market

Sarah Greaves*, a single mother who has spent the last six months renovating a home near Stroud, was left facing a winter without proper heating because no energy supplier was prepared to take her on as a customer and install a meter. <snip/>

As part of the plan to modernise her home, Greaves asked builders to rip out the old, inefficient electric storage heaters and replace them with gas central heating. While the house is set to be connected to the mains at the beginning of December – with most of the building work finished about the same time – she says there is no prospect of having a working gas supply any time soon.<snip/>

She says she first approached SSE, which already supplies the property’s electricity, but was told that it was not currently taking on new customers because of the “strain the fuel market is under”. Since then she has approached British Gas, Ecotricity, E.ON, EDF, Octopus and two smaller suppliers, which have all refused.<snip/>

After Guardian Money’s intervention, SSE, which is now part of Ovo, told Greaves that it will now connect her home, and install the meter on 10 December. It is also reviewing why her request was not escalated to the correct team internally, and the messages she was sent.

An Ofgem spokesperson says suppliers are obliged to take on customers when requested: “We’ve been clear that suppliers must comply with licence conditions despite the challenging market situation.

[OwlHoot]

I cancelled our DD to PP because I'm told this is OK, though nothing else is advised. Don't trust people with my DD
Got an email and text from PP's automated "we don't have a DD in place" service, clearly that part is still working!

They can still deduct amounts from your account at regular intervals, and then you'll start getting shirty letters saying you are in arrears!

[SueEllen]

Another 2 down -

Neon Reef and Social Energy
https://www.theguardian.com/business...pliers-go-bust

[SueEllen]

Take my eye of the ball for a couple of hours and 4 more have gone.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...igh-gas-prices

Out of the four UK casualties Zebra Power had the largest customer base, and supplied 14,800 households with energy. Omni Energy supplied about 6,000 domestic pre-payment customers, while AmpowerUK had about 600 UK customers and supplied another 2,000 overseas households. MA Energy had about 300 overseas customers.

[SueEllen]

My fixed rate energy tariff ends in December. Looking around the next cheapest option is about 130% higher.

The advice is to stay on your suppliers standard variable tariff as the current energy price cap is in place until April. Obviously keep an eye out to see if there is a deal the same or cheaper than that.

[_V_]

My fixed rate energy tariff ends in December. Looking around the next cheapest option is about 130% higher.

[ladymuck]

Going going - Bulb

https://news.sky.com/story/governmen...-bulb-12453948

The government is accelerating contingency plans for the collapse of Bulb, Britain's seventh-biggest domestic energy supplier - a demise that would mark by far the biggest insolvency of the crisis engulfing the sector.

Sky News has learnt that ministers and officials, along with the industry regulator Ofgem, believe that Bulb - which has around 1.7 million household customers - could collapse as soon as next week, amid diminishing expectations of a rescue deal.


Industry sources said on Friday that talks with a small number of potential buyers were ongoing, but that others had pulled out in recent days.

A solvent rescue remains a possibility, they said, but added that it was highly unlikely that Bulb could survive through November without new funding.

I'm mid-transfer away from Bulb

Held up for weeks now because they didn't properly register a change of gas meter back in 2019.

Their customer service has sadly been crap on the couple of times I've needed it.