UK Energy Supplier Bulb Goes Bust As Power Supply Sector Crisis Bites
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Britain, stricken with an energy crisis since August, has lost another supplier, as its rivals struggle to meet increased demand despite the soaring price of gas after unusually cold weather last winter and spring.
On Monday, power supplier Bulb made an announcement that it will be put into administration.
Bulb expects to appoint administrators shortly, after failing to tackle the issue of the recent surge in wholesale gas and electricity prices.
This is about the 20th such announcement from an energy supplier in Britain since the beginning of September. Dozens of power suppliers were unable to pass on rising costs to customers because of the price cap imposed by energy regulator Ofgem.
"The rising energy crisis ... has concerned investors who can’t go ahead while wholesale prices are so high and the price cap - designed to protect customers - currently means suppliers provide energy at a significant loss," Bulb said in a statement on its website.
The company said that wholesale prices have rocketed and continue to be extremely volatile.
“Prices have hit close to £4 per therm recently, compared with 50p per therm a year ago. We’ve always been big supporters of the idea of a price cap to protect customers, but the current price cap is set at a level around 70p per therm, well below the cost of energy.”
London-based Bulb serviced more than 1.7 million customers, or around 5 to 6 percent of the market.
Thanks to all our members and to our team who continue to work so hard. If you’d like to read more about the recent news, we’ve written a bit more about it on our blog: https://t.co/UkTjovAryp. And if you’re in contact with our team, please be kind. (4/4)
— Bulb (@BulbUK) November 22, 2021
The company predicted that many more suppliers are expected to fail over the winter.
Among British energy suppliers which have gone bust are Avro Energy, Omni Energy Limited, MA Energy Limited, Zebra Power Limited and Ampoweruk Ltd.
