Which energy suppliers are going bust? (2024)

Last updated: 2nd January 2024

There is a lot going on with energy prices and energy suppliers at the moment. Wholesale prices have hit record levels although are now starting to fall again. 30 energy suppliers have ceased trading since the beginning of 2021.

In this post we will look at the suppliers that have gone bust since the beginning 2021 and those that have had issues with the energy regulator Ofgem.

Which suppliers have said they should be safe?

Octopus Energy

Octopus Energy are one of the first energy suppliers to confirm they are safe. Greg Jackson, Octopus CEO, tweeted on 18/09/21 to say as a “global, very well backed company we’re fine”. As Co-op Energy, M&S Energy, Ebico and Affect Energy are powered by Octopus, it is likely these brands will be safe too.

Get £50 when you join Octopus Energy by clicking here

Green Energy UK

Not to be confused with Green. Energy above. Green Energy UK (GEUK) tweeted on 20/09/21 to say they are not involved in any bailout talks and are “here to stay”.

OVO Energy and SSE

In a reply to a customer on Twitter, OVO Energy tweeted that they have “no current concerns about the business”. This also presumably applies to SSE and Boost Power as they are now part of OVO.

E.ON Next

E.ON Next responded to a query on Twitter by saying “I can assure you we are here to stay”

Utility Warehouse

Utility Warehouse put out a statement on their website (20/09/2021) to say “Utility Warehouse (UW) is well-positioned to weather this storm and this means that as a UW customer, your service will continue”.

Ecotricity

In a statement released on 21/09/2021, Ecotricity Founder Dale Vince said “We have 90% of our requirement bought in advance for 12 months, the other 10% is not available until closer to the point of delivery. We are thus protected to the maximum possible.”

Utilita

A tweet from Utilita Energy on 21/09/21, in a reply to a customer, said “We are not going bust”.

So Energy

On the 21st September, So Energy responded to a customer via Twitter to say “we’re fine. We just merged with the wonderful @ESBGroup so we’re in a very stable position.”

British Gas

Although there has been no written confirmation, being the UK’s biggest supplier and being chosen by Ofgem recently to take on customers of failed suppliers, it seems very unlikely British Gas will go bust. As British Gas Evolve is a sub-brand, it is likely they will be safe too.

EDF Energy

As one of the UK’s biggest suppliers, it is very unlikely EDF energy will go bust.

E.ON, E.ON Next and Sainsburys Energy

With E.ON being one of the largest suppliers in the UK, it is very unlikely they will go bust. As they supply energy for both E.ON Next and Sainsbury’s Energy, it seems these suppliers are likely safe too.

Good Energy

Good Energy posted a message on their website from CEO Nigel Pocklington saying “I would like to reassure you all that Good Energy is stable, prudently run and not at risk of running into difficulty.”

Shell Energy

In a response to a query on Twitter, Shell Energy tweeted that “We’re not going anywhere and stand ready to play our part and help support customers of failed energy suppliers.”

Suppliers that have gone bust in 2021

Since the “energy crisis” began, 31 suppliers have gone bust:

Orbit Energy

Orbit Energy went bust on 25th November. The supplier had around 65,000 customers.

Entice Energy

One of the smaller suppliers, with 5,400 customers, Entice Energy went bust on 25th November.

Neon Reef

Neon Reef went bust on 16th November with approximately 30,000 customers.

Ampower

On 2nd November, Ofgem announced that Ampower (who had around 600 domestic customers) had gone bust.

Omni Energy

Omni Energy announced they had gone bust on 2nd November. They had around 6,000 domestic, pre-payment customers.

MA Energy

With around 300 non-domestic customers, MA Energy also went bust on 2nd November.

Zebra Power

The largest of the 4 suppliers to go bust on 2nd November were Zebra Power. They had around 14,800 domestic customers.

bluegreen Energy

With around 5,900 customers, Ofgem announced that bluegreen Energy had gone bust on 1st November.

GOTO Energy

Ofgem announced that GOTO Energy had gone bust on 18th October. GOTO had around 22,000 domestic customers. These will now all be moved to Shell Energy.

Daligas

On the 14th October, Ofgem reported that Daligas had gone bust. The company had around 9,000 domestic and non-domestic customers. These customers will be moved to Shell Energy.

Pure Planet

On 13th October, Pure Planet went bust. The company had 235,000 customers. These customers will be moved to Shell Energy.

Igloo Energy

On 21st September 2021, Ofgem issued a provisional order to Igloo Energy for failing to pay £316,582 in Feed in Tariff payments by the deadline of 17th September 2021.

Sky News (22/09/21) reports separately that Igloo Energy is on the brink of collapse after being in contact with Alvarez & Marsal on a potential insolvency process. They have now stopped taking on new customers.

As of 29th September 2021, Igloo Energy have now gone bust. Igloo Energy had 179,000 customers.

E.ON Next have been appointed by Ofgem to take on Igloo customers.

Symbio Energy

Another energy supplier that had been in trouble with Ofgem is Symbio Energy. Already this year Symbio has been in trouble with Ofgem twice. Firstly they received a fine of £100,000 for missing the late payment deadline for their Renewable Obligations. They then received a provisional order to pay £450,000 to the feed-in tariff scheme. This followed Symbio missing the payment deadline.

Symbio were in further trouble on the 21st September 2021, with Ofgem issuing them a provisional order for failing to pay £146,238 into the government Feed in Tariff scheme.

As of 29th September 2021, Symbio Energy have now gone bust. Symbio had 48,000 customers.

E.ON Next have been appointed by Ofgem to take on Symbio customers.

Enstroga

On the 29th September 2021, Ofgem announced Enstroga had gone bust. The company had 6,000 customers.

E.ON Next have been appointed by OFGEM to take on Enstroga customers.

Avro Energy

After receiving a provisional order from Ofgem earlier in the month, on 22/09/21, Ofgem announced that Avro Energy had gone bust.

The company had 580,000 customers and has now ceased trading.

Green. Energy

In a report from The Guardian on 19th September 2021, the Green. Energy CEO said, “I don’t think we’ll survive the winter if there’s not a material change”.

Then on 22/09/21, Ofgem announced that Green. had gone bust. They had 255,000 customers and have now ceased trading.

These are the suppliers that have gone bust since the beginning of 2021: