The table below lists UK energy suppliers which have gone bust since November 2016. Although there were occasional failures prior to this date, they were few and far between. GB Energy Supply, which spectacularly imploded in November 2016 marked the first of the failures of the huge wave of domestic energy suppliers that entered the UK energy market under Ofgem rules that allowed energy suppliers to get a license with little if any capital, and with no relevant industry experience.
We’ll update this page with new data as more energy companies collapse. Please check back regularly (if you’re into that sort of thing).
In the meantime, if your old energy supplier appears on this list here is what you need to do.
Energy suppliers that have gone bust
The data in the table below has been sourced from multiple public domain sources. Source data includes announcements from industry regulator Ofgem, cross-checked with energy supplier websites and Companies House filings.
The Supplier column shows the name of the failed energy supplier.
The new supplier column shows which energy supplier was appointed by Ofgem to take over the failed supplier’s customer base under the SOLR (Supplier of Last Resort) provisions.
| Date | Supplier | No. of customers affected (approx.) | New supplier | Customers affected - domestic (cumulative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Mar 2019 | Brilliant Energy (Brilliant Energy Supply Limited) | 17,000 domestic | SSE | 984,500 |
| 25 Jan 2019 | Our Power (Our Power Energy Supply Limited) | 31,000 domestic | Utilita | 967,500 |
| 8 Jan 2019 | Economy Energy (Economy Energy Trading Limited) | 235,000 domestic | OVO Energy | 936,500 |
| 10 Dec 2018 | One Select (One Select Energy Supply Limited) | 36,000 domestic | Together Energy | 701,500 |
| 10 Dec 2018 | Spark Energy (Spark Energy Supply Limited) | 290,000 domestic | OVO Energy | 665,500 |
| 21 Nov 2018 | Extra Energy (Extra Energy Supply Limited) | 108,000 domestic 21,000 business | ScottishPower | 375,500 |
| 15 Oct 2018 | Usio Energy (Usio Energy Supply Limited) | 7, 000 domestic | First Utility | 267,500 |
| Sep 2018 | Gen4U (Gen4u Ltd) | 500 domestic | Octopus Energy | 260,500 |
| 27 Jul 2018 | Iresa Iresa Limited | 90,000 domestic (approx.) | Octopus Energy | 260,000 |
| Jul 2018 | National Gas and Power Limited | 80 business | Hudson Energy | |
| 25 Jan 2018 | Future Energy Future Energy Utilities Limited | 10,000 domestic | Green Star Energy | 170,000 |
| 26 Nov 2016 | GB Energy Supply GB Energy Supply Ltd | 160,000 domestic | Co-operative Energy | 160,000 |
Other energy suppliers withdrawing from the market
For the record, here is a list of energy suppliers who have exited the market in a more orderly way (without crashing and burning).
| Date | Supplier | No. of customers affected (approx.) | Exit type | New supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Feb 2019 | Sainsbury's Energy | Not disclosed | Withdrawal from market | British Gas No change to supplier as already supplied by British Gas |
| 31 Aug 2018 | Affect Energy (Affect Energy Ltd) | 22,000 domestic | Trade sale | Octopus Energy |
| 25 Jan 2018 | Flow Energy (Flow Energy Limited)) | 230,000 domestic | Trade sale (at distressed prices) | Co-operative Energy |
| 21 Dec 2017 | Brighter World Energy (Brighter World Energy Ltd) | Unknown | Orderly wind down | Robin Hood Energy |
Company Announcements
And here is the sorry story in pictures….in reverse chronological order.
Brilliant Energy
Our Power
Economy Energy
One Select
Spark Energy
Extra Energy
Usio Energy
Gen4U
Iresa
Future Energy
GB Energy Supply
That’s all for now. More to follow we’re sure.
Got a story you’d like to share?
If your energy supplier has gone bust and you have an interesting story you’d like to share then please get in touch. You can either leave a comment or get in touch via our Contact Form. Adding comments is subject to our Terms and Acceptable Use Policy. We reserve full rights over what we publish and please understand that we may need to take measures to ensure the validity and accuracy of any comments submitted before doing so. Please therefore don’t get offended if we don’t publish your comments.
Last update: 12 March 2019
