Avro Energy have announced that they have ceased trading amid the ongoing energy crisis. They are the seventh company to have gone bust.
This comes as Green Energy also announce that they have become a victim of the energy crisis.
The news is set to affect 580,000 customers, the biggest energy supplier to go bust as of yet.
Avro Energy issue statement to customers
A statement on the Avro website reads: “Avro Energy is ceasing to trade. Ofgem, the energy regulator, is appointing a new supplier for its customers.
“Customers need not worry, their supplies are secure and domestic credit balances are protected.
“Ofgem’s advice is not to switch, but to wait until they appoint a new supplier for you. This will help make sure that the process of handing customers over to a new supplier, and honouring domestic customers’ credit balances, is as hassle free as possible for customers.”
Several energy suppliers have been put out of business and factories have been forced to stop production as the price of gas has soared in recent weeks.
Avro Energy and Green Supplier Limited have become the fourth and fifth energy suppliers to go out of business in September as a spike in gas prices puts pressure on the sector.
Ofgem issue statement as energy suppliers cease trading
Ofgem said that it would ensure that Avro’s 580,000 domestic gas and electricity customers, and Green’s 255,000 households would be protected.
The regulator will choose a new supplier for the households, and said customers should wait to be contacted by their new supplier.
“I want to reassure customers of Avro Energy and Green Supplier Limited that they do not need to worry. Under our safety net we’ll make sure your energy supplies continue,” Ofgem director of retail Neil Lawrence said.
“If you have credit on your Avro Energy or Green Supplier Limited account this is protected and you will not lose the money that is owed to you.”
Energy companies could receive emergency loans from the government as struggling firms battle to stay afloat amid a surge in wholesale gas prices in the UK.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “we’ll have to do everything we can” to prevent those companies from failing - with smaller suppliers facing potential ruin as price hikes mean they cannot fulfil their promises to customers.
Green Energy also announced today they will be ceasing trading. This announcement will affect more than 250,000 customers and 185 staff.
The announcements comes as Energy UK chief executive Emma Pinchbeck revealed she had warned the Government and Ofgem that the sector was fragile at least two years ago.
“I took this job a year ago. When I was hired, the chairman of Energy UK said that your biggest challenge is going to be the vulnerability of the retail market,” she told MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
“And I know that for a year or more before that my team had been making the case to the regulator and the Government that the sector is fragile.
“There’s a short-term crisis here, which is in some ways out of our control – it’s to do with the gas prices – but it’s been exacerbated and arguably caused by our regulatory design.
“And that is a resilience and security of supply risk in the future. It’s terrible news for customers in the long run.”
She added: “In any normal market we have companies that fail. The point is, right now, we think that good, well-run companies will fail. And that’s a function of both the pricing shock but also market design.”
Which energy companies have already gone bust?
These companies have already gone into administration this year:
- Utility Point (14 September)
- People’s Energy (14 September)
- PFP Energy (7 September)
- MoneyPlus Energy (7 September)
- HUB Energy (9 August)
- Green Energy (22 September)
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article