This January saw the largest supplier exit through Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process. Green Network Energy ceased to trade on 27 January, with Ofgem appointing EDF Energy as SoLR for its 360,000 domestic customers shortly after. On the same day, the regulator announced the exit of Simplicity Energy, with British Gas’ brand Evolve appointed as SoLR for Simplicity’s 50,000 domestic customers.
Supplier consolidation is now a common part of the domestic market narrative since we recorded “peak suppliers” in 2019. The exits last month are the 11th and 12th in the supply market since January 2020 (including acquisitions, for example the purchase of SSE’s 3.5mn domestic customers by the Ovo Group, see Figure 1) and the fifth and sixth through the SoLR process during that period. Market conditions remain difficult – continuing wholesale price volatility, falling switching rates and higher winter consumption indicate that the challenge for competitors remains at scale.
