Commenting on today’s news that the energy supplier Bulb is falling into administration, Robert Buckley, Head of Relationship Development at Cornwall Insight, said:
“The failure of Bulb today marks dark times for the energy sector, with this being the biggest failure of a supplier since TXU Energy nearly 20 years ago. Bulb was challenging the industry’s status quo, building up its customer base from a small supplier into a larger one. It will be undoubtedly a sad and worrying time for anyone who works at the supplier.
“Bulb’s customers will not only be worried about the continuity of their energy supply but the costs of the energy they will have to pay.
“The supplier was too big to be resolved through the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process, and Ofgem will apply to the high court to appoint a special administrator. The administrator will have a duty to maintain domestic customers at a price no higher than the default tariff price cap. It also has a responsibility to keep the cost to a minimum and minimise the costs of Bulb’s exit for both customers and the industry.
“The failure of Bulb highlights the stress suppliers have been under this autumn. Suppliers have been squeezed with the default tariff price cap limiting the amount they can charge and a wholesale market price that has far exceeded this.”
