Nabuh Energy makes partial RO payment

Ofgem has confirmed that Nabuh Energy has made a “partial” renewables obligation (RO) payment, after the supplier was revealed to owe more than £870,000.

Nabuh, which was slapped with a provisional order on the 31 October late payment deadline, previously told Utility Week that its RO would be paid in full on or before last Friday (8 November).

Instead the supplier has made two payments totalling £650,000 and says it anticipates that the remaining balance will be paid early this week.

Nabuh has insisted it takes its RO commitments “very seriously” and that it is acutely aware that a number of failing energy providers will be unable to meet their financial commitments.

A spokesperson told Utility Week: “We are fortunate in that the delay in remitting the balance of our RO payment is a consequence of Nabuh’s dramatic growth and we will ensure that our future RO obligations are met within the prescribed timeframe.”

In a statement released after the order was issued, Nabuh said the missed payment was “not a cause for concern” and blamed the number of prepayment customers it had compared to other suppliers.

It said: “Most suppliers have a much lower proportion of prepayment customers and consequently enjoy the benefit of monthly customer direct debit payments at a fixed amount. This to a large extent regulates cashflow and ensures that customers’ payments each month are consistent throughout the year.

“Nabuh’s business differs in that customer payments during the spring and summer months are low whereas payments during the autumn and winter are much higher.”

Nabuh, which took on the customers of Snowdrop Energy last year, said it had seen “significant growth” over the past year and as a result had experienced more pressure during the spring and summer months.

It was anticipated that additional funding would be required to meet the RO payment before the company entered the winter months.

“Additional funding has been arranged and agreed however due to circumstances beyond the control of Nabuh, we have experienced delays which have caused a delay in the full payment of our RO obligations”, the statement added.

Last week it was announced that more than 40 energy suppliers failed to meet their total renewables obligations (RO) by the deadlines, resulting in a shortfall of £206 million.

Ofgem also confirmed that mutualisation will be triggered, after Utility Week revealed failed energy suppliers had left behind an unpaid RO bill of £72 million for 2018/19.