Octopus takes on Avro’s 580,000 customers

Ofgem has appointed Octopus Energy to take on the entire customer base of failed retailer Avro, in the biggest ever Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) transfer.

Avro exited the market on Wednesday (22 September) on the same day as Green. With 580,000 customers it was widely seen to represent the toughest test for the SoLR process.

However, industry observers have also pointed to the opportunities the current market turmoil, sparked by soaring wholesale gas prices, presents for retailers eyeing rapid growth.

Octopus, which currently serves 2.5 million customers, has made two previous forays into the SoLR process – picking up the 95,000 customers of Iresa in July 2018 and Effortless Energy’s 2,500 accounts in September 2020.

Ofgem confirmed that outstanding credit balances, including money owed to both existing and former domestic customers of Avro Energy, would be honoured.

Octopus said it was working with Avro’s administrators to “inform what opportunities there might be for Avro Energy’s staff in the wider Octopus Energy Group, and particularly at Octopus’s operations hub in Leicester”.

It added: “Our responsibility is to ensure that Avro’s customers are well looked after. We offered to take on this responsibility because we believe that our technology platform (Kraken) will make the change as smooth and straightforward for their customers as possible.”

The announcement came amid rumours that Octopus could make a bid for Bulb, which is currently working with investment bank Lazard to assess its options.

Sky News reported yesterday (25 September) that Octopus was among the parties to request access to a data room set up Lazard in an attempt to secure new funding for Bulb. The report stressed that it was not clear if the request indicated Octopus was considering an approach for Bulb.

Utility Week has launched the Energy Reset campaign, in a bid to ensure the current crisis results in real reform of the energy retail market.