Suppliers leave market owing £100m in RO payments

Published 5 December 2019

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Almost £100 million in renewables obligation (RO) payments are owed by energy suppliers, many of which have left the market, Ofgem has confirmed today (5 December).

As a result, the energy regulator has announced that mutualisation is to be triggered for the second time in as many years.

In line with the RO orders, suppliers who discharged part of all of their obligation will be contacted to make quarterly payments to make up the shortfall, in proportion to their obligation.

In total, the relevant shortfall is £97.5 million.

Supplier Obligation Amount owed (inc. interest) as of 31 Oct
Breeze Energy Supply Limited RO £486,232.06
Brilliant Energy Supply Ltd RO

ROS

 £1,557,311.20

£265,781.24
Economy Energy RO

ROS

 £13,238,432.40

£,143,216.88
Electraphase Ltd RO

ROS

 £88,577.85

£15,350.95
Eversmart Energy Ltd RO

ROS

 £2,201,240.74

£120,996.02
Extra Energy Supply Limited RO

ROS

 £10,596,209.33

£951,091.61
GEN4U Ltd RO

ROS

 £17,543.95

£667.43
Gnergy Limited RO

ROS

 £665,192.04

15,160.26
Hudson Energy Supply UK Limited RO

ROS

 £34,207,023.97

3,837,785.74
Iresa Limited RO

ROS

 £2,625,346.55

£202,708.85
Nabuh Energy Limited RO £650,582.11
OneSelect RO £2,453,196.59
Our Power Energy Supply Limited RO

ROS

 £163,902.40

£1,649,464.59
Planet 9 Energy Limited RO £251.90
Rutherford Energy Supply Limited RO

ROS

 £131,388.90

£1,287.19
Snowdrop Energy Supply Limited RO

ROS

 £204,615.80

£1,573.23
Solarplicity Supply Limited RO

ROS

 £4,016,180.97

£332,905.90
Spark Energy Supply Limited RO

ROS

 £10,517,023.21

£697,896.24
TOTO Energy Ltd RO

ROS

 £4,360,909.96

£238,750.21
URE Energy Limited RO £261,633.62
Usio Energy RO

ROS

 £168,717.45

£18,354.40

RO: £88,104,505.42

RO Scotland: £9,402,635.28

A majority of the suppliers named by Ofgem have since ceased trading.

Hudson Energy Supply, which is listed as owing more than £37 million in total, was recently bought by Shell Energy Retail.

In October Ofgem issued a final order to Gnergy to compel the supplier to make the outstanding payment plus interest by 31 October 2019. Breeze and Nabuh were also issued with a provisional order to compel them to pay by 31 October.

Nabuh, Planet 9 Energy and Hudson Energy, made payment shortly after the late payment deadline. Payments received after the late payment deadline total £38.7 million which will be redistributed at a later date.

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Ofgem is unable to pursue enforcement action against suppliers which ceased trading before obligations became due but it added that it will seek to recover outstanding payments through the organisations’ administrators “where appropriate”.

In response to the news, Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Households are picking up an ever-increasing bill as more suppliers go to the wall. If other suppliers fail in the future that bill is likely to keep rising.

“Ofgem has proposed measures to limit the costs to consumers, but more action is needed. The next government should legislate to compel suppliers to make industry payments – in particular the Renewables Obligation (RO) – more regularly.

“This would stop suppliers from building up such high levels of debt and stop consumers from being the ones to foot the bill.”