UK regulator says energy suppliers Entice, Orbit ceasing to trade

(Reuters) – Small British energy suppliers Entice Energy and Orbit Energy are ceasing to trade, the regulator Ofgem said on Thursday in a statement, becoming the latest casualties of soaring wholesale energy costs.

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Many British energy companies, often supplying both gas and electricity to homes and businesses, have struggled in the face of record high wholesale prices https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/living-hand-mouth-europes-gas-crunch-shows-little-sign-easing-2021-11-22, because the regulator’s price caps limit how much of the increases can be passed onto customers.

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Ofgem said new suppliers would be found for Entice Energy’s 5,400 customers and Orbit Energy Limited’s 65,000 domestic customers.

Customers may have to pay more if they were on fixed-price plans with rates cheaper than the regulator’s price cap.

Analysts have said the difference between what companies can charge a customer under the cap and the current cost of supplying them with energy from the wholesale markets is around 400 pounds ($538) over a year.

More than 20 small suppliers with more than 2 million customers combined have gone bust since September when wholesale energy prices surged.

Bulb https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uks-bulb-go-into-administration-funding-talks-fall-through-2021-11-22, with around 1.6 million customers, was placed in special administration on Monday.

(Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo and Susanna Twidale in London; Editing by Edmund Blair and Lisa Shumaker)