Seven energy suppliers have been ordered to make £17.9 million in Renewables Obligation (RO) payments by Sunday (31 October) or risk further enforcement action.
The amounts owed by individual suppliers range from slightly more than £56,000 to around £12.4 million.
The retailers in question are Ampower, Whoop Energy, Delta Gas and Power, Entice Energy, MA Energy, Neon Reef and Together Energy.
| Ampoweruk | £3,590,236.65 |
| Whoop Energy | £56,306.25 |
| Delta Gas and Power | £381,030.65 |
| Entice Energy | £173,923.75 |
| MA Energy | £941,835.25 |
| Neon Reef | £349,148.80 |
| Together Energy | £12,402,390.00 |
Earlier this month, Ofgem consulted on issuing final orders for Ampower, Whoop Energy, Goto Energy, Home Energy Trading and Colorado Energy for unpaid RO payments.
Home Energy Trading has paid its obligation in full. Goto Energy, which owed more than £2.4 million, and Colorado Energy, which owed more than £880,000, have since ceased to trade meaning the regulator has decided not to issue final orders to them.
Ampower and Whoop Energy, both of which are on course to be expelled from the Balancing and Settlement Code, have been issued with final orders and have until 31 October to make the outstanding payments, plus interest.
The five other suppliers have been issued with provisional orders meaning they are now compelled to pay into the buyout fund by 31 October with interest. If they do not pay, Ofgem could start the process of revoking their supply licences.
After the late payment deadline, Ofgem will publish a summary of suppliers’ RO buyout payments, late payments and any payments which remain outstanding.
If shortfalls into the late payment fund for the RO scheme reach the relevant threshold (£15.4 million for England and Wales, and £1.54 million for Scotland) then mutualisation will be triggered and the costs spread across the rest of the industry.
A spokesperson for Together Energy, which owes the most out of any company at £12.4 million, insisted the company is financially stable and that the board is satisfied of its solvency.
They added: “However, like all suppliers we are having to make difficult decisions and the decision to delay this payment is one of them. We believe this to be in the best interest of the company at this time.
“We have and continue to fully engage with Ofgem.”
Bulb
Elsewhere in the sector, there are reports Bulb, which serves around 1.7 million customers, could collapse as soon as next week, with government ministers and officials accelerating contingency plans in preparation.
Sky News reported there were “diminishing expectations” of a rescue deal and that industry sources say talks with a small number of potential buyers were ongoing but that others had pulled out in recent days.
They added that while a rescue remains a possibility, it was highly unlikely Bulb could survive through the next month without new funding.
Responding to the allegations, a Bulb spokesperson said: “Our discussions with multiple parties to secure additional funding continue to make good progress and we’re encouraged by the drop in wholesale energy prices.
“We expect the government to monitor wholesale prices and their effect on the whole industry, but ministers and Ofgem have been clear we must emerge from the energy crisis with a competitive and innovative market, rather than a return to the oligopoly of the past.”