SoLR tally for 2021 already exceeds previous five years

By Adam John

A full list of failures, as well as the SoLRs, is featured at the bottom of this article

A total of 31 energy suppliers have exited the market via the supplier of last resort (SoLR) process since 2016, with more domestic customers facing SoLR so far in 2021 than the previous five years combined.

The SoLR process was invoked once in 2016, eight times in 2018, nine times in 2019 and four times in 2020. In total, more than 1.4 million domestic customers saw their retailer fail and were appointed to a new supplier during these years.

So far in 2021, nine suppliers have ceased trading, equalling the record set in 2019, with almost 2 million customers seeing their retailer fail.

To date EDF has taken on more customers than any other supplier at more than 720,000, while second-place Octopus took on the single biggest failure – 580,000 customers of Avro Energy.

Credit: Kevin Hammond, regulation specialist.

Ovo has also taken on a significant number, as has British Gas, both suppliers becoming the SoLR for more than half a million customers each.

Industry experts believe more failures will follow and that 2021 will inevitably be a record year for energy market exits.

SoLRs since 2016

2016

  1. GB Energy – November 2016: 160,000 domestic customers. Taken on by Co-operative Energy.

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 160,000

2018

  1. Future Energy – January 2018: 10,000 domestic customers . SoLR: Green Star Energy.
  2. National Gas and Power – July 2018: 80 non-domestic customers. SoLR: Hudson Energy.
  3. Iresa– July 2018: 100,000 domestic customers. SoLR: Octopus Energy.
  4. Gen4u – September 2018: 500 domestic. SoLR: Octopus Energy.
  5. Usio Energy – October 2018: 7,000 domestic. SoLR: First Utility.
  6. Extra Energy – November 2018: 108,000 domestic and 21,000 business customers. SoLR: Scottish Power.
  7. Spark Energy Supply Limited – November 2018: 290,000 domestic customers. SoLR: Ovo Energy.
  8. OneSelect – December 2018: 36,000 domestic customers. SoLR: Together Energy.

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 551,500

2019

  1. Economy Energy – January 2019: 235,000 domestic customers. SoLR: Ovo Energy.
  2. Our Power – 2019 38,000 domestic customers . SoLR: Utilita.
  3. Brilliant Energy – March 2019: 17,000 domestic customers. SoLR: SSE.
  4. Cardiff Energy Supply – August 2019: 800 domestic customers. SoLR: SSE.
  5. Solarplicity – August 2019 : 7,500 domestic customers, c. 400 non-domestic. SoLR: EDF Energy.
  6. Eversmart – September 2019: 29,000 domestic customers & 10 non-domestic. SoLR: Utilita.
  7. Rutherford Energy – October 2019: 280 non-domestic customers. SoLR: Total Gas and Power.
  8. Toto Energy – October 2019: 134,000 domestic customers. SoLR: EDF Energy.
  9. Breeze Energy – December 2019: 18,000 domestic customers. SoLR: British Gas.

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 479,300

2020

  1. Gnergy – March 2020: 9,000 domestic customers. SoLR: Bulb.
  2. Effortless – September 2020: 2,500 domestic customers plus a small number of non-domestic customers. SoLR: Octopus Energy.
  3. Tonik Energy – October 2020: 130,000 domestic customers. SoLR: Scottish Power.
  4. Yorkshire Energy – December 2020: 74,000 domestic customers. SoLR: Scottish Power.

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 215,500

2021

  1. Simplicity Energy – January 2021: 50,000 domestic customers. SoLR: British Gas Evolve.
  2. Green Network Energy – January 2021: 360,000 domestic customers, plus a smaller number of non-domestic customers. SoLR: EDF Energy.
  3. Hub Energy – August 2021: 6,000 domestic customers and 9,000 non-domestic customers. SoLR: Eon Next.
  4. PfP Energy – September 2021: 80,000 domestic and 5,000 non-domestic customers. SoLR: British Gas.
  5. MoneyPlus Energy – September 2021: 9,000 domestic customers. SoLR: British Gas.
  6. Utility Point – September 2021 220,000 domestic customers. SoLR: EDF Energy.
  7. People’s Energy – September 2021: 350,000 domestic customers and 1,000 non-domestic customers. SoLR: British Gas.
  8. Avro – September 2021: 580,000 customers. SoLR: Octopus Energy.
  9. Green – September 2021: 255,000 customers (small number of non-domestic). SoLR: Shell Energy Retail.

DOMESTIC TOTAL: 1.9 MILLION

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.