A disappointing week for energy following the bust of PfP Energy and MoneyPlus Energy, another two suppliers have gone under this week with both Utility Point and People’s Energy announcing to cease in trade.
The closing of People’s Energy will affect nearly 220,000 domestic customers and more than 350 thousand others, though it is also reported that customers need not worry; their supplies are secure with Utility Point, and it is reported that credit balances protected.
OfGem advises customers not to switch suppliers until they have appointed a company that will take over.
The Musselburgh based couple that birthed People’s Energy in 2017 were David Pike and Karin Sode; they employed an estimate of 450 people, who were told of the closure on Tuesday. Only last year had they struck a deal with East Lothian Council with the intention of saving county residents money, therefore launching East Lothian Energy, who too are expected to close their doors.
Their goal was to battle fuel poverty by offering sustainable and affordable energy for the residents throughout that area as via an exclusive discounted tariff that would be fixed, and offered exclusively to East Lothian Residents.
People’s Energy shared, “Support and information can be found on the Ofgem website for both domestic customers and non-domestic customers. If customers need additional support, they can call Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133or email them via their webform. Advice will also be shared on Ofgem’s twitter @ofgem and facebookchannels.
We are truly sad that we weren’t able to make this community focused approach to energy supply work. Thank you to those of you who supported our mission from early on. We are very sorry about the inconvenience and disruption this will cause our customers.”
Utility Point also made an announcement this Tuesday 14th September; they mirrored OfGem’s advice alongside stating, “Despite substantial interest and continued negotiations with several suitable parties and best efforts, recent international and national circumstances have created a perfect storm of events which has meant that Utility Point will cease trading and another supplier will be taking over your supply.
All of us at Board level have been working hard towards a different outcome, and I wish I had better news to report to you today but regrettably in the end we weren’t able to overcome these external forces.”
You can download Utility Point’s full closure announcement alongside its section sharing “More About Why This Happened”, here.