Shell and Octopus join ‘Big Six’ in backstopping UK supplier collapses

Oil major and established independent step in as smaller new gas and power market entrants flounder

September has seen the number of 2021 bankruptcies among the UK’s gas and electricity suppliers jump from three to twelve. Energy retailers Enstroga, Igloo Energy, Symbio Energy, Avro Energy, Green, People's Energy, Utility Point, PFP Energy and MoneyPlus Energy have all folded due to a toxic combination of soaring wholesale prices, a government-imposed price cap for domestic customers that prevents firms from passing on the full extent of this volatility and in several cases, weak balance sheets and subpar risk management from fledgling market entrants. They join August departure Hub Energy and January exits Green Network Energy and Simplicity Energy (see Fig.1).