ENERGY providers are shutting their doors to new customers as concerns about a string of collapsed suppliers continue.
A number of energy firms have said they are not accepting new customers.
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It comes as a raft of companies have ceased trading or gone bust in recent weeks.
Fears around spiralling wholesale gas prices mean it is expected that more firms could follow suit soon.
Utilita is the latest energy provider to announce it is not currently accepting new customers. It currently has around 800,000 customers and a 2.6 per cent market share.
Neo Energy has a notice on its website that it is not accepting new energy customers.
Instead it offers users the chance to register on its waiting list for when it is accepting new customers again. Neo currently has fewer than 250,000 customers.
Igloo, which has around 100,000 residential customers, has also confirmed it is not currently taking on new customers. It said: “With unprecedented wholesale prices, we have taken this decision to allow our teams to focus on those customers we already supply.”
Good Energy said it was still accepting new customers but would not be taking on the customers of failed energy suppliers.
The firm’s chief executive Nigel Pocklington, said: “The fact that we recently reported strong profit growth for the first half of 2021, a period in which we saw three suppliers with customers totalling 650,000 collapse, shows there is another way of doing business.
“A prudent approach, that doesn’t extend to taking customers at a loss.”
Ovo has confirmed it is still taking on new customers and so is Outfox the Market.
Bulb said it is taking on new customers still, but has paused its refer a friend scheme.
A spokesperson said: “While wholesale energy prices are so high, we’re temporarily pausing our referral scheme where we reward members for signing up their friends and family.
“We love to pay our members for spreading the word about Bulb, so we’ll it back as soon as we’re able to.”
The scheme usually gives you and friend £50 credit each if you refer them and they sign up for a dual fuel tariff.
Ofgem, the energy regulator, said: “We are aware that suppliers are taking decisions with respect to their tariff offering. We are currently looking at all market developments.”
Will other providers stop accepting customers?
Potentially. Currently The Sun is aware of just three providers that have confirmed they are not accepting new customers.
There are a number of possible reasons why an energy firm would do this.
The key one at the moment is that wholesale energy prices have surged and are still rising.
Taking on new customers means a provider has to buy more wholesale energy to supply to them.
There are fears that this could lead to losses for businesses if customers are protected by the energy price cap while their supplier has to deal with ever-rising costs.
So far it is just smaller providers which have stopped taking on new business, but we could see more follow suit if the situation worsens.
What should I do if my energy supplier goes bust?
Many people are looking to switch supplier at the moment because they are worried theirs will go bust, but now may not be a good time to do that.
If your provider goes bust Ofgem will move you to a new supplier, and your credit balance will be protected.
Households are advised by Ofgem to take a photo of the meter reading.
You’ll be contacted by the new supplier which can take a couple of weeks, Citizens Advice says, and they should let you know how you’ll be paid back.
The organisation also has a handy list of the new suppliers which have taken over the ones which have gone bust.
Customers should log into their accounts online to check their balance and download any bills. It’s worth keeping hold of old bills so you can show your payment history and any credit.
Households with direct debits are also advised not to cancel until the new account is set up.
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