TWO small energy firms have gone bust as gas and electricity prices are set to jump by almost £700 a year.
Whoop Energy and Xcel Power have today announced they are ceasing to trade.
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Whoop Energy supplies 50 households and 212 businesses and Xcel Power has 274 business customers.
Ofgem, the energy regulator, will switch those customers to a new supplier.
Their gas and electricity supply won’t be impacted in the meantime.
More than two dozen energy firms have collapsed since last autumn due to soaring wholesale gas costs.
Smaller companies have struggled to cope with rocketing prices.
That’s because businesses haven’t been able to pass those rising costs to customers who are on a fixed tariffs.
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Firms have had to absorb the increase themselves, leaving many running at a loss.
Bills are set to soar by £693 a year for millions of households when the energy price cap is raised in April.
What should I do if my energy supplier goes bust?
If your supplier has gone bust, you should wait until Ofgem appoints a new firm before looking to switch yourself.
In the meantime, take a meter reading to give to the company when they contact you.
This will make transferring to the new supplier and protecting any credit on your account easier.
Neil Lawrence, director of retail at Ofgem, said: “We know this is a worrying time for many people and news of a supplier going out of business can be unsettling.
“I want to reassure affected customers that they do not need to worry, under our safety net we’ll make sure your energy supplies continue.
“Ofgem will choose a new supplier for you and while we are doing this our advice is to wait until we appoint a new supplier and do not switch in the meantime.
“You can rely on your energy supply as normal. We will update you when we have chosen a new supplier, who will then get in touch about your tariff.
“Any customer concerned about paying their energy bill should contact their supplier to access the range of support that is available.”
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