The energy regulator has chosen Co-operative Energy – a company that last month paid out £1.8m compensation to customers – to take over the supply GB Energy’s gas and electricity customers.
Ofgem has been working behind the scenes since GB Energy’s collapse at the weekend to appoint a “supplier of last resort” to take over all of the company’s 160,000 customers.
The regulator announced on Tuesday that it had appointed Co-operative Energy following “a competitive process run to get the best deal possible” for GB Energy’s customers.
The Co-op will honour all outstanding credit balances for current customers and for past customers who are still owed money. It is also offering GB Energy’s customers the same price as they were paying before, both for customers on fixed deals and on standard variable tariffs, Ofgem said.
In October Co-operative Energy agreed with Ofgem that it had let customers down in its “complaints resolution, call handling and billing processes”.
Rachel Fletcher, Ofgem’s senior partner for consumers and competition, said: “We are very pleased to have been able to secure a deal with Co-operative Energy, where GB Energy Supply customers will be paying the same price for their energy as they were before. Their credit balances will also be honoured.”
She said customers of GB Energy would be contacted by Co-operative Energy over the coming days with more information about their tariff and current credit balance. It is also taking over its customer care centre. If customers wish to change their tariff, they can switch to another deal, and no exit fees will be charged.
The cost of protecting customers’ balances will be partly met by Co-operative Energy and the rest will be covered by the safety net put in place by Ofgem, which is funded by a levy spread across all energy suppliers.
