Together Energy (Bristol E.) ceased trading on 18 January 2022, and its customers were transferred to British Gas under the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process1. The exit is recorded in Ofgem's Warm Home Discount annual report for Scheme Year 11, which lists the supplier failures of 2021 and early 2022 and the suppliers that took on their customers1.
Together Energy was one of seven suppliers obligated under the Warm Home Discount scheme at the start of Scheme Year 11 that subsequently exited the energy market and failed to report compliance at the end of the year1. The SoLR process was implemented in each case, with customers of those suppliers joining another supplier1. That left 17 suppliers participating at the end of the scheme year, against whom compliance was assessed: 12 compulsorily obligated, three smaller obligated suppliers and two that joined on a voluntary basis1.
The same report sets out the other exits in the sequence, with the receiving supplier in each case1:
| Date | Supplier | Customers transferred to |
|---|---|---|
| 14/09/2021 | People's Energy | British Gas |
| 14/09/2021 | Utility Point | EDF |
| 22/09/2021 | Green Supplier Limited (Green) | Shell Energy |
| 22/09/2021 | Avro Energy | Octopus |
| 29/09/2021 | Igloo | E.ON |
| 13/10/2021 | Pure Planet | Shell Energy |
| 18/01/2022 | Together Energy (Bristol E.) | British Gas |
Ofgem's report covers Scheme Year 11, which ran from 25 June 2021 to 31 March 2022, a shorter period than usual because the Warm Home Discount (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2021 came into force in June 20211. During the year suppliers provided approximately £359.4 million of eligible support, including £140 rebates to 2.32 million vulnerable households1. All suppliers reporting end of year compliance met their individual spending obligations and all but one over-delivered1.
"There were 24 suppliers obligated under the WHD scheme at the start of SY11. However, seven subsequently exited the energy market and failed to report compliance at the end of the year. The Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process was implemented in each case resulting in customers of those suppliers joining another supplier."
The report does not state the number of customers Together Energy held at the point of failure, and no figure for them has been reported1.
Why it matters for households
A supplier failure moves a household to a new supplier without the household choosing it. The Supplier of Last Resort process is the mechanism that does this, and it is the reason a home's gas and electricity supply continues without interruption when a supplier stops trading1. For a household, the practical effect is a change of billing entity, account and customer service contact rather than a loss of supply.
Together Energy's failure sits within a cluster of seven supplier exits across the winter of 2021 and January 2022, which between them reshaped who supplies a large share of British homes1. The energy supplier failures record shows how concentrated that period was. Households wanting to understand what happens to credit balances, tariffs and direct debits after such a transfer can read what happens if my energy supplier goes bust, and the rules that govern the process are set out under supplier licensing and supplier failure.
For energy independence at home, the event is a reminder that the supplier is a commercial intermediary, not the source of supply. The wires, pipes and meters stay the same; what changes is the contract and the price attached to it. Households transferred under SoLR are typically placed on a new supplier's default or deemed tariff rather than a fixed deal, and the sources here do not set out the terms Together Energy customers were moved onto1.
What happens next
The Warm Home Discount report notes that the final reconciliation for Scheme Year 11 was due to be finalised by the end of January 2023, following an interim reconciliation run between February and March 20221. From Scheme Year 12, which ran from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023, the rebate value rose from £140 to £150, support was extended to around 750,000 additional households, and the threshold for compulsory supplier participation fell from a minimum domestic customer base of 150,000 to 50,0001. From Scheme Year 12 the scheme was also separated into two, one for England and Wales and a separate one for Scotland1.
Sources1 cited
- Warm Home Discount (WHD) Annual Report 2021-2022, ofgem.gov.uk