The High Court judgment on the Bulb Energy sale process was published at the end of March 2023, according to evidence given to the Public Accounts Committee on 25 May 20231. The sale of Bulb's customers, business assets and liabilities, including customer credit balances, to Octopus Energy was completed on 20 December 2022, slightly after the start of the observation window1.
Bulb collapsed in summer 2021 and was placed into a special administration regime, the first use of that vehicle1. In June 2022, the National Audit Office reported that £0.9 billion had been spent by Government on running Bulb through the special administration regime in 2021-20221. The sale to Octopus Energy followed in October 2022, delayed from an original hope of earlier in the summer1.
Costs for the special administrators, their legal advisers and Lazard totalled £49.9 million at the end of January, the committee heard1. The repayment, based on markets to date, should be made by September 20241.
"We completed the transaction on 20 December, which was slightly after the start of that observation window"
The committee also heard that the new energy price cap was understood to be £2,074 for an average annual bill1. The energy price guarantee remains as a backstop if prices spike upwards again, until the end of March 2024, and the energy bills discount scheme is now in place this year1. Because the new price cap is £2,074, the policy will not apply1.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Government spend on special administration, 2021-2022 | £0.9 billion |
| Special administrators, legal advisers and Lazard costs to end of January | £49.9 million |
| New energy price cap, average annual bill | £2,074 |
| Expected repayment date | September 2024 |
Why it matters for households
Bulb's collapse and the subsequent sale show how a supplier failure is handled when the supplier of last resort process is not used and a special administration regime is applied instead. For households, the transfer of customer credit balances to the acquirer was part of the transaction, meaning balances were carried across rather than lost1. The cost of running the administration fell on Government, and therefore on taxpayers, at £0.9 billion in 2021-20221.
The evidence also sets out the wider context of supplier financial resilience rules, with Ofgem describing regular stress tests of every retail company in the market and enhanced regulations and guidance1. The committee heard that the sector is in a much more resilient position than in mid-2021, though not a perfect one1.
For a household, the practical consequence of a supplier failure is disruption to billing and account management, and the route by which credit balances and complaints are handled. The complaining about an energy supplier process and the role of the deadlock letter remain the formal routes when a dispute arises, including after a transfer.
What happens next
The repayment, based on markets to date, should be made by September 20241. The energy price guarantee remains as a backstop until the end of March 20241. No further dated steps on the Bulb sale process were given in the evidence.
Sources1 cited
- [](https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/13238/html/), committees.parliament.uk