More than 70,000 UK homes affected as Entice Energy and Orbit Energy go bust following Bulb administration

Two more energy suppliers have gone out of business, leaving more than 70,000 UK households affected.

Entice Energy, who has 5,400 customers on their books, and Orbit Energy, who supply 65,000 homes, both announced that they have gone bust amidst a spike in global gas prices.

The businesses join the biggest company to fail so far, Bulb, which went into administration on Wednesday (24 November).

At a glance: 5 key points

• Entice Energy and Orbit Energy have both announced that they have gone into administration
• As a result, more than 70,000 UK homes have been affected
• Their announcement comes after larger energy supplier Bulb also announced that it has folded earlier in the week, which saw 4,000,000 customer affected
• Energy firms are feeling the pressure during a surge in global gas prices
• Industry regulator Ofgem has confirmed that it would help to ensure that all customers affected find a new home with a different energy supplier 

What happened to Entice Energy and Orbit Energy?

Both firms are smaller names in the energy sector but both Entice Energy and Orbit Energy falling into administration will affect thousands of customers.

They were both squeezed out of the market after a huge increase in global gas prices, which has already seen larger names go bust.

In the past three months, more than 20 companies have gone out of business as a result of the crisis.

It is believed that around 4 million UK homes have been affected by businesses going bust.

Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said: “The increases in global gas prices we’ve seen this year have been significant, but should not have led to the collapse of 25 firms.

“As suppliers continue to fall like dominoes, it’s clear the market is not functioning as it should and there are serious questions for Ofgem to answer about how this has been allowed to happen.”

What will happen to Entice Energy customers and Orbit Energy customers?

Households who use either Entice or Orbit as their energy supplier shouldn’t worry too much about their energy supply.

Industry watchdog and regulator, Ofgem, has confirmed that customers of both businesses will be automatically moved to a new supplier.

Neil Lawrence, director of retail at the regulator, said: “Ofgem’s number one priority is to protect customers. 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.”

Customers are being advised to take a meter reading now for when their new supplier contact them.

What happened to Bulb?

Bulb remains the biggest business victim of the surging gas prices.

The firm slipped into administration shortly before Entice and Orbit, with 1.7m customers left in limbo.

As a result of the large size of the customer-base, Bulb was placed into a ‘special administration’, which allows them to continue trading until it can be sold or customers move elsewhere.

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