"British energy customers are facing a potential bill of £172 million from the collapse of 11 suppliers since January 2018," U.K. charity Citizens Advice said in a new report

Citizens Advice said that the £172 million stems from regulated costs not paid by the defaulting suppliers, such as renewable generation, infrastructure costs and metering costs

"On top of this, thousands of people who owed money to failed suppliers lost out on consumer protections and faced aggressive debt collection as a result," Citizens Advice said

"Citizens Advice also estimates that at least 32,000 have been left open to potentially aggressive debt collection practices by the administrators who took over these companies," the report says

"When energy suppliers fail, Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process appoints a new supplier for customers to ensure a continued energy supply, while the old supplier is taken over by administrators," Citizens Advice said

"Administrators are not bound by the same rules as suppliers licensed by Ofgem. This means they can pursue debts much more aggressively than usually allowed and customers can see the amounts they are being chased for go up overnight," Citizens Advice said

The charity is calling on the government to use the forthcoming Energy White Paper to fix the protection gap for customers who owe money to energy suppliers when they collapse.

It wants the government to take action to make sure administrators of all energy companies have a duty to consider consumer interests and follow the same rules as suppliers.

It is also calling for legislation to ensure more regular payment of industry costs - in particular the Renewables Obligation (RO) - by suppliers, to stop the build up of big debts that are then paid by consumers.

See the report here

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