Igloo, Symbio Energy and Enstroga go bust leaving 233,000 customers out in the cold
THREE more energy firms have collapsed, leaving roughly 233,000 customers in the lurch.
Igloo, Symbio Energy and Enstroga have announced today that they have stopped trading.
Enstroga has 6,000 customers, Igloo Energy has 179,000 and Symbio Energy has around 48,000 - leaving roughly 233,000 Brits without a supplier.
However, Ofgem has reassured customers they will still continue to receive gas and electricity as normal. Any credit that customers have on their accounts will also be protected.
Ofgem will now choose who the new supplier will be for these customers.
It has advised that those affected wait until a new supplier has been appointed before households switch to another company, if they choose to do so.
Customers should, however, take a meter reading ready for when the new supplier gets in contact, Ofgem added.
This is to make the process of moving customers over to a new supplier and paying back money that they're owed - if they are in credit in their accounts - as smooth as possible.
Ofgem retail director Neil Lawrence said: "Ofgem’s number one priority is to protect customers.
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"We know this is a worrying time for many people and news of a supplier going out of business can be unsettling. We’ll make sure your energy supplies continue.
"If you have credit on your Enstroga, Igloo Energy or Symbio Energy account, the funds you have paid in are protected and you will not lose the money that is owed to you."
Uswitch energy policy expert Justina Miltienyte said these latest supplier collapses brings the total amount of displaced customers to almost two million.
She added: "We may not have seen the end to this situation.
“With the headlines going from bad to worse, many customers will be worried, but those impacted by this news can be reassured that their energy supply will continue as normal and credit balances will be protected."
It follows the collapse of four other energy companies including Utility Point and People's Energy. A raft of other suppliers are believed to be struggling too.
Bulb, the UK's sixth biggest energy firm, has already confirmed that it is scrambling to find new funding.
It had 1.5million customers last year, which is thought to have risen to as much as 1.7million since, who could all be affected if the company were to fold.
Meanwhile, a number of energy firms have announced that they will not be accepting new customers amid concerns around rocketing gas prices.
is the latest energy provider to announce it is not currently accepting new customers. It currently has around 800,000 customers and a 2.6 per cent market share.
Is it safe to switch to a small energy provider?
FED-UP with sky high energy prices and poor customer service from the Big Six energy firms? Then you could save a packet by switching to a smaller firm.
Research from Which? has found customers with smaller and medium sized firms like Utility Warehouse, Flow Energy and Octopus Energy are much happier than those with the major firms - and could save a whopping £333 a year by switching.
The biggest risk of choosing a small provider - like Our Power - is that it goes bust.
But remember that if the firm does go under you won't be cut off, and Ofgem will try and get a new supplier in place as quickly as it can.
Once it has done this, the new firm will contact you - it doesn't have to honour the deal you were on with defunct firm - but under Ofgem rules any credit you have on your account is protected.
If you're unhappy with the new supplier's offer you are free to shop around for a new deal and switch - you won't have to pay any exit fees to leave.
has a notice on its website that it is not accepting new energy customers.
Instead, it offers users the chance to register on its waiting list for when it is accepting new customers again. Neo currently has fewer than 250,000 customers.
Look After my Bills, a service which offers to find the best energy deal and do the leg work of switching for you, has also frozen its services for energy customers.
A notice on its website said it is pausing its energy switching services because "it's difficult to find reasonably-priced deals at the moment".
It comes after comparison site Compare the Market last week froze its comparison tool for energy deals because there weren't enough good offers on the market.
But millions of customers whose energy firms go bust this winter face paying £400 more to new suppliers taking over their contracts.
That's on top of a record £139 increase to their energy bills from October.
Households will see their bills rise from £1,138 to £1,277 from Friday, when Ofgem raises the price cap - which limits how much households on default tariffs pay for their gas and electricity.
What should I do if my energy supplier goes bust?
Many people are looking to switch supplier at the moment because they are worried theirs will go bust, but now may not be a good time to do that.
If your provider goes bust Ofgem will move you to a new supplier, and your credit balance will be protected.
Households are advised by Ofgem to take a photo of the meter reading.
You'll be contacted by the new supplier which can take a couple of weeks, Citizens Advice says, and they should let you know how you'll be paid back.
The organisation also has which have taken over the ones which have gone bust.
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Customers should log into their accounts online to check their balance and download any bills. It's worth keeping hold of old bills so you can show your payment history and any credit.
Households with direct debits are also advised not to cancel until the new account is set up.
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