MA Energy has become the latest supplier to default out of Elexon’s Balancing and Settlement Codes (BSC).
The business-only energy supplier will no longer be able to register any metering systems and further Balancing Mechanism units, meaning it cannot take on new customers.
Elexon is removing the company from the BSC due to MA Energy’s failure to sufficiently reduce its Credit Cover Percentage. It initially announced it was considering the removal of the company along with GoTo Energy and Colorado Energy on 13 October.
It is the latest in a string of suppliers to have been booted out of the BSC, including Igloo Energy and ENSTROGA in October, and Avro Energy, Utility Point, People’s Energy, PfP Energy and MoneyPlus Energy in September.
All of these suppliers have now shuttered and their customers been placed with Suppliers of Last Resort. Nine suppliers collapsed in September alone, and Pure Planet, Colorado Energy and Goto Energy (along with gas supplier Daligas) have followed this month.
The string of collapses is largely been driven by the turbulency of the wholesale energy market, with record high gas prices causing strain. Between January and September, gas prices grew 250% in the UK due to a global shortage. This was then further strained in the electricity market by a number of planned and unplanned outages at generation sites, as well as relatively low winds last month.
With winter approaching, National Grid ESO has already warned of continued tight margins in the UK. This could lead to further power price turbulence, and the collapse of more small suppliers – Omni Energy for example has already warned that it does not expect to make it through November.
