Octopus Energy has been selected by Ofgem as the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) for Effortless Energy’s domestic and non-domestic customers.
It was confirmed on 2 September that Effortless – which trades as Go Effortless Energy – would cease trading. This made it the second such company to go bust in 2020, following the close of GnERGY in March after it failed to pay £673,876.62 plus interest to the Renewables Obligation buy-out fund.
All of Effortless Energy’s 2,500 domestic customers along with it’s non-domestic customers will be offered a competitive tariff by Octopus Energy over the next couple of weeks, after they were officially switched over on Saturday 5 September 2020.
Philippa Pickford, Ofgem’s director of retail, said she was pleased to announced the appointment of Octopus Energy and confirmed Effortless Energy customers’ “energy supply will continue as normal and domestic customer credit balances will be honoured”.
“Octopus Energy will be in contact with customers over the coming days with further information. Once the transfer has been completed, customers can shop around for a better deal if they wish to.”
While just two small suppliers have gone bust in 2020, the previous two years saw at least 16 close due to market challenges.
Effortless Energy is the first company to close since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the UK government bring in a furlough scheme for workers amongst other measures to support businesses.
An Octopus Energy spokesperson told Current± that the company was “delighted to welcome Go Effortless Energy’s customers to Octopus Energy.”
“ Losing your energy supplier through no fault of your own is a stressful experience, especially in times like these. We’re here to make their transition to cheaper, greener power and our Which? Recommended customer service as simple and hassle free as possible for them.”