Energy supplier Tomato Energy has collapsed, leaving 15,300 household and 8,400 business customers facing uncertainty.
Regulator Ofgem has swiftly intervened to protect supply for all affected, confirming that energy provision and funds, including credit balances, are secured under its ‘supplier of last resort’ safety net.
Customers of the Basingstoke-based firm are being advised not to switch providers at this time.
Instead, they should await contact from their new supplier, which Ofgem will allocate in the coming days.
A key instruction for those impacted is to take a meter reading before their new provider gets in touch.
Ofgem said household customers would also continue to be protected by the energy cap when switching to the new supplier.
Tomato Energy was banned from taking on new customers in April after building up debts of £3 million.
It was then hit with a proposed £1.5 million fine from Ofgem last month for failing to meet financial resilience rules and the firm filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators at the end of October.
Rohan Churm, director for financial resilience and control, said: “I want to reassure Tomato Energy customers that they do not need to worry.
“They will not see any disruption to their energy supply, and any credit domestic customers have on their accounts remains protected under Ofgem’s rules.
“We are working quickly to appoint a new supplier for all existing customers, and they should not switch in the meantime.”
Once they have been contacted by their new supplier, customers can ask to be put on the cheapest deal or look for an alternative deal from another supplier.
They will not be charged exit fees for switching away from their new supplier.
Ofgem said suppliers must now have capital to cover their risks and ring-fence certain areas of their finances such as customer credit balances under new rules.
Mr Churm added: “We have worked hard to improve the financial resilience of suppliers in recent years, implementing a series of rules to make sure they can weather unexpected shocks.
“But like any competitive market, some companies will still fail from time to time and our priority is making sure consumers are protected if that happens and that any associated costs are minimised.”
The latest collapse comes after Rebel Energy went bust in April, with the supplier of last resort safety net being used to protect its 80,000 household and 10,000 business customers.
