Together Energy collapses

gt94sss2

This won't be a suprise to readers of this board

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/17363540/together-energy-goes-bust-gas-electricity-crisis/

176,000 domestic customers

1 non-domestic customer

emmajones1976

No tears to be shed here. Without a doubt the most inept energy company I ever had the misfortune to deal with.

GingerTim

Wouldn't want to be a Warrington council ratepayer.

QrizB

GingerTim said:

Wouldn't want to be a Warrington council ratepayer.

This.

Also, I wonder which supplier will ge tthis SoLR job? Smaller than Avro but still a pretty big number of accounts.

[Deleted User]

Warrington Borough Council has now issued a statement on the issue.

It says: "We’re very disappointed that Together Energy will be ceasing to trade due to the current energy crisis, which has already resulted in the closure of several energy companies.

"Our vision was to be part of a company that tackles the climate emergency by delivering 100 per cent green energy to customers, contributes to reducing fuel poverty and provides local jobs in Warrington – particularly for those out of work or without formal qualifications - but the current market conditions are sadly not sustainable.

"We know that Together Energy’s operating model was resilient and our approach to hedging extremely robust, but the enormous and sustained wholesale price rises mean that it is now one of many companies that has had to leave the market.

If that is true, then why has it failed?

brewerdave

emmajones1976 said:

No tears to be shed here. Without a doubt the most inept energy company I ever had the misfortune to deal with.

QrizB said:

GingerTim said:

Wouldn't want to be a Warrington council ratepayer.

This.

Also, I wonder which supplier will ge tthis SoLR job? Smaller than Avro but still a pretty big number of accounts.

Their " billing systems" were ,without doubt, the worst I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. Their Customer Services staff  were totally incapable of sorting out the mess.
 Whoever takes over the 176k customers is going to have a nightmare of a job trying to untangle the wreckage!! 

ihatetrump

Couldn't agree more with @[Deleted User]

"We know that Together Energy’s operating model was resilient and our approach to hedging extremely robust, but the enormous and sustained wholesale price rises mean that it is now one of many companies that has had to leave the market.

If that is true, then why has it failed?

The common thread among all of the failures so far is the supposed 'resilience' built into their business models was such they didn't need to borrow money (none of them had bank borrowing) - other than their customer advances, which were sufficient until the crunch came, then the business fundamentals just crumbled like a pack of cards and exposed the fragile foundations upon which they were really built.

Banks (rightfully) have avoided lending into this part of the sector - and perhaps the shareholders in these businesses knew that their business models wouldn't stand up to stress and covenant testing that any rightful lender or investor would seek. Sadly, but unsurprisingly Warrington BC didn't appear to possess the business acumen to really understand the risks of failure - but oh wait - they weren't using their own money either - just use funds from unsuspecting tax payers, who really had no real say on how their hard earned Council Tax pounds were being spent/wasted.

[Deleted User]

From Bristol Live:

” It (Together Energy) acquired Bristol Energy from Bristol City Council for £14m in September 2020, after an estimated £43million of taxpayers' money was lost to the failed firm.”

Ouch. Perhaps Councils will now stop investing taxpayer’s money in energy companies.

worrywart_3

So which smaller suppliers are still afloat 

ihatetrump

Ouch. Perhaps Councils will now stop investing taxpayer’s money in energy companies.

Deregulation wasn't meant to increase competition in the sector for the supposed Big 6. The barriers to entry were lowered/eliminated without any forethought as to potential pitfalls - consequently too many Tom, !!!!!! & Harry's joined in - along with some numpty Councils who though they were being smart and savvy. Little did they know.

fallen121

Advice please. We are Bristol Energy customers so fall under Together Energy. We pay on receipt of bill. We have a bill that falls due within the next few days. Should we wait to be contacted by the new supplier? All the advice seems to be directed towards customers who pay by DD. Also, what happens if the new supplier expects payment by DD? We pay from a basic bank account with no OD facility and no automated payment allowed. Thank you.