Factbox-British energy suppliers dwindle as gas prices soar

(Reuters) -British energy suppliers are grappling with soaring wholesale gas prices that have led to the collapse of a number of energy companies, forcing more than 2 million customers so far to switch providers.

Prices of wholesale gas have multiplied in recent months as economies reopen after lockdowns and rising demand for liquefied natural gas in Asia pushed down supplies to Europe.

Smaller energy suppliers, which have less capital available to hedge customer needs, have stopped trading in recent weeks. Britain's bigger energy firms are mopping up their customers and have asked the government for support to help bear the costs.

Before the current crisis, there were more than 50 small- and mid-sized independent energy suppliers in Britain with around a 30% share of the market.

The rest of the market is controlled by five large suppliers: OVO Energy and SSE brands, owned by OVO Energy, EDF Energy, Centrica's British Gas, several E.ON brands and Iberdrola's Scottish Power.

Here's a look at some of the companies that have fallen prey to the surging costs and the firms that have taken on the customers of the failed ones.

Collapsed supplier No. of customers New supplier

PfP Energy 82,000 domestic British Gas

customers and 5,600

non-domestic customers

MoneyPlus Energy 9,000 domestic British Gas

customers

Utility Point 220,000 domestic EDF

customers

People's Energy 350,000 domestic British Gas

customers, and 1,000

non-domestic customers

Avro Energy 580,000 domestic Octopus Energy

customers

Green Supplier Ltd 255,000 domestic Shell Energy

customers and a small

number of non-domestic

customers

ENSTROGA 6,000 domestic E.ON Next

customers

Igloo Energy 179,000 domestic E.ON Next

customers

Symbio Energy 48,000 domestic E.ON Next

customers and a small

number of non-domestic

customers

Pure Planet 235,000 customers Shell Energy

Colorado Energy 15,000 customers Shell Energy

Daligas 9,000 domestic and Shell Energy

non-domestic gas

customers

Goto Energy 22,000 domestic Shell Energy

customers

Bluegreen Energy 5,900 domestic

customers, small number British Gas

of non-domestic

customers

Omni Energy Ltd 6,000 domestic

pre-payment customers Utilita

MA Energy Ltd 300 non-domestic

customers SmartestEnergy

Zebra Power Ltd 14,800 domestic

customers British Gas

Ampoweruk Ltd 600 domestic customers, Yü

and around 2,000 Energy

non-domestic customers

CNG Energy Ltd 41,000

non-domestic customers Pozitive Energy

(SOURCE: OFGEM, Reuters reporting)

(Reporting by Aditi Sebastian, Yadarisa Shabong and Priyanshi Mandhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Keith Weir, Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur)