UK government expects to recoup Bulb energy bailout cost

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government expects to recoup fully the cost to the public purse from the collapse of energy supplier Bulb, but cannot say how many years this will take, the Treasury's director-general for growth and productivity, Phil Duffy, told lawmakers on Monday.

Last month the government's Office for Budget Responsibility said the bailout of Bulb had cost 6.5 billion pounds ($8.0 billion).

Duffy said most of this cost reflected the advance purchase of gas and electricity for Bulb's customers, which he expected them to pay for as normal, and that the remainder would be recouped from the wider industry or other bill payers.

"Overall, our expectation is that the Bulb process will be fiscally neutral," he said.

($1 = 0.8140 pounds)

(This story has been corrected to fix Phil Duffy's designation as director-general, instead of finance general, in the first paragraph)

(Reporting by David Milliken, Editing by Paul Sandle)