One of the most complained about energy suppliers is going bust, with one customer saying they found out about the news through social media.
Rebel Energy announced it is ceasing to trade, becoming the latest supplier to go under.
This means that their entire customer base is now left without a firm – that is until Ofgem appoints a new one for them.
A statement said: ‘Rebel Energy is ceasing to trade. Ofgem, the energy regulator, is appointing a new supplier for our customers.’
Ofgem assured people that they will not see any disruption to their energy supplies, adding that they are protected.
Rebel Energy’s failure is the latest in a long line of suppliers going under in recent years.
The news has impacted customer Jacqueline Coffey-Raven, who lives in Colchester, Essex.
Like many people this winter, she has been scared to put her heating on and said she received no communication that Rebel Energy had gone bust.
‘Rebel Energy has been a joke since day one,’ she told Metro.
‘I went with Rebel Energy when I had to move flat back in September 2024 because they were the cheapest but of course you get what you pay for.
‘I’ve tried to use the app to keep track of what I am spending but since day one it hasn’t worked.
‘I’ve contacted them weekly since September to sort this and all I ever got told was they were in the process of building a new one.
‘Even though I have a smart meter, Rebel Energy cannot take readings from smart meters so I’ve had to do them by hand.
‘All in all, they have been pretty shocking. Their customer service is appalling.’
Jacqueline added that Rebel Energy ‘didn’t bother’ to tell customers like her that it had ceased to trade, instead she found out about the news on social media.
‘We still don’t know who we are paying at the moment,’ she added.
‘Because of the problems with Rebel Energy, I’ve been scared to put my heating on before because I don’t know how much I’m paying.’
Alex Belsham-Harris, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said: ‘The failure of Rebel Energy will worry its 90,000 customers.
‘With energy costs and household bills rising, this only adds to an already stressful situation.’
What to do if you are a Rebel Energy customer?
Ofgem’s advice is not to switch, but to wait until they appoint a new supplier.
Customers are also advised to take a meter reading to give to the new supplier in order to ease the switching process and protect any credit.
Once they have been contacted, they can ask to be put on their new supplier’s 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.
Simon Francis, Coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, added: ‘This is just another sign of the underlying failures in our energy market where the wider industry profits to the tune of billions of pounds, yet households remain at risk of having to pay the costs for failed energy suppliers.
‘While it is reassuring that customers of Rebel Energy should be protected under the Supplier of Last Resort measures, this will not be the end of the story.
‘There are huge questions for Ofgem to answer, including the circumstances around this supplier’s collapse and why the regulator’s new liquidity rules appear to have failed in this instance.’
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.
But some companies ‘will still fail occasionally’, it said, with the SoLR safety net ensuring that affected customers faced as little disruption as possible.
Ofgem’s director general for markets, Tim Jarvis, said: ‘Rebel Energy customers do not need to worry, and I want to reassure them that they will not see any disruption to their energy supply, and any credit they may have on their accounts remains protected under Ofgem’s rules.
‘We are working quickly to appoint new suppliers for all impacted customers.
‘We’d advise customers not to try to switch supplier in the meantime, and a new supplier will be in touch in the coming weeks with further information.
‘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.’
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