Ofgem protects customers of Rebel Energy

Press release
Publication date
Industry sector
Supply and Retail Market

Rebel Energy Supply Ltd [“Rebel Energy”] has today announced it is ceasing to trade.   

Rebel Energy supplies around 80,000 domestic customers, and 10,000 non-domestic customers.  

Under the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) safety net, customers’ energy supply will continue and funds that domestic customers have paid into their accounts, including existing credit balances, will be protected. Domestic customers will also be protected by the energy price cap when being switched to a new supplier. 

Customers of Rebel Energy will be contacted by their new supplier, which will be allocated by Ofgem in the coming days. 

Ofgem’s advice to affected customers in the meantime is to: 

  • Wait until a new supplier has been appointed and you have been contacted by them in the following weeks before looking to switch to another energy supplier. 
  • Take a meter reading ready for when your new supplier contacts you. 

This will make the process of transferring customers over to the chosen supplier and honouring any funds that domestic customers have paid into their accounts, where they are in credit, as smooth as possible. 

Since the energy crisis, Ofgem has strengthened the rules so that suppliers are more resilient to shocks and less likely to fail. Suppliers must have capital to cover their risks and ring-fence certain aspects of their finances such as customer credit balances.  

As a result, the market is becoming much more resilient, however some companies will still fail occasionally. The SoLR safety net ensures affected customers face as little disruption as possible.   

Tim Jarvis, director general for markets at Ofgem, 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.   

Notes to editors 

  • Rebel Energy customers should take meter readings today and wait until their new supplier contacts them. Once they have been contacted, customers 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. 
  • Ofgem's Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) safety net will make sure customers energy supply will continue as normal, domestic customers’ credit balances of funds they have paid in are protected and that the process in moving over to the appointed supplier is as smooth and hassle free as possible. 
  • In September 2023, Ofgem announced its decision to introduce common minimum capital requirements for domestic suppliers, and modify the licence so that Ofgem can direct suppliers to ringfence customer credit balances when in the consumer interest. These reforms are part of a package of measures to build the capitalisation of the sector, enhance resilience to external shocks and put the retail market on a solid foundation to deliver the innovation, high standards and consumer outcomes needed to achieve our principal objective: to protect the interests of existing and future consumers.  
  • More details on Minimum Capital Requirement can be found in Ofgem’s decision document  - Decision on introducing a minimum capital requirement and ringfencing customer credit balances by direction | Ofgem.  
  • Ofgem is also currently consulting on introducing a SoLR Levy Offset that could further reduce the costs to consumers if a supplier fails in the future. The costs claimed under the SoLR levy would be a liability of the failed supplier. This liability could be recovered through the insolvency process where the failed supplier has residual value available to pay creditors: SoLR Levy Offset Statutory Consultation | Ofgem