Ofgem appoints First Utility to take on customers of Usio Energy
Press release
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Supply and Retail Market
Ofgem has appointed First Utility to take on supplying around 7,000 customers of Usio Energy, which ceased trading earlier this week. This follows a competitive process run by Ofgem to get the best deal possible for Usio Energy’s customers.
First Utility is offering Usio Energy’s customers a competitive tariff and will honour all outstanding credit balances, including money owed to both existing customers and to former customers of Usio Energy.
For existing customers, energy supplies will continue as normal as they switch over to First Utility on Friday 19 October. Any credit on their account can be used to offset future energy use. First Utility will contact former customers directly about their refund, if appropriate.
Customers of Usio Energy will be contacted by First Utility over the coming days and again in a few weeks when their accounts are fully set up. At that point, if customers wish to change their tariff, they should ask First Utility to switch them to another deal, or shop around.
Customers will not be charged exit fees if they decide to leave First Utility or if they decide to switch supplier before the transfer has been completed. However, if they do not wait until the transfer has been completed, the switch may not proceed or could take longer to complete.
Philippa Pickford, interim director at Ofgem, said:
“We are pleased to secure a deal with First Utility, where Usio Energy’s customers will be offered a competitive tariff for their energy. Their credit balances will be honoured and their energy supply will continue as normal.
“Our advice for customers of Usio Energy is to wait until First Utility contacts you. They will give you more information about the tariff you are on, and about your credit balance if you have one. Then you can shop around for a better deal if you wish to.”
Customers with questions should contact First Utility’s customer service team, on 02476 937 724 or Usio@first-utility.com.
More information for Usio Energy’s customers can be found on the Ofgem website.
Notes to editors
- Usio’s customers will be supplied by First Utility as of Friday 19 October. It will take up to 14 days for accounts to be fully set up.
- First Utility will be in touch with Usio Energy’s customers in the coming days. Any questions customers may have should be directed to First Utility.
- Customers can find support and advice on the Ofgem website. Or alternatively, if they need additional support, they can call Citizens Advice on 03454 04 05 06 or email them via webform, or get in touch through Ofgem’s facebook or twitter feed @ofgem
- First Utility will honour the credit balances of past Usio Energy customers. These customers should wait for First Utility to contact them.
- Current and past customers who owe money, or are in debit to Usio Energy, will not owe money to First Utility. Instead, they will be contacted by Usio Energy’s administrators who will talk to them about repayment arrangements.
- Customers with direct debits should not cancel their arrangement, although please do not panic if you have already done so. First Utility will contact you shortly to explain how they will set up your account.
- The cost of protecting customers’ credit balances will be met partly by First Utility, and the rest will be covered by the safety net put in place by Ofgem. This is funded by a levy spread across all domestic energy suppliers. Ofgem’s safety net allows suppliers to recover the cost of credit balances by a levy across all domestic suppliers.
- First Utility was established in 2004 and supplies approximately 740,000 domestic customers.
Further information
For media, contact:
Michelle Amos: 0207 901 1881
Media out of hours mobile: 07766 511470 (media calls only)
About Ofgem
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