Will Your Supply Be Cut Off If Your Supplier Goes Bust?

If your energy supplier goes out of business because of financial problems, your gas and electricity stay on. Ofgem, the energy regulator, states plainly that "you will still have electricity and gas supplied to your home or business and your energy supply will not be cut off"¹. The company running your account changes; the pipe and the cable into your home do not.

What happens next is mostly automatic. Ofgem moves your account to a new supplier through a process called Supplier of Last Resort, or puts the failed company into Special Administration, and your supply remains uninterrupted either way². You do not need to switch, and you usually do not need to cancel your Direct Debit¹.

Your job in the first few days is small but worth doing properly: take a meter reading and keep a record of it, keep your old bills, and wait for the new supplier to contact you¹. The sections below set out what to do straight away, how the transfer works, what happens to money you are owed or owe, and why bottled gas, LPG and heating oil sit outside this protection.

What to do straight away: read the meter and keep your paperwork

The single most useful thing you can do when you hear your supplier has failed is to read your meters and write the figures down. Ofgem advises that you "take a meter reading as soon as you can" and "keep a record of it to make sure you are billed correctly by the new supplier"¹. A photograph of the reading is a simple way to keep that record².

Keep your old bills too, and download any you hold in an app, because once a supplier has stopped trading you may not be able to access your account details online¹. Note your account balance while you still can². If you pay by Direct Debit, your bank statement shows what has left your account, which is a useful cross-check against the final bill.

A few other practical points:

• Keep topping up a prepayment meter. Your meter keeps working, and if you forget or cannot afford to top up you risk losing heat and power, which is called self-disconnection².
• If your supply has already stopped because of a faulty meter, contact your supplier, who has to send someone to repair or replace it⁴.
• If you are not sure who your supplier is, Ofgem can tell you³.
• Give monthly readings in normal times. Providing your supplier with a monthly meter reading helps ensure you receive an accurate bill and avoid fuel debt⁶.

If your gas or electricity has gone off for a reason other than the supplier failing, that is a different problem with a different phone number. Our guide to what to do when the mains supply to your home goes off walks through it, and which network operator covers your home tells you who to ring.

How Ofgem moves you to a new supplier

When a supplier fails, Ofgem's first choice is the Supplier of Last Resort process: your account is transferred to a new supplier, who takes over the customers. If that process cannot be used, Ofgem might apply for an Energy Supply Administration Order, meaning an administrator is chosen to run the failed supplier's company¹. Either way, your supply continues without interruption².

Once a new supplier is chosen, they contact you to tell you what has happened and that your old supplier is no longer your provider. They explain how they will manage your account and Direct Debit payments, tell you about any credit or debit balance, and explain how you will get a refund on any money owed to you¹. You are automatically transferred onto a tariff with the new supplier, and you do not need to switch to another supplier¹.

If you were already in the process of switching when the old supplier failed, you will still move to the supplier you chose¹. That switch carries on as planned.

The transfer is not always instant. Your information may take a while to move over, so the new supplier might not be able to help straight away with a problem⁴. If something goes wrong in that gap, contact the new supplier to report it and get their details from their website⁴.

Credit balances and debts after a supplier fails

Money you have paid in advance is protected. Ofgem states that if your supplier goes out of business, your credit balance is still protected by the rules it sets; your details are given to your new supplier, who will contact you about a refund¹. You do not need to chase the failed company for it.

Debt works differently. If you owe money, the new supplier may take the debt on and let you pay it back through your account. If they do not make that arrangement, you may have to continue paying it back to your old supplier or to their administrator, who is running the company on their behalf¹. That is why keeping your final bill matters: it shows what you owed and to whom.

If you are in debt with your bills, or unable to pay your next bill, contact your supplier. They will help you work out an affordable plan and can tell you about discounts, grants and schemes⁷. If you cannot afford an increase in your Direct Debit, contact your energy supplier and ask them to review the payment level⁸. Suppliers are required by Ofgem to ensure Direct Debit payments are reasonable and to communicate any changes clearly².

Prepayment meters, smart meters and switching

If you have a prepayment meter, the supplier failing does not stop the meter working, but it does not remove the risk of self-disconnection if you cannot top up². If your gas or electricity has already stopped, your supplier has to send someone to repair or replace the meter⁴. Our guide to prepayment meters and losing supply covers emergency credit and restarting in more detail.

Smart meters behave differently from one another. Your meter may work in smart mode again if you change tariffs or suppliers¹. It is also worth knowing that if you have a smart energy meter, your supplier could potentially disconnect your supply remotely without needing access to your meter⁴. That is a reason to keep talking to your supplier if you are behind, rather than letting a dispute run.

On switching, the advice is to wait for the transfer to complete. You do not need to switch to another supplier, and you are moved automatically onto a tariff with the new one¹. If you later decide to switch, check whether your current tariff has an exit fee and how any outstanding debt could affect the switch³.

Bottled gas, LPG and heating oil: deliveries are not protected the same way

The supplier of last resort safety net covers mains gas and electricity. If you heat with bulk LPG, cylinders or heating oil, a supplier going out of business is a commercial matter between you and your contract, and you should plan for deliveries to be disrupted.

For bulk LPG, check your contract before changing supplier. You can switch during or at the end of your contract, although an early termination fee may apply, and you should compare prices and contract terms before agreeing to a new supply³. If you lock your tank, make sure your supplier has a key or code for access, or they may not be able to fill it when you are out³.

Cylinder users have a separate safety point. If you are in doubt about an old regulator, contact your LPG supplier⁹. Where the instructions have been lost or give no such information, the regulator should be replaced not more than 10 years after manufacture⁹.

If you store heating oil, keep the tank secure and bunded. All stored fuels or oils within a 50 m radius of a private water supply source should be adequately bunded to prevent leaks contaminating the supply¹¹. Our guides to LPG homes and oil boiler breakdowns cover running out and resetting in winter.

Where to get help if you are struggling

Help exists, and asking for it early is the practical move. Contact your supplier if you are in debt or cannot pay your next bill; they will help you work out an affordable plan and can tell you about discounts, grants and schemes⁷. If your situation is urgent, contact your supplier¹².

Sign up to the Priority Services Register with each of your utility providers if you have young or vulnerable people in your household, so you receive relevant support if supply is disrupted⁹. If you are eligible and your gas, electricity or water supply is cut off, your suppliers will know you need extra support¹³. The register can give you advance notice of power cuts¹⁴. Eligibility includes people who depend on medical equipment, are chronically sick or disabled¹⁵. Our guide to extra support from networks and suppliers explains how to join.

If your power is off rather than your supplier failed, report it to your local network operator using their website or by calling 105; if the supply is cut off because of a faulty energy meter, contact your energy supplier instead¹⁶. Ofgem sets rules about how electricity companies respond to power cuts and how quickly power should be restored, and if these are not met you could be due compensation¹⁷. Our guide to compensation when mains supply is interrupted sets out how that works.

For households in Northern Ireland, the utility regulator's own guidance on energy, power supply and utilities is the place to check arrangements, which differ from England, Scotland and Wales¹⁸.