Thousands of businesses have been left paying emergency rates on their energy bills after the collapse of supplier Electricity4Business. E4B, which had 40,000 customers, all of which were placed on emergency rates at British Gas Business by Ofgem when the Milton Keynes-based energy supplier went into administration. A supplier of last resort is appointed by Ofgem to carry on uninterrupted supply to customers whenever energy companies go into administration. E4B provided power to about 40,000 small and medium sized businesses before it went into administration. All its supplies were cut off when the firm went into administration. In a statement released on the day of the company’s collapse on October 22nd, administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers said the decision was taken “as a result of volatility in the energy market”, where small suppliers have been hit by the soaring wholesale price.

Industry analysts said the collapse of E4B raised fears about the safety of other small businesses operating in the energy market, which has been particularly turbulent this year. And they said the market was being distorted by the lack of competition. Six suppliers including Eon and npower control more than half of the UK’s electricity production.

Reports at the weekend suggest BizzEnergy, Britian’s biggest independent energy supplier, could be on the verge of collapse after failing to refinance its debts. The company have hired KPMG to try and initiate a quick sale but if that fails then the company is expected to go under with the loss of 160 jobs.

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