A SCOTS energy firm, part owned by the public, is the latest energy supplier to face collapse as concerns grow it could run out of funding by the end of this month.
The warning comes just days into the New Year and after 26 energy providers shut down in 2021.
Clydebank-based Together Energy, which prides itself in employing more than 90 per cent of its staff from Scotland’s most deprived areas, is now potentially the first casualty in the energy industry of 2022.
Together Energy is said to employ around 360 staff, mainly from some of Scotland's most deprived areas as well as 15 members of staff in Warrington and other staff in Bristol. It had plans last year to recruit another 80 customer service roles, both in Clydebank and Warrington, funded by the Kickstart scheme.
It is feared the five-year-old energy supplier 50% owned by Warrington Borough Council, with 170,000 customers faces collapse within weeks as a last-ditch search for new funding nears its end.
A spokeswoman for the company has insisted that it was "still in active conversations".
But reports suggest that the company is likely to run out of money later in January without an emergency capital injection.
Bulb, the last energy supplier seeking a rescue deal, collapsed in November, leaving 1.7m customers facing higher bills.
Together Energy describes itself as "the most socially responsible recruiter in Scotland" saying that "our commitment and support of people who are from the most vulnerable backgrounds is unprecedented and we continue to work and support staff from the poorest postcodes".
It says it actively recruits from poverty-hit areas identified in the Scottish Index Of Multiple Deprivation.
The firm made a near £4m loss in the year to October, 2020 after a £11.4m deficit the previous year.
A financial record in July stated that the board was of the opinion that it had the "adequate resources to continue its activities for at least 12 months... "
By then Together acquired the residential customer base of Bristol Energy for £14m. In adding 144,239 accounts, the deal effectively doubled the size of the business.
The firm's website has reassured customers that their "accounts are safe with us"
"There's a lot of media speculation surrounding the current challenges in the UK energy market, but Together Energy is stable. There's no need to be concerned and we're very much operating business as usual. There's no risk to your supply or payments and our dedicated employees are here to help when needed," it said.
Together Energy, which has 350,000 accounts, insisted in November that it was "looking to source strategic long-term funding for growth, not short-term [capital]".
Warrington Borough Council initially invested £18m in Together Energy in September 2019, arguing that the partnership was "an important part of the council's work to address the climate emergency, tackle fuel poverty and create new job opportunities for local people".
Last year, the local authority said that the supplier's organic growth model projected that the company would have 850,000 customer accounts within three years.
The company says that 100% of its electricity comes from renewable sources, and that it is "working towards offsetting 100% of our carbon gas by August 2023".
In March, Warrington Borough Council leader Russ Bowden said growth figures were “really encouraging.”
At that point the company said it had seen a 284% increase in its customer accounts over the past two years – growing from 97,000 in 2019 to 280,000.
It is feared that energy bills could rise as much as 50% in the spring as the UK faces a “national crisis” over soaring wholesale gas and electricity prices as renewable generation has slumped helped by the lowest Scottish wind speeds of this century.
Nearly two weeks ago, the trade body Energy UK called on the UK government to intervene to help cut the cost of bills amid predictions that the price cap could easily exceed £2,000 a year.
Good Energy and EDF have added their weight to calls for the Government to urgently intervene after the cost of gas in wholesale markets rose by more than 500 per cent in less than a year.
The UK’s price cap on energy bills which stops companies from immediately passing rising costs on to their customers is due to change on April 1 when the industry regulator Ofgem is set to raise the cap dramatically.
While energy wholesale prices continue to climb steeply, the UK’s price cap on energy bills stops companies from immediately passing those costs on to their customers.
Since October 1 the price cap, set by the industry regulator, Ofgem, has been set at a record £1,277.
In Scotland some 1.5m Scots householders saw their energy bills soar by up to £139 in October after the last price cap hike.
Households that use a default energy tariff to buy their gas and electricity received the sharp increase.
The sharp 12% rise was driven by a surge of more than 50% in wholesale fuel costs with gas prices hitting a record high as global economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis, according to Ofgem.
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