Every UK household will have to pay extra on their energy bills in 2022 – just to pick up the tab for more than £130m of FREE energy given out by Britain’s biggest energy failure.
That’s according to Bill Bullen, Founder and CEO of Utilita Energy, who has slammed Bulb’s strategy of giving new customers a £50 free energy credit – and another £50 to friends who referred them – in a bid to drive growth.
He says that Bulb’s “irresponsible approach” to lure in customers from rival suppliers will slap £5 on every domestic energy bill next year – at an estimated total cost of £132m1.
Just days after Ofgem revealed its action plan for improved financial resilience in the sector – effectively a ‘stress test’ for incumbents and new entrants – Mr Bullen is calling for the regulator to review the use of ‘free energy’ referral schemes too.
“It is not the fault of Bulb’s customers, but the reality is everyone else will end up paying for Bulb’s irresponsible approach,” he says.
Bulb has lost tens of millions of pounds since 2015 and is now being run by Government consultants to save it from collapse. Taxpayers are funding this to the tune of an estimated £2bn already.
Mr Bullen believes the firm’s referral strategy is partly to blame and, worse still, says it encouraged behaviour at odds with the nation’s net zero ambitions.
“Telling customers that energy is free, cheap, or selling it ‘below cost’ is not only unsustainable and irresponsible, but by doing so it encourages consumers to be frivolous with energy. Right now, most homes in the UK waste around 20% of the energy they pay for. This cannot continue.
“To enable consumers to make the right choices for their pocket and the planet, I am calling for the industry regulator to require suppliers to show their value proposition, whereby each supplier presents what value it can offer to the consumer, as an energy partner. This would result in households using and paying less and would give the UK a chance of hitting its 2050 net zero target.”
