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Ceased trading · September 2021

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People's Energy ceased trading on 14 September 2021. Its customers were transferred to British Gas under Ofgem's Supplier of Last Resort scheme. This page is kept as a historical record.

Founded 2017 About 350,000 households at closure Dalkeith, Scotland

Ceased trading · 14 September 2021

People's Energy no longer supplies UK households

Energy-crisis failure — wholesale gas prices surged in autumn 2021. The price-cap mechanism prevented small suppliers like People's Energy from passing costs through to customers. Customers were transferred to British Gas under Ofgem's Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) scheme. This page is kept as a historical record. Information presented below was accurate at the time of original publication.

Founded

2017

Years on the UK market

Customers

About 350,000 households at closure

Households served

About

Who is People's Energy?

Registered as The People's Energy Company Limited, People's Energy uses this legal name for Ofgem licence filings, contracts and any formal communications. The trading name customers see on bills is the shorter, more recognisable form.

The company is headquartered in Dalkeith, Scotland, where it runs its senior management, customer operations and regulatory liaison with Ofgem.

People's Energy was founded in 2017. The supplier operated under a domestic-supply licence until its closure, with a track record of customer service and billing publicly documented for the years it traded.

The company is regulated by Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, and its complaint handling falls under the Energy Ombudsman alternative dispute resolution scheme.

Timeline

People's Energy — key dates

A short timeline of the People's Energy brand — founding, milestones, regulatory events and the closure that brought it to an end.

  1. 2017

    People's Energy is founded with initial capital from 2,200 crowdfunders, with the goal of operating as a customer-first, non-shareholder-driven supplier.

  2. 2018

    Crowdfunders start receiving repayments ahead of schedule (via reduced energy bills).

  3. 2019

    People's Energy launches its smart-meter rollout starting with a 'Pilot Stage' in employee households.

  4. 2021

    People's Energy ceases trading in September 2021 during the energy-price crisis. All 350,000 customers are transferred to British Gas under Ofgem's SoLR scheme.

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Common questions

People's Energy — frequently asked questions

Energy-crisis failure — wholesale gas prices surged in autumn 2021. The price-cap mechanism prevented small suppliers like People's Energy from passing costs through to customers.

Existing customers were transferred to British Gas under Ofgem's Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) scheme — supply was never interrupted.

Your supply has not been interrupted: under the SoLR scheme, your supply is automatically handed to the successor supplier. Log in to the successor's online portal as soon as possible to set up your account, confirm your bank details and download any final People's Energy statements while the legacy website is still online.

You are not required to pay any exit fee to leave the deemed tariff. Once your account is set up, compare current deals through Selectra to find a cheaper plan that fits your usage.

Yes. Customer credit balances on accounts at the date of cessation are protected under Ofgem's SoLR scheme. The successor supplier (British Gas) is required to honour your credit balance. Confirm the balance in writing within the first 30 days to avoid disputes later.

Yes — outstanding debts owed to People's Energy transfer to the administrator of the company's estate, not the SoLR. You may receive a written demand for the outstanding amount from the administrators. Verify any demand against your final People's Energy statement before paying.

You can complain about the conduct of People's Energy (mis-selling, billing errors, customer service) to the Energy Ombudsman, even after the supplier has ceased trading. For complaints about the SoLR transfer itself (delays, incorrect tariff), the route is the same — Ombudsman first, then Ofgem.

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