Scottish Power Takes on Yorkshire Energy Customers Post-Collapse

(Bloomberg) --

Scottish Power Ltd. will take on Yorkshire Energy Ltd.’s customers after the gas and electricity company went bust this week.

Ofgem appointed Scottish Power to supply Yorkshire’s 74,000 domestic customers and some non-domestic users after a competitive tender, the regulator said in a statement Saturday. The switch will take place on Sunday and customers won’t be charged exit fees if they decide to go with another supplier, Ofgem said.

Rising commodity prices and difficult trading conditions from the Covid-19 pandemic have hurt smaller U.K. energy suppliers this year. The problems have raised concerns larger players could face less competitive pressure in the market in future. The total number of U.K. suppliers has fallen from more than 70 a few years ago to about 50, according to Royal Bank of Canada.

Yorkshire Energy, also known as Daisy Energy, started two and a half years ago as one of a number of small companies looking to get into the market. Another small player, Bristol Energy, was acquired by Together Energy in September.

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