£9.4m loan keeps Corbyn’s energy firm afloat

JEREMY CORBYN’S energy supplier, Robin Hood Energy, has secured an emergency £9.4 million loan to stay in business.

The firm, owned by Labour-run Nottingham City Council, has to pay the sum to regulator Ofgem by Thursday to cover its renewable energy charge. The cash will be used to support renewable energy projects.

RHE posted a £107,000 pre-tax loss in its latest accounts. Last week, the council agreed to lend the business £9.4 million so it could settle with Ofgem in full by the deadline. The company will repay the loan over the next six months at ‘a state aid compliant rate of interest’, a council spokesman said.

RHE blamed its financial woes on uncertainty over Brexit coupled with 14 unscheduled payments to Ofgem in the past 18 months to help cover the cost of other suppliers going bust or not paying their bills. GnERGY and

Delta Gas and Power have to pay renewable energy charges of £637,876 and £91,937 respectively to Ofgem by Thursday. A fourth firm – Toto Energy – owed £4.55 million and went bust last week.

Energy analysts are predicting a wave of other suppliers going out of business over the winter. One source blamed Ofgem’s ‘laid-back’ regulation.

Peter Earl, head of energy at price comparison site CompareTheMarket, said: ‘Based on current trends, we expect one energy supplier will fail each month over the next 12 months.’

Some 21 energy firms have exited the market over the past three years, including Spark Energy, Brilliant Energy and Solarplicity.

Last week, Ofgem set out plans to ‘reduce the risk of supplier failure’ by introducing tough new checks on existing energy companies. It tightened up the rules for new suppliers during the summer.