17,000 hit as yet another energy firm goes under

ANOTHER small energy supplier has gone bust, leaving 17,000 households in the lurch.

Brilliant Energy is the third firm in the industry to fail so far this year, and the 11th since the start of 2018.

The business – owned by German group Universal Utility International – follows the likes of collapsed rivals Iresa Energy, Spark Energy and Our Power.

Regulator Ofgem urged its customers not to switch provider as it searches for a supplier to take them on as soon as possible.

Brilliant Energy’s collapse also affects those who get their bills from Northumbria Energy as they are supplied by Brilliant under a so- called ‘ white- label’ arrangement. The energy supply to Brilliant and Northumbria customers will continue as normal.

Small suppliers are struggling under high and volatile wholesale prices, while the industry as a whole is grappling with a price cap introduced this year.

Victoria Arrington of comparison site Energy Helpline said: ‘Another one bites the dust. It is feared 2019 could have as many energy supplier bankruptcies as the record number we saw in 2018.’