UK might offer battling energy firms loansEMERGENCY MEETINGS PLANNED: Four small energy suppliers have already been forced to stop trading because of a major increase in wholesale gas pricesReuters, LONDONThe UK is considering offering state-backed loans to energy firms after wholesale gas prices soared, prompting big suppliers to ask for support from the government to cover the cost of taking on customers from companies that have gone bust. “If a supplier fails, OFGEM will ensure customers’ gas and electricity supply will continue uninterrupted,” Kwarteng wrote on Twitter. Firms were beginning to be more hesitant about taking on new customers through regulator OFGEM’s supplier of last resort scheme, a source at one large energy company said. Under the scheme, energy firms bid to take on the customers from those companies that have gone bust, usually offering to honor any outstanding credit. Surging gas prices have led to an array of stresses in other markets, including a shortage of carbon dioxide after fertilizer plants had to shut.

Source: Taipei Times September 20, 2021 15:56 UTC