URE Energy stripped of electricity licence

Electricity supplier URE Energy has been stripped of its licence by regulator Ofgem after failing to pay into a fund when it did not source enough renewable energy.

It comes just days after energy supplier Solarplicity – which had 7,500 domestic customers and fewer than 500 business customers – ceased trading.

Under the Government’s Renewables Obligation scheme, suppliers, such as URE, who do not source the required proportion of electricity from renewable sources have to pay into a buy-out fund administered by Ofgem.

But the watchdog said URE failed to pay into the buy-out fund by the August 31 deadline last year or the late payment deadline of October 31.

It also failed to make the final order payment of £209,014, which has led Ofgem to withdraw its licence.

Suppliers have until August 31 to meet their 2018-19 renewables obligations, or can pay the amount owed plus interest by the late payment deadline of October 31.

The move to revoke URE’s licence follows investigations opened by Ofgem last year into Economy Energy and Spark Energy over their non-payment.

Both have since left the market.

Eversmart Energy paid what it owed after Ofgem gave the supplier notice to make its payment before March 31.