Shell Acquires 22,000 Customers of GOTO Energy

Shell Energy has once again stepped in as supplier of last resort (SoLR) for a failed energy company, this time absorbing the 22,000 households left stranded by the collapse of GOTO Energy earlier this month.

Ofgem said it had secured “the best deal possible” for GOTO’s customers by appointing Shell. The customers' tariffs will be limited by the energy price cap and credit balances protected. Neil Lawrence, Ofgem’s director of retail, urged GOTO customers to wait until they are contacted by Shell Energy before attempting to switch, and not to worry.

Shell Energy has also recently served as the supplier of last resort for the collapsed Green Energy, Pure Planet, Colorado Energy, and Daligas. The acquisition of GOTO Energy’s rolls means the retail arm of the oil and gas major has acquired 536,000 customers during the recent energy crisis, second only to the 580,000 Octopus Energy acquired.

Shell Energy’s absorption of the accounts follows statements by major rivals, including EDF, Scottish Power, Utilita, Good Energy and Octopus, that they don’t have the capacity to assimilate more orphaned customers and suggests Royal Dutch Shell is undaunted by mounting losses in Britain’s energy market.

Those losses could build to £5 billion by the spring, Scottish Power chief executive Keith Anderson warned last week. A resulting “massacre” in the energy market could potentially leave just five or six survivors, all backed by major multinational corporations, he predicted. 

“The only companies that can survive are the ones that are incredibly financially strong, have incredibly liquid balance sheets and access to lots of cash,” he said.

That includes Royal Dutch Shell, which has already shown its commitment to the British retail energy market despite £32 million of losses in the fatter year of 2019. 

Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith has worked as a journalist and copywriter for most of the last decade, covering technology, energy, and consumer rights, in the US and UK.

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