Panda Power customers have just one day to switch supplier before the company exits the Irish electricity and gas market.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) said the firm is leaving the market on Friday and people have until tomorrow to choose a new supplier.

If customers do not change supplier before this date they will be automatically switched to Electric Ireland for their electricity and Bord Gáis Energy for their gas. These are the designated 'suppliers of last resort' under the energy watchdog's scheme to ensure no one is cut off entirely.

Earlier this month, Panda Power announced its decision to leave the

Irish energy market, in a move set to affect around 60,000 customers.

In Association with

It said it had made the decision due to 'unsustainable price increases in the wholesale energy market'.

The automatic transfer by the CRU will last for 90 days, at the suppliers' standard tariff. Once a customer has transferred, they should contact Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy to discuss other tariff offerings available to them.

The watchdog has also advised Panda Power customers to submit a meter reading to ESB Networks or Gas Networks Ireland to ensure an accurate read can be transferred to any new supplier they switch to and avoid an estimated meter read and any possible larger catch-up bills.

The CRU has directed Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy to engage with the affected customers to inform them of this change and of their future options for energy supply.

Customers can switch to another supplier after the 90-day period ends on December 29.

Panda Power has pledged there will be no compulsory redundancies due to its exit. It said it would work with all affected employees to redeploy them.

Its departure makes Panda the fourth energy supplier to leave the Irish market this year.