Energy company Panda Power is to exit the energy supply business from September 30, leaving 60,000 customers scrambling to find alternative suppliers in the next two weeks.
If they don’t switch to alternative suppliers by September 28, they will automatically transfer to ‘last resort’ suppliers at standard rates, losing any discounts that came with their Panda contracts.
The company has notified the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, which in turn has started the process of protecting those customers by invoking the Supplier of Last Resort procedure.
Under the CRU customer protection protocols, Electric Ireland is the designated electricity supplier and Bord Gáis Energy is the designated gas supplier.
All Panda customers will automatically transfer to Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy for 90 days at these suppliers' standard tariff rates for electricity or gas.
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Customers can still switch supplier from Panda Power to a supplier of their choice, without incurring a termination fee, up to and including 28 September.
Panda has approximately 50,000 electricity customers and 10,000 gas customers, 2% of all domestic electricity customers and 1% of domestic gas customers.
Panda Power Business customers account for 3% of all business/SME electricity customers and .04% of all business gas customers.
The company has sent a letter to all its customers explaining its decision.
Customers should submit meter readings to ESB Networks and Gas Networks Ireland to ensure that an accurate read can be transferred to any new supplier, so that customers are not subjected to an estimated read and can avoid possibly larger catchup bills.
The CRU has directed Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy to engage with the affected customers who have not switched to a new supplier after the transfer, to inform them of this change and of their future options for energy supply.
This is to offer customers who have not switched to a new supplier a tariff to remain with Electric Ireland or Bord Gáis Energy or else provide these customers with the option of switching to another supplier after the 90-day period ending on December 29.
Commissioner Aoife MacEvilly said: “The CRU’s decision to direct the Supplier of Last Resort process will ensure that Panda customers will not have any interruption to their electricity and gas supplies.
"Panda customers do have the opportunity to switch to a new supplier of their choice in advance of the 28 September deadline, and this can be done quickly and easily through the CRU-accredited switching websites (www.switcher.ie, www.bonkers.ie and www.powertoswitch.ie)."
Customers can submit an electricity meter read to ESB Networks either online at www.esbnetworks.ie/meterreading or by calling 1800 337777 or +353 21 2386444 (24/7 service).
Customers can submit a gas meter reading to Gas Networks Ireland either online at www.gasnetworks.ie/meter or the 24-hour Dial-A-Read service on 1800 427732.
