PFP Energy Review – Ownership Transfer, Existing Customers, Outcome

PFP Energy was one great small energy supplier in the UK. This company delivered power to around 82,000 customers, and it excelled in its customer service. Sadly for their customers and citizens looking into this company to hire their service, this company went bust by September 2021. 

Figure 1: PFP Energy Logo – Source: PFP Energy

If you are looking to know more about PFP Energy or are a former customer and want to know more about the Ownership Transfer, this article is for you. Here we will be reviewing PFP Energy, talking about the switch towards British Gas, and reviewing many more aspects of the company. 

Who is PFP Energy? 

PFP Energy was an energy supplier based in the UK. This company was created as a convenient alternative for UK energy customers looking for affordable electricity tariffs and quality service. PFP Energy operated as a subsidiary to Places for People Group Limited, which is a company with economic activities in the property management & development sector.

While PFP Energy was first registered on 14 April 2014, but it didn’t start operating as a gas & electricity supplier until October 2015. This company was originally called Places For People Energy, but later on, it adopted the PFP acronym. Regrettably, for customers of this energy supplier and its matrix company, PFP energy ceased trading on 7 September 2021.

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Until it stopped supplying gas & electric power, PFP energy became a great energy supplier in the UK. In the last quarter of 2019, PFP energy acquired all of the customers belonging to the former energy supplier Better Energy. Up to the second quarter of 2021, PFP energy supplied energy to over 82,000 domestic customers, and it handled more than 5,000 business customers. 

PFP Energy Company Problems

One of the major problems causing PFP energy to go bust was its energy mix regarding the UK energy crisis, which was caused by the rapidly growing prices for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) during 2021. In the first half of 2021, most of the economy reopened in Asia, which is why countries in this continent had to repurpose their LNG reserves for local commerce, therefore reducing the supply exported to Europe. 

Figure 2: UK Natural Gas futures, January 2021 – January 2022 – Source: The ICE

The reduction of natural gas supply in the UK, caused the prices for this vital fuel for the energy industry to hit a new record high. In 2021, the price for Liquefied Natural Gas increased by up to 838.37%, causing the price for electricity to rapidly follow, which in turn generated the UK energy crisis.

To provide cheap prices for their customers, PFP energy relied mostly on energy generated through LNG. The fuel mix of PFP energy only comprised 2.6% of its energy from renewable sources, while 62.6% of its energy was generated by using natural gas, and the rest came from Nuclear Energy, Coal, and other sources.

Considering that most of the energy generated by PFP energy relied on natural gas as its main fuel, the cost to generate this energy was not profitable anymore. Combining the high price for the LNG and the rise of inflation, the fall of PFP energy as a UK energy supplier was imminent. 

PFP Energy Switch To British Gas

PFP Energy ceased operations on 7 September 2021. A few days later on 11 September 2021, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) under the Supplier of Last Resort (“SoLR”) regulatory process, transferred all of the PFP energy customers onto British Energy. This means that all of the customers belonging to PFP Energy have been transferred to this new supplier.

While all of the 82,000 energy customers belonging to PFP energy have been transferred, this implies a massive administrative process, meaning that the whole switch might still take some time. During the switch, none of these customers will stop enjoying their gas & electricity services, and they will also be credited for all of the balances and debts after the information has been fully transferred.

Does PFP Energy Still Offer Plans & Pricing?

PFP Energy ceased operations as a UK energy supplier in September 2021, since that date, the company stopped offering plans & pricing for current and potential customers. If you were looking to switch to this energy supplier, we regret to inform you that PFP energy will no longer be operating as a power supplier in the UK energy market.

What Happens With Existing Customers Now? 

Now that PFP energy went bust, all of its 82,000 customers have been affected. Since late September, PFP energy customers are being automatically switched onto British Gas, but there are many doubts regarding this switch, so, what does switching from PFP energy onto British Gas mean for the customers?

The last update provided by British Gas was issued on Thursday 27 January 2022. British Gas will be updating their new transferred customers weekly, regarding any news about the switch from PFP Energy. Currently, all of the PFP energy customers have already been contacted about the switch between companies by SMS, emails, or even written letters.

None of the PFP energy customers have to worry about the power or gas supply since the service will not be interrupted due to the switch between companies. British Gas, will also be honoring the credits every customer had in its account, and they will charge existing debts owed to the previous energy supplier.

Since this switch between energy suppliers is not a regular switch, many aspects will differ from a common switch. One of these aspects is that the switch will take a little longer than regular, and British Gas might also request additional information from you as a former customer of PFP Energy.

All of the previous PFP energy customers can already create their British Gas account and start managing it. Currently, most of the bills and balance or credits, are still being uploaded to the system, so this might take a little longer to appear on your account.

While the old debts are still not available, PFP energy old customers will have to pay British Gas for the gas and power consumed during and after the switch, in a quarterly bill scheme. There are currently two sets of tariffs, the Price Promise Apr 2022, operating as the variable tariff, and the Safeguard PAYG tariff, available for Pay As You Go customers. You can check these tariffs at the British Gas official site. 

PFP Energy Customer Reviews

PFP Energy was a company focused on society, and it aimed to provide excellent tariffs and great quality service at the same time.

According to reviews left by customers in TrustPilot, PFP Energy was ranked with 3.5 out of 5 stars, with more than 4,000 reviews left by customers. Most of the reviews left at the site, place PFP Energy as a relatively good customer, outstanding in its customer service, clarity of the bills, and several other aspects.

Customers ranking PFP Energy in Reviews.io were not as generous with the company. On this site, the company scored 2.13 out of 5 stars, and only 28% of the customers recommended the company. While many of the reviews are great and depict the excellent customer service of the company, some had problems with their meters or several other technical issues, resulting in a poor experience overall. 

How Green Is British Gas’s Energy Compared to PFP Energy?

PFP Energy is a company that heavily relied on natural gas to generate its power. This company had a fuel mix comprised of 11.8% power generated with coal, 19.0% with nuclear power, 2.6% with renewable technologies, while 62.6% of its power was being generated with natural gas, and 4.0% using other fuels.

While British Gas depicts “Gas” in the name, none of its energy comes from using natural gas. The fuel mix of British Gas is comprised of 25% power generated with nuclear technology and 75% by using renewable power generation. This means that British Gas is a UK energy supplier delivering 100% clean energy, and 75% of it comes from renewable sources.

Verdict on PFP Energy

PFP Energy was a UK energy supplier created to deliver cheap energy for a great price, making it an excellent option for most customers. Regrettably for UK citizens looking to enjoy these cheap tariffs, PFP Energy went bust due to the UK energy crisis.

This company relied too much on natural gas to generate its power, which is why the high LNG prices deeply affected the company. Since PFP Energy could not generate profits anymore, it had to cease trading and transfer its clients to another supplier.

Since PFP Energy ceased trading, Ofgem transferred all of its clients to British Energy. Some information of former clients of the company is still being transferred, however, clients can enjoy uninterrupted gas and power, with an energy supplier delivering 100% clean energy.

In the end, PFP Energy was a good company overall. They had an honest goal, and they worked hard to supply cheap energy for relatively good prices, however, they relied too much on natural gas, and they could not avoid going bust due to the energy crisis.