Another power company, Social Energy Australia, has called in administrators amid Australia’s climbing wholesale electricity prices, news.com.au reported.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) initiated the Retailer of Last Resort process against the company, and customers were automatically passed on to retailers such as Origin Energy and Energy Australia.
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A subsidiary of a UK company that also went into administration, Social Energy Australia was registered in Australia in 2019 and officially launched in 2020, with the backing of late cricket legend Shane Warne.
The company was based on the idea of grid sharing, with customers using solar panels and batteries that connected them and shared energy.
Social Energy Australia was unable to keep supplying electricity as it had gone into voluntary administration. The company reportedly owes $10 million to 90 creditors, with 33 staff losing their jobs.
Philip Campbell-Wilson and Said Jahani of Grant Thornton were appointed as joint administrators.
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“As Social Energy Australia was in an early stage of its lifecycle, once the funding line from the UK parent company was withdrawn, it could not operate solvently in the market, particularly with the current volatility of wholesale pricing,” a spokesperson for Grant Thornton said.
“All customers have been notified of Grant Thornton’s appointment as Administrator and we have worked closely with the regulators AER and the AEMO to transfer their energy needs to an alternative provider.”
