Toto Energy appoints KPMG for administration

Brighton-based Toto Energy has collapsed, appointing KPMG as its administrator. The firm previously supplied gas and electricity to approximately 134,000 customers throughout the UK.

The UK’s energy and utilities market is in a state of flux at present. Thanks to new disruptors improving the competition of the market, even the UK’s largest energy suppliers have seen hundreds of thousands of empowered customers go elsewhere in the last year. EDF Energy, for example, recently saw more than 200,000 consumers look for a new supplier to meet their energy needs.

However, the rise of a number of small competitors may only prove to be a temporary blight to the largest energy firms, if the latest news from the sector is anything to go by. The collapse of energy provider Toto Energy has seen all of its customers transferred automatically to EDF by Ofgem.

The Brighton-based utilities company had been responsible for the energy and gas of 134,000 consumers across the UK, and EDF has inherited the lot. It will now work to ensure that all outstanding credit balances are transferred for current customers and repaid to those who had left Toto Energy with a credit balance outstanding.

Beatrice Bigois, Managing Director of EDF Energy Customers, said, “We are pleased to be able to step in to support the customers of TOTO Energy, who will have been concerned to hear that their existing supplier had stopped trading. They should feel reassured that with EDF Energy, they will be moving to an experienced and reliable supplier, with a good track record for customer service. All current and former domestic customers’ credit balances will be protected and their supply will continue uninterrupted.”

Toto Energy, meanwhile, has ceased trading with immediate effect, and appointed administrators. KPMG will now oversee the process, having only recently fulfilled the same role for Manchester-based utilities firm Eversmart Energy, which similarly fell victim to market volatility in the energy sector, exacerbated by Brexit pressures, earlier in the Autumn.

Paul Berkovi, Director at KPMG, commented, “For some time now, the UK’s energy retail sector has faced well-documented challenges and, against this backdrop, Toto Energy’s directors have taken the difficult decision to appoint administrators. Despite the best efforts of the directors, the business has faced significant cash flow problems and was unsuccessful in its attempts to secure new investment. We have secured a deal to assist in providing a smooth transition for customers however there will unfortunately still be redundancies. Focus for the administrators in the coming days will be in supporting affected employees.”