Utilita to take on failed energy supplier Our Power's 38,000 customers

Utilita has been appointed by the energy regulator Ofgem to take on Our Power's 38,000 domestic customers after the firm stopped trading.
Utilita says it will move Our Power's customers on to a "competitive" tariff and will honour all outstanding credit balances, including money owed to both existing and former customers of Our Power.
Small provider Our Power stopped trading last week, as we reported in our MSE News story.
I'm an Our Power customer – what happens now?
If you're an existing Our Power customer, your energy supply will continue as normal and you'll switch to Utilita on Thursday 31 January.
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Customers with prepayment tariffs can continue to top up their meters as they had done previously with Our Power.
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Customers who receive the warm home discount and have already been approved by Our Power will continue to receive their payment from Utilita.
If you're an Our Power customer, you will be contacted over the coming days about the changes. If you want to switch supplier, you can do so after Thursday and you won't be charged any exit fees.
Use our free Cheap Energy Club to do a full market comparison and see if you can save by switching.
To be safe, it's worth taking a meter reading in the next couple of days, just in case you later have a billing dispute. If you need any further support, Ofgem has a comprehensive set of FAQs.
I'm in credit with Our Power – will I get it back?
Yes, Ofgem says all credit balances will be honoured. You can continue to use this to offset future energy use, or request a refund.
If you'd left Our Power prior to it stopping trading and are owed credit, this will also be honoured.
I owe Our Power money – what should I do?
Current and former customers who owe money, or are in debit to Our Power, should wait to hear from Our Power's administrators.
Utilita vows to improve complaints handling
Last September, Utilita was one of 11 energy firms that were rapped by Ofgem over how it handled complaints.
It responded at the time by saying it took on board "any legitimate criticism" and that it "had already begun overhauling" some of its processes.
Ofgem says that Utilita has committed to making significant improvements to its complaints handling and answering of phone calls by the end of March – making it easier for customers to contact the supplier.
What does Ofgem say?
Ofgem's director for future retail markets Philippa Pickford said: "Utilita has agreed to absorb the costs of taking on these customers and outstanding credit balances, which means the extra costs will not fall on the industry or households.
"Utilita will be in contact with customers over the coming days with further information. Once the transfer has been completed, customers can shop around for a better deal if they wish to.
"We are pleased that Utilita has given firm commitments to delivering a positive customer experience. We expect them to continue building on this, to ensure a good customer experience for all customers."