With gas prices soaring during the 2021 energy crisis, many households were unable to handle steep increases in energy bills. By the mid-2000s, gas production in the North Sea fell sharply, prompting the UK to import gas from Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Qatar, the US, and Russia. The crisis saw dozens of smaller suppliers go out of business and British consumers overwhelmed by 250 per cent gas price increases. Meanwhile, large private energy firms on the brink of collapse were bailed out by the government to the tune of billions of pounds.9 These firms have continued to record disproportionately high profits. In November 2021, news of yet another collapsed energy supplier surfaced, as private company Bulb was put under special administration.

Source: The Guardian October 12, 2023 09:17 UTC