Business owners have enough to deal with without worrying whether their energy supplier is going to survive the week. Yet that’s exactly what happened when Tomato Energy ceased trading in early November 2025, after running up around £3 million of debt and breaching Ofgem’s financial resilience rules.

To protect customers, Ofgem stepped in and appointed British Gas as the new supplier for Tomato Energy’s 15,000 domestic and 8,000 non-domestic customers under its Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process.

If your business was with Tomato Energy, here’s what this actually means, in plain English, and what you should do next.

What happened to Tomato Energy – the short story

Tomato Energy’s collapse didn’t come from nowhere:

• In April 2025, Ofgem stopped Tomato Energy taking on new customers because of concerns over its financial resilience and unpaid debts of around £3 million.
• In October 2025, Ofgem proposed a £1.5 million penalty for failing to meet capital and liquidity rules.
• On 5 November 2025, Tomato Energy confirmed it was ceasing to trade and entering administration, triggering Ofgem’s SoLR process.

From that point, Ofgem’s safety net kicked in and British Gas was appointed to take over all Tomato Energy customers from 9 November 2025, so supply continued without interruption.

What happens to your business supply now

When a supplier fails, the rules are designed to keep your lights on and your business running.

1. Your supply continues
   Your gas and electricity do not get cut off. British Gas now supplies your energy under Ofgem’s safety net.
2. You’re moved onto a temporary “deemed” tariff
   As an ex-Tomato customer, you’re placed on a British Gas “deemed” tariff agreed with Ofgem. This is:

• A holding tariff while your account is set up
• Usually more expensive than a competitive fixed deal
• Flexible: you can leave once everything is in place, with no exit fees for switching away from this deemed arrangement.

3. Your balance and bills are sorted out

• Domestic customers: Ofgem has confirmed that domestic credit balances are protected and will be honoured by British Gas.
• Business customers: guidance from Ofgem and industry bodies makes clear that non-domestic customers are also protected under the SoLR process, with British Gas and the administrators working through credits and debts.

I cannot confirm this as a universal legal guarantee for every individual business account, but the clear direction from Ofgem and British Gas is that credit balances are being safeguarded and transferred where due.

If you owed Tomato Energy money, you’ll be contacted by British Gas or the administrators once your final Tomato bill has been calculated.

How this compares to previous supplier failures

Tomato Energy isn’t the first casualty. During the 2021 UK gas supplier crisis, over 20 suppliers failed, affecting millions of customers and pushing up costs across the market.

Since then, Ofgem has tightened the rules:

• Stronger financial resilience tests for suppliers
• Closer monitoring of capital and liquidity
• Greater emphasis on protecting customer balances and maintaining orderly exits when firms fail

Tomato Energy’s collapse is an example of the system working as it now should: a weak supplier is identified, stopped from taking new business, then removed in a controlled way with a larger, financially stronger supplier stepping in.

For you as a business owner, the big difference now is certainty around continuity of supply and the ability to move away from deemed rates once the dust settles.

What you should do next as a business customer

Here’s a simple, practical sequence if your business supplier ceased to trade:

1. Take fresh meter readings
   Record and photograph your electricity and gas meters. This protects you if there is any dispute about your closing Tomato bill or opening British Gas bill.
2. Save copies of recent bills
   Download or screenshot your latest Tomato bills and statements. Keep evidence of any credit balance showing on your account.
3. Wait for British Gas to set up your account
   Ofgem and British Gas both advise customers not to switch immediately, but to wait until the SoLR transfer is completed and your new account is fully set up.
4. Check the tariff you’ve been placed on
   Once you receive your first communication from British Gas, look carefully at:

• Unit rates (p/kWh)
• Standing charges (p/day)

Then compare these with market alternatives or ask a broker to benchmark them. Deemed rates are commonly higher than a good fixed contract for the same usage.

5. Decide whether to stay or move

When your account is live, you have three options:

• Agree a fixed-term contract with British Gas
• Switch to another supplier on a more competitive deal
• Work with an energy broker to compare the whole market and align the contract with your actual consumption and risk tolerance

You will not be charged exit fees for leaving the deemed arrangement that followed Tomato Energy’s collapse.

Where a broker fits in when a supplier fails

Events like Tomato Energy’s collapse are where a broker earns their keep.

As a business owner, your priorities are simple:

• Keep the business running
• Keep costs under control
• Avoid nasty surprises in the small print

A good broker helps you do that by:

• Monitoring supplier health and regulatory action, so you’re not blindsided by financial failures
• Explaining SoLR letters and emails in plain English, so you know exactly what’s happening
• Getting you off expensive deemed rates quickly, onto a contract that reflects your usage and budget
• Handling the admin: final bills, transfer of credit balances, and new contract paperwork

Put simply: chasing the lowest headline price from a fragile supplier can be a false economy. Supplier stability, transparent terms and active support usually save more over the life of the contract than a risky “too good to be true” rate.

If your business has been caught up in a similar collapse and you’d like help reviewing your new tariff, checking your options and putting a safer long-term plan in place, this is exactly the kind of situation a specialist broker, like UK Power Direct Limited deals with every day.