Bulb Energy boss still paid £250,000 after taxpayer bailout Business

Normally, when an energy company collapses, its customers are handed over to a surviving rival as part of the regulator’s backstop to ensure customers don’t lose their energy supply.

However, this was considered impractical considering Bulb’s size. The company was instead placed under a special administration regime, under which it is managed by Teneo, with government funding until it can be sold.

At the time of the company’s collapse, the government set aside £1.7billion to cover Bulb’s costs, although it is expected this could be as high as £3billion. , as continued turmoil in energy markets following the war in Ukraine makes it more difficult to find a buyer.

Although he continued to collect his £250,000 salary, Mr Wood was unable to answer some questions about the special administration company’s gas purchase strategy, saying he did not He was no longer an active director nor responsible for the decisions made by the company.

He added: “These decisions are made by the trustees, and the trustees make those decisions alongside Beis (the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), which funds the special administration.”

Mr Wood said he invested all of his personal savings in the business in 2015 and did not receive any bonuses or dividends.

He founded Bulb in 2015 alongside Amit Gudka, who resigned in 2021 to start a new battery power business.

A Beis spokesperson said: “The directors of Bulb have agreed to keep Mr. Wood temporarily in place to ensure a smooth transfer and sale process.

“Mr. Wood is being paid for this work under his employment contract with Simple Energy, Bulb’s parent company, through a separate administrative process over which the government has no influence.

“The Bulb Special Administrator remains legally bound to keep the costs of the administrative process as low as possible. The government will seek to recover the costs at a later date, ensuring that we get the best value for taxpayers. . »