EDF will not apply to be the supplier of last resort (SoLR) of any other failed supplier before it finishes with the ongoing transfer of the customers of Utility Point.

Speaking to the BBC’s Radio 4 Today show, Philippe Commaret, Managing Director for Customers of EDF Energy, said: “What we are seeing is that the supplier of last resort has worked really well until now and we can be very proud that industry has stepped in in order to help the customers who were in distress.

“The question is whether or not we will be able to take that any further and I think that for ourselves our top priority is obviously to maintain the quality of service for customers, not to create any detriment to customers.”

Three weeks ago, EDF was selected by Ofgem to take over nearly 220,000 domestic customers of the failed supplier Utility Point.

Mr Commaret said that the company has taken more customers through the SoLR process than any other energy supplier in the market and highlighted how challenging is to take on customers of a failed supplier: “As you can imagine, onboarding tens of thousands of customers is a challenge for the operations. I won’t apply to be the supplier of last resort for any further customers before we have ended with the onboarding of the Utility Point customers.”

In the last two days, Pure Planet, Colorado Energy and Daligas supplying more than 250,000 customers confirmed they stopped trading.

Just a few hours after the interview, Philippe Commaret said: “This morning I spoke to the BBC’s Today Programme about some of the challenges we are currently facing in the industry.

“Already another supplier has gone bust since this discussion and, with wholesale costs remaining stubbornly high, we know people will be worried.

“As I said this morning, my primary concern is our customers. We continue to offer our customers financial support and want to reassure them that we are a robust company, here for the long-term.”