British Gas and E.ON have been given the go ahead by the Court of Appeal to pursue their legal challenge regarding the sale of Bulb to Octopus Energy.
Alleging an “unfair sale process”, the energy companies, along with ScottishPower, had previously initiated legal action earlier this year.
Despite the High Court dismissing their case in March, citing “undue delay” and lack of a reasonably arguable claim, British Gas and E.ON have now secured the opportunity to present their case in a three-day hearing.
The appeal judges believe their case holds a “real prospect of success,” setting the stage for further examination of the intricacies surrounding Bulb’s sale.
Amanda Gerrity, General Counsel at Octopus Energy said: “Nine months ago, a full judicial process saw the judge reject British Gas’ claims that the Bulb transaction was unfair and concluded that their case was brought forward too late and without merit.
“Since then, we’ve moved all of Bulb’s 1.5 million customers to our systems in record time and we’ve been delighted to welcome 95% of their team. The government also stands to make £1.2 billion profit from the transaction.
“We remain confident that this was the best deal and we will support the appeal process to demonstrate that once and for all.
“Everyone knows that when incumbents can’t compete with newer, better rivals on service, value and innovation they resort to fighting in the courts.
“So we’ll continue to focus on delivering outstanding customer service whilst they waste their own, and everyone else’s money, on expensive legal cases.”
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson told ELN: “We are disappointed with the court’s decision and will carefully consider our next steps so we can continue to support Bulb’s former 1.5 million customers.
“It would be inappropriate to comment further regarding ongoing legal proceedings.”
A Centrica spokesperson told Energy Live News: “The decision to bring this case was made after repeated failed attempts to obtain transparency on the terms of the transaction and the level of financial support being offered to Octopus and Bulb.
“We believe that the way the deal was structured creates serious risk for taxpayers and energy consumers and will distort the energy market. We are pleased that the court has granted permission for this matter to be heard.”
Energy Live News has contacted E.ON for comment.
