Unless prices on the spot market are put under control, rising energy prices are threatening to bankrupt the entire sector. The Hamburg-based Smiling Green Energy (SGE) has filed for insolvency, the second energy provider to go bust in Germany. The “rapid increase of energy prices was the key trigger for SGE insolvency,” said the court-appointed caretaker. SGE provided electricity from so-called renewable sources for some 1,500 private and corporate customers under the label “Naturally Green Electricity.” For the moment, customers won’t be left in the dark, as the local main provider is stepping in.
At the same time, more and more providers are terminating contracts with customers. Electricity and gas supply company Rheinische Elektrizitäts- und Gasversorgungsgesellschaft has terminated contracts with hundreds of customers in the states of Hessen and in Bremen, without explanation. REG stopped delivering electricity under the label “Immergrün” (Evergreen) Oct. 19.
