Welsh energy consultancy Amber Energy has entered administration, reportedly leaving around 170 employees looking for work.
The company was placed into administration last week, despite having healthy financial reports. The last published results at the end of 2024 showed a turnover of £11 million.
Amber Energy was founded in Cardiff in 2009 by CEO Nick Proctor. The company has not issued an official statement explaining the issues.
The company provides energy management, purchasing and PPA services to a wide range of customers in the consumer, automotive and residential sectors. According to its website, Amber manages 8TWh of generation capacity and manages 48,000 residential and commercial meters.
Responding to news of Amber’s troubles, John Haw, CEO and founder of Fidelity Energy, said the company’s administration could address a larger problem with the oversight of energy trading.
He said many of Amber’s customers were using flexible energy trading, buying power in small, frequent chunks rather than committing to a fixed interest rate for the long term. This approach requires sustained monitoring and oversight to capture the potential value that comes from accessing wholesale market prices rather than fixed rates.
“If a consultancy firm that operates flex portfolios goes into administration, the risk is not theoretical,” Haw said. “Flex buying relies on active execution. If trade supervision is disrupted, unhedged volumes could be immediately exposed to day-ahead or reference prices.”
In the absence of clarification or commentary and the apparently healthy financial situation, Amber’s entry could lead to some concern in the sector.
In the days before the company went into administration, Companies House registered a new company, Block One Group Ltd., founded by Nicholas Stephen Proctor, apparently the same Nick Proctor who founded and runs Amber Energy. It is unclear what, if any, relationship there is between the new company and Amber Energy.
Solar energy portal has contacted Amber Energy for comment on this story.
