The deal to transfer Bulb’s 1.5 million customers to Octopus Energy was finalised last night.

Bill payers will remain on Bulb’s systems and will be looked after by the same team for an interim period.

The deal will save taxpayers millions of pounds as Bulb moves back into private ownership.

Bulb was the largest of more than 30 energy suppliers to collapse in 2021 due to the volatility of the wholesale energy market.

The government set aside £1.7bn in November 2021 to support the work of administrator Teneo and to allow Bulb to continue trading until a buyer was found.

Because of its size, the transfer agreement was implemented using a new process known as the Energy Transfer Scheme (ETS) rather than the usual method whereby regulator Ofgem transfers customers to other providers under its Supplier of Last Resort regime.

According to the BBC, the bailout could end up costing the tax payer £4.5bn depending on energy prices this winter.

Legal challenges from other energy providers against the Business and Energy Secretary’s decision to approve the sale of Bulb Energy have been received with court dates for the judicial reviews set for next year.

Greg Jackson, chief executive and founder of Octopus Energy, said: “This starts to bring an end to the huge financial exposures for taxpayers and paves the way for a better and more certain future for Bulb’s staff and customers.

“For now, we’d ask Bulb customers to sit tight – they will still be looked after by the Bulb team. We’ll be in touch with customers as and when their account is ready to move to Octopus.”