£1,000 a customer? Why the UK is counting the cost of keeping Bulb’s lights on

Taxpayer may have to pay 1.7bn to power the firm's unsustainable' business model on life-support this winter

The UK government has begun to count the cost of Bulb Energy's collapse as many begin to wonder whether it is a fair price to pay for policymakers' failure to spot a looming market breakdown.

The life-support scheme set up to allow Bulb to keep supplying gas and electricity to its 1.7 million customers through the winter months could cost taxpayers up to 1.7bn, or 1,000 a customer, according to a court application to hand the company to a special administrator.