More than 52,000 Danish electricity customers are being transferred to Energidrift this weekend in a court-supervised deal that values each contract at just 318 kroner, while the collapsed Velkommen group owes at least 75 million kroner to creditors including consumers who prepaid their bills and may never see that money again.
Customers across Denmark woke up over the weekend to unexpected SMS messages telling them they had been moved to electricity provider Energidrift. Many thought they had already escaped the troubled Velkommen group by switching suppliers. Now they are being pulled back into a fast-track reconstruction deal that leaves their prepaid balances behind.
According to TV 2 Nyheder, the energy supplier OK reported being swamped with hundreds of angry calls from customers who insist they never agreed to move. Energidrift maintains it is acting on valid customer relationships transferred under the court-approved plan. But the underlying numbers tell a troubling story about how little these customer contracts are actually worth to the buyers.
Your electricity contract sold for less than a monthly bill
Reconstruction documents show that 52,392 customer contracts from Velkommen, Nettopower, Vedvarende and B.Energy are being sold for a combined 16.7 million kroner. That works out to about 318 kroner per agreement. For comparison, a typical Danish household pays 600 to 1,200 kroner per month in electricity prepayments depending on usage and family size.
Meanwhile, Nettopower and Vedvarende alone have booked 10 and 20 million kroner respectively as prepaid customer payments they still owe back to consumers. Those prepaid balances are not following customers to Energidrift. Instead, they stay locked in the old companies as claims in a creditor process that has already reached around 75 million kroner.
The state’s tax authority Gældsstyrelsen has filed a claim for more than 52.5 million kroner, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of the approximately 75 million kroner in registered creditor claims, according to Nyheder24. That leaves very little room for the approximately 150 registered consumer claims, which range from a few hundred kroner up to more than 50,000 kroner in individual cases.
Fast-track deal left no time to object
The formal deadline for creditors to object to the reconstruction plan expired on 24 July at 23:59. Under Danish company transfer rules, the sale could be implemented immediately after that cutoff. Consumer organisations raised the alarm ahead of the deadline, flagging serious concerns about who is financially backing Energidrift and whether the controversial power industry player Kjøller A/S might be involved.
A press release issued via Ritzau stated explicitly that it is not documented whether Kjøller is providing investment or guarantees to Energidrift. That opacity is particularly worrying for internationals in Denmark who may struggle to trace the corporate links between failing suppliers and new entrants.
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Energidrift was founded in 2022 and operates from a registered address in Værløse. Its Trustpilot score sits at around 4.3 out of 5 based on roughly 200 reviews, suggesting a generally positive track record before this mass transfer. Acquiring more than 50,000 contracts overnight through a reconstruction deal is a different scale entirely.
Prepaid customers become unsecured creditors
For many customers, especially expats, the bureaucratic maze is just beginning. Anyone who overpaid their electricity bills to Velkommen, Nettopower or B.Energy now has to file a formal claim with the court-appointed reconstructor, advokat Flemming Jensen. The Ankenævnet guidance spells out exactly what you need: name, address, customer number, claim size even if estimated, and supporting documents like invoices and bank statements.
All correspondence must go to Flemming Jensen at Dalgasgade 29A, 3. th., 7400 Herning, or by email to info@fjlaw.dk. The guidance is published in Danish with heavy legal terminology like rekonstruktør and fordring. There is no English version. If the reconstruction later collapses into bankruptcy, you will have to file again with the new bankruptcy estate, meaning consumers must file again or risk losing their claim if they miss the new deadline.
According to Eurostat, roughly 13 to 14 percent of Denmark’s population are foreign citizens. If you assume a similar share among these customers as in the overall population, a simple proportional estimate would suggest on the order of 6,800 to 7,300 of the 52,392 contracts could belong to foreign citizens, but there is no official breakdown by nationality. Many will be navigating this claims process through Google Translate or asking Danish-speaking friends for help.
What you should do now
You are free to switch electricity supplier at any time. Energidrift advertises zero binding and no sign-up fees, but so do many other Danish suppliers. If you prefer OK or another provider, you can initiate a new switch immediately. The grid operator Energinet ensures your physical supply continues regardless of which company name is on your bill.
If Velkommen or its sister companies owe you money, send your claim to the reconstructor as soon as possible. Include copies of your final bills, disputed invoices, account statements and any email correspondence. Keep a copy of everything you send in case the process moves to bankruptcy later.
Consumer organisations strongly advise limiting new prepayment exposure. Do not sign up for large aconto payments with Energidrift or any new supplier until you are confident in their stability. Ask to be billed monthly in arrears for actual consumption instead. You can contact Energidrift customer service at 44 45 44 34 or kundeservice@energidrift.dk to adjust estimated usage if initial bills look unreasonably high.
A pattern of failing electricity suppliers and stranded consumers
This is not the first time Danish electricity customers have been caught when a supplier collapses. As Ankenævnet på Energiområdet notes in its guidance, if the reconstruction later ends in bankruptcy, consumers must file again with the bankruptcy estate, creating a real risk that some may lose money if they miss the second filing deadline.
Denmark’s current approach is notably less protective than several other EU countries. In the UK, under supplier of last resort rules, credit balances typically follow customers or are honoured by a levy on the wider industry. The reconstructor’s contract with Energidrift explicitly states, as reported by TV 2 Nyheder, that the buyer takes on no debts and no liabilities, confirming that prepaid balances will not follow you to your new supplier. For internationals in Denmark who already face language barriers and unfamiliar bureaucracy, this adds a significant layer of financial risk to everyday life.
