Sky News has learnt that So Energy, which has around 300, 000 household electricity customers, is working with advisers on a process to find new owners.
City sources said on Friday that a number of industry players had been sounded about a deal.
The professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is handling the auction.
So Energy is majority-owned by Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board, which acquired a controlling stake in 2021.
The business was founded in 2015.
News of the auction comes in the same week that Andy Burnham, the new prime minister, said he would scrap VAT on domestic energy bills as part of efforts to ease the cost of living.
“Our parent company, ESB, has initiated a process to evaluate potential divestment options for So Energy,” a spokesperson said in response to an enquiry from Sky News on Friday.
“Following a strategic review, ESB plans to focus on its core business.
“So Energy is a well-run, fully hedged and efficient supplier with a secure customer base and a decade-long record of excellent customer service.”
The company added that it “remains business as usual, with customers’ energy supply and support unaffected.”
The auction of So Energy comes as E.ON finalises its takeover of Ovo Energy to create what by some measures will be Britain’s biggest domestic energy supplier.
