(Bloomberg) --

The amount of taxpayer money set aside to run collapsed energy supplier Bulb Energy Ltd was cut to £2.2 billion ($2.7 billion) from £3.9 billion, The Times reported, citing documents filed by administrators Teneo.

While the new figure is considerably less than the £6.5 estimate given by the Office for Budget Responsibility, it still makes Bulb the largest government-funded bailout since the Royal Bank of Scotland during the Great Financial Crisis.

Octopus Energy Ltd completed a takeover of Bulb last month, just over a year after it went into administration. The acquisition deal involves using public funds to buy energy on the spot market till the end of March, according to The Times.

The government had effectively prevented the company from taking advantage of the lower gas prices in recent weeks by not allowing it to hedge, the paper reported.

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