Protests are being organized against green energy retailer Powershop Australia by its customers since it was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell as the customers of the Australian company threatening to stop using the renewable energy of the company and shift allegiance to other renewable energy providers so that they are not viewed to be customers of a company that extracts and sells fossil fuel.

Shell announced on Monday that it will partner with Infrastructure Capital Group to purchase Meridian Energy’s (MEL.NZ) Australian energy business, which has more than 185,000 customers, for A$729 million ($526 million). The transaction is scheduled to be completed in early 2022. find out more

Environment Victoria announced on Wednesday that it has ended a six-year collaboration with Powershop Australia because it was no longer viable if Shell bought the company.

“You can’t slap a bit of green paint on a multi-billion dollar pollution machine and expect us to ignore it,” Environment Victoria Chief Executive Jonathan La Nauze said.

Customers of Powershop took to social media to announce that they had moved to other green energy providers and endorsed rivals.

“@PowershopAus such a shame to hear you have been sold out to @Shell … Thanks for your previous service, but I made the switch to another provider today,” Jen Basham said on Twitter.

On Monday, Powershop said on social media that, while company ownership was changing, its “commitment to our consumers and the world” would continue.

According to the agreement, the corporation would remain tethered to its wind and hydroelectric assets through power purchase agreements, and its energy would remain carbon-neutral.

A representative for Shell Australia stated that the firm is dedicated to reducing absolute emissions by 2030 and attaining net-zero emissions by 2050. According to her, the Powershop purchase is in line with the company’s goal of becoming a “leading provider of clean Power-as-a-Service.”

“We look forward to working with Powershop customers to support their energy decarbonisation ambitions,” Shell’s spokesperson said.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)