What's going on?

TXU Europe, which includes TXU Energi, is trying to head off the possibility of being put into administration after its US parent company refused to provide funds to improve its finances.

The company can either renegotiate the contracts that have been giving it a headache and restructure its business.

Or it would have to sell all or part of the European businesses.

Some sales are expected.

The US parent has turned off the cash tap and the UK operation is running dry; how will this affect customers?

The company says it is business as usual for customers: There is no threat to customers' energy supplies or the service that they receive.

But the phones at the consumer watchdog Energywatch have been glowing.

People are afraid of being cut off, though Energywatch insists they have nothing to fear.

So, should I worry at all?

No.

If TXU decided to sell off its UK business, it should have few problems finding a buyer.

It is the third largest domestic energy supplier in the UK, and its competitors are probably keen to get access to its customers - even though the energy market is pretty troubled at the moment because prices have fallen 40% since 1998.

Even so, if TXU fails to sell its energy unit, its customers would be protected from any interruption in their gas supply through provisions in the Utilities Act 2000.

Under these rules, the regulator Ofgem must appoint a "supplier of last resort" to make sure the energy supply is maintained.

What can customers do to make doubly sure they're all right?

Energywatch said customers who pay by direct debit should ensure they have neither overpaid nor underpaid.

"In the event of a worst-case scenario, consumers are normally at the bottom of a long-list of creditors," said an Energywatch spokesman.

They should also take a meter reading.

TXU and Energywatch said TXU customers should also watch out for rogue salesmen, who may try to capitalise on the current uncertainty.

Who are TXU Energi's customers?

TXU has five-and-a-quarter million UK customers who buy their electricity from its main retail businesses.

These include the former regional suppliers Norweb and Eastern which it owns.

Most of the customers are based in the North West - around Liverpool and Manchester - and in East Anglia.

Earlier in the year, TXU acquired 400,000 additional domestic customers when it bought the UK retail arm of US oil group Amerada Hess.