Dale Vince, founder of Stroud-based Ecotricity, has hit back at criticisms from a rival energy company that he is being 'disruptive'.

The Ecotricity boss took to social media in response to last week's article on Punchline Gloucester to say the comment from rival eco-friendly Good Energy 'paints an untruthful picture'.

Ecotricity stood accused of being a 'Bad Santa' after it delivered an unwanted Christmas Eve present of a demand for an emergency general meeting at Wiltshire-based Good Energy.

Ecotricity, a major shareholder, with 25% of the stock, wants Good Energy to sack its chairman and drop plans to sell its wind farm.

Good Energy responded by accusing Ecotricity of attempting to disrupt the company's efforts 'in the midst of the national energy crisis'.

But at the weekend, via LinkedIn, Dale Vince wrote: "We've raised a number of serious issues with them and had no satisfactory replies."

He said the requisition for an emergency general meeting came after Good Energy failed to issue a profit warning in late September about the effects of the energy crisis. After assurances to shareholders, the firm then issued one in November.

Dale Vince continues: "That November update came with assurances that things would be back to normal this spring - which flew in the face of the clear forward price for energy which remains high until spring 2023. This was followed three week later by another bigger profit warning with just nine days of the financial year left."

He added that the intention to sell all generating assets made 'little sense for a green energy supplier in normal times, and none at all in the teeth of this continuing energy crisis'.

He said the move amounted to a break up of the company. He also said Good Energy needed a new leader 'after years of drift and underperformance'.

Since requesting the general meeting for shareholders, Ecotricity has been in discussions with the Board.

Vince says the Board offered the resignation of the chairman Will Whitehorn, if Ecotricity would agree to the sale of the company's wind farm.

But Vince said this made no sense because selling its generation capacity would 'fundamentally damage the company and shareholder value'. He opposed what he sees as 'an asset strip'.

The requisitioned general meeting is scheduled for 11th February 2022.