Better Energy was a gas supplier working in the UK market from 2010 until its license was revoked in March 2020, but the provider’s customers were being moved over to another supplier as early as 2019. If you weren’t aware of the closure and want to find out more, you’ll find everything you need to know on this page.
Bristol Energy is a community-focused energy supplier with a mission to help locals save money on their energy bills and to reinvest profits into social projects. Run by Bristol City Council, they offer a range of energy tariffs to homeowners and businesses in the South West and across the UK.
With its origins back in the early nineteenth century, British Gas is still the UK’s largest and best-known energy provider. It supplies gas and electricity to over 12 million customers and commands a share of about 20% of the electricity market. Is it still the best choice today?
Bulb are a tech-focused energy startup on a mission to fix the 'broken' energy industry and make renewable energy "cheaper, simpler and greener" for households and businesses in the UK.
Coop Energy claims to be a different type of electricity and gas supplier. Unlike other UK energy companies, Coop (also known as Cooperative Energy) is part of a larger Cooperative, meaning the company is owned by coop members, rather than large foreign corporations like most Big Six companies. But is Coop Energy really revolutionary or just one more big energy supplier? We’re delving into the supplier’s history, services offered, fuel mix, prices and more to find out.
Daligas is one of the few energy providers in the UK to only supply gas. Its offer is straightforward: just two gas tariffs - one for domestic customers and one for businesses. Could it be worth signing up with Daligas? Find out on this page.
Ebico was a not-for-profit gas and electricity provider working under a white-label agreement with Robin Hood Energy. It sought to help people struggling to pay their energy bills while also providing 100% green electricity, but what will the failure of its parent provider mean for Ebico customers? Read on to find out.
Ecotricity is the trailblazing supplier that started the green energy movement. Founded by renewable energy maverick Dale Vince OBE in the mid-nineties, it was the world’s first renewable supplier and the UK's first vegan energy supplier. Now, it generates its own energy through various wind, solar and sea projects, is involved in numerous eco-initiatives and claims to be "Britain's greenest energy company".
With a base of around five million customers, EDF Energy is one of the UK’s biggest energy providers. It is a French-owned company which entered the market in 2002 by acquiring several formerly state-owned electricity boards and power stations. However, in an increasingly competitive market with more and more green options, can it continue to hold its weight?
German-owned Eon entered the UK energy market almost twenty years ago with the acquisition of Powergen - a familiar name to this day. It has established itself as one of the country’s major providers, with over four million customers, but is it worth switching to?
Ecotricity is the world’s first green energy company. Founded in 1996 with just a single windmill, it now supplies green gas and electricity to around 200,000 homes in the UK. What’s it offering on the market that makes Ecotricity so popular? Find out what that is and how to get a piece of the good green stuff.
Flow Energy UK was a gas and electricity company based in Ipswich that supplied energy to households across the UK. In 2018 it was bought by Co-op Energy, but tariffs continued to be sold under the Flow Energy name. However, in 2019 Octopus Energy acquired all Flow Energy customers and the supplier stopped trading. Read on for more details on the former provider and information on what happens now for customers.
Gnergy was an independent energy provider that went bust early in 2020. Were you with Gnergy? On this page, you’ll find out everything you need to know about the provider, including what its closure meant for existing customers.
Good Energy has a history of pioneering green-first approaches to energy sourcing and supply, being the first to provide 100% renewable energy. Find out more about the supplier, its latest prices and tariffs, account management services, and reviews, all here in this guide.
An early adopter, Green Energy UK has been offering green electricity to the UK market for nearly two decades. This has become common enough, with many providers picking up on the demand for renewable products, but the provider has set itself apart once again by offering 100% green gas. Could it be the right supplier for you? Read on to find out.
Green Star Energy entered the UK market in 2013, expanding from the US provider Just Energy Group, which had accumulated over two million customers in the States. It has since ceased independent operations, being absorbed by a larger energy provider in 2019 - want to find out more? Keep reading.
iSupply Energy was a high-performing independent energy supplier that went bust in 2020 and its customers have since been switched - what happened? How were its customers affected? Get all the answers you need.
M&S Energy partners with Octopus Energy through what's called a 'white-label' agreement to provide gas and electricity to domestic customers. The company claims to offer ‘feel-great energy’ that is affordable and 100% renewable.
Npower has been a mainstay of the UK energy industry for two decades, beginning life under the name Innogy in 2000. Operating as Npower since 2002, it was one of the country’s major suppliers in its own right until it became a subsidiary of another industry leader in 2019.
Octopus Energy started trading in 2015, and in just five years has over one million customers! As the only energy provider to be branded the Which? recommended supplier of the year two years running, it seems to be getting a lot of things right. With a wide range of tariffs, competitive prices, 100% renewable electricity, and award-winning customer service, is Octopus Energy worth switching to?
Since its launch in 2017, Outfox the Market has promised to help customers save money on their energy bills while reducing their carbon footprint. Is it worth signing up with them? Read on and you’ll be able to decide for yourself.
Launched in 2009 and with a focus on clean energy, Bristol-based Ovo Energy is the UK’s biggest independent energy supplier. After acquiring Economy Energy and SSE’s home energy business in 2019, Ovo has become the second-largest energy provider in the UK, just behind British Gas. Read on to find out what Ovo Energy can offer you.
Pure Planet Energy is a new energy company created by the team who founded Virgin Mobile. An ethical energy company which uses 100% renewable energy and 100% carbon offset gas, it is the first digital-only energy supplier in the UK. With one tariff and affordable prices, it has a 0% markup on wholesale energy prices.
Do you do your shopping at Sainsbury’s? If so, you may be interested to know that you could save money on your weekly shop by signing up for home energy with Sainsburys Energy. The provider went bust in 2019 when a deal with British Gas fell through, but it resurfaced some months later under a new agreement with Npower. If you were a Sainsburys Energy customer in the past, this may leave you wondering where you stand
Scottish Power is one of the UK’s most established providers, having been formed in 1990 in preparation for the privatisation of the previously state-owned Scottish electricity industry. Now owned by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, it continues to supply around five million customers in the UK. Can the <a href="https://theswitch.co.uk/energy/providers/big-six">Big Six</a> giant continue to hold its own in a market with an increasing number of independent providers offering affordable green alternatives?
Based in London, So Energy is a 100% green independent energy supplier which began operating in the UK in 2015. So Energy UK believes that contrary to customers current impression, energy companies can be simple, honest and good value.
Like many of the utility companies that emerged after 1990, Southern Electric was formed from its area electricity board, ‘Southern Electricity Board’. In 1998, it merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc, a company in a very similar situation, to form Scottish and Southern Energy plc, now trading as the shortened, ‘SSE’. SSE are now the UK's largest producer of renewable energy, their production of which, has, however, taken a reported drop.
Spark Energy was a mid-sized independent supplier which was acquired by a competitor in 2018, having amassed almost 300,000 customers in its 11 years of independent activity. Were you a Spark customer? Still in doubt about where you stand? Read on and we’ll clear matters up for you.
Once one of the UK’s major providers with a base of 3.5 million customers, SSE has sold its retail energy division to a competitor and its customers will gradually be switched over. Are you an SSE customer? Read on to find out how you’ll be affected.
Swalec is the South Wales Electricity board supply and distribution company that was bought by SSE in 2000 for £210m. It is now most famous for the stadium in Cardiff which carries its name
Tonik Energy was a renewable energy supplier on a mission - to provide British households with cheaper, greener energy and halve their energy bills by 2022. It was an ambitious goal, and after helping over 130,000 customers join the green energy revolution, it went bust in 2020. Find out why and what happens next below.
Utilita is an independent provider which specialises in prepayment tariffs. It was responsible for the installation of the UK’s first smart meter in 2008, claiming to have “helped transform the energy industry for the better” by pioneering this technology.
Looking for information about Utility Warehouse? Don’t know the Clubhouse from the Partner Portal? We can help you there, as well as providing information about reviews and tariffs. You’ll also find login help and contact numbers.
Zog Energy is an independent gas-only supplier that was founded in 2013. While its name may sound out of this world, Zog was founded by two Queens Award-winning engineers, Andrew Cleveland and Tony Chester, as a response to the bad customer service and high prices that they found in existing utility companies.
The United Kingdom has a large number of energy providers that supply residential customers with gas and electricity. Below you can find the suppliers we have reviewed so far to help you compare them.
These energy companies aim to source and supply green electricity and in some cases also renewable or carbon offset gas for their customers.
Is your provider charging you too much for a bad product?An independent provide could offer you a green tariff for less. Give us a call today to find out more. Call 020 3608 4293 or Get a free callback now.
Not all gas and electricity suppliers share the same environmental goals as those mentioned above. There are a great number of energy companies in the UK both, big and small
The Big Six is a popular name for the UK energy cartel made up of the six most established companies on the market.
The UK energy market is dominated by six major suppliers who together control 77% and 76% of the electricity and gas markets. Together they are known as the "Big Six" and include household names such as British Gas and E.ON. However, in recent years the Big Six have lost millions of customers thanks to the rise of over 60 smaller independent suppliers.
Founded in 1997, British Gas are the UK's largest gas and electricity supplier with around 13 million customers. British Gas supply the highest percentage of renewable energy (43%) of all the Big Six and also had the best customer service record and fewest complaints in 2018.
The second largest supplier with around 7.3 million customers are SSE plc. Founded in 1998, they are based in Scotland but supply gas and electricity to customers across the UK and Ireland. They also rank second in terms of renewable energy supply, with around 21% of their energy sourced from renewables.
E.ON are a global energy company based in Germany. The UK arm of E.ON was set up in 1989, originally named Powergen but were rebranded as E.ON in 2007. E.ON supplies around 7 million customers in the UK and they also own and operate renewable energy infrastructure including wind farms and biomass power stations.
EDF is a subsidiary of its French parent company Électricité de France. EDF launched in the UK in 2002 and has around 5.7 million customers. EDF's energy supply is sourced mostly from nuclear energy (71.2%) and they supply the least amount of renewable energy (11.7%) of all the Big Six.
The fifth largest energy company in the UK with around 5.2 million customers is Scottish Power. Originally founded in 1990, they were taken over in 2006 by Iberdrola, a Spanish energy company and now serve around 10% of the UK's energy market.
The smallest of the Big Six is Npower which was founded in 2002, originally under the name Innogy plc. They currently supply around 4 million customers. Npower offer the third highest percentage of renewable energy (18.7%) between the Big Six - behind British Gas (43%) and SSE (21%) respectively. Npower also specialises in renewable energy for business.
British Gas remain the largest electricity and gas supplier, with a 20% share of the retail electricity market and 30% of the gas market. The next biggest energy supplier in the UK is SSE, followed by EON, EDF and Scottish Power. Npower take sixth position with a share of 9% of the electricity market and 8% of the gas market.
Although British Gas remain the UK's biggest supplier, their market share has dropped significantly from 25% in 2013. The rest of the big six have also lost market share over the past five years due to the rise of smaller energy suppliers and the increase in customers switching through comparison services such as Selectra UK.
| Energy Supplier |
Customers (million) |
Electricity Market Share (April - June 2018) |
Gas Market Share (April - June 2018) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | British Gas | 13m | 20% | 30% |
| 2 | SSE | 7.3m | 14% | 11% |
| 3 | E.ON | 7m | 13% | 11% |
| 4 | EDF | 5.7m | 11% | 8% |
| 5 | Scottish Power | 5.2m | 10% | 8% |
| 6 | Npower | 4m | 9% | 8% |
| Totals | 42.2m | 77% | 76% |
Source: Ofgem.
British Gas offers the largest share of renewable energy in their fuel mix (43%), followed by SSE (21%) and Npower (18.7%) respectively.
Thankfully, all the Big Six suppliers have been increasing their supply of green energy in recent years whilst reducing their usage of coal, with no supplier including more than 10%.
When it comes to nuclear energy, EDF Energy are by far the biggest nuclear energy suppliers with a huge 71.2%. The rest however do not rely on nuclear much, especially SSE who only use 5%.
Natural gas also contributes a major element in the Big Six's fuel mixes, with most suppliers sourcing between 37% and 66% of their energy from natural gas. The exception to this is EDF who only use 9.4%.
Overall then, unlike many green suppliers who offer 100% renewable energy, the Big Six still have a way to go to be as green as their smaller rivals. But if you're keen on choosing one of the Big Six AND going green, British Gas are your best bet!
| British Gas | EDF Energy | E.ON | Npower | Scottish Power | SSE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable | 43% | 11.7% | 16.7% | 18.7% | 15% | 21% |
| Coal | 7% | 7.6% | 10.1% | 9.8% | 7% | 7% |
| Natural gas | 37% | 9.4% | 53.5% | 52.3% | 66% | 65% |
| Nuclear | 11% | 71.2% | 16.2% | 15.9% | 10% | 5% |
| Other | 2% | 0.2% | 3.5% | 3.3% | 2% | 2% |
Source: Electricity.info
To compare the prices of the Big Six, we gathered quotes from each of their standard variable tariffs. Using the UK's average household usage figures - 3,100kWh of electricity and 12,500kWh of gas per year, we used the same London postcode to compare prices as closely as possible.
As you can see below, the Big Six actually charge similar rates for gas and electricity on their standard tariffs. EDF Energy appears to be the most expensive supplier among the Big Six at around £1,305 per year for the average 2 bed house in London. British Gas offered the cheapest quote at £1,120, a difference of £185 per year.
| Supplier | Avg. per year (Elec.) | Avg. per year (Gas) | Total per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Gas | £543 | £577 | £1,120 |
| EDF Energy | £669 | £636 | £1,305 |
| E.ON | £592 | £612 | £1,204 |
| Npower | £626 | £627 | £1,253 |
| Scottish Power | £629 | £607 | £1,236 |
| SSE | £595 | £611 | £1,206 |
Quotes gathered in July 2018. Source: Energy supplier websites.
With such huge numbers of customers, ensuring a consistently high standard of customer service is not easy for any supplier. Many customers stick with the Big Six names due to their familiarity and well-known brand name, but does this mean customers are actually satisfied with their customer service?
Looking at the Ofgem's research below, it's clear that none of the Big Six excel when it comes to customer care. Npower and Scottish Power customers appear to be the least happy with their supplier's service, bills and contacting the customer service team.
SSE on the other hand lead the big six in all three categories and have the highest percentage (35%) of customers that would recommend their supplier. Whilst they may offer the best service of the Big Six, only one in three customers would be happy to recommend SSE which is pretty poor overall.
| British Gas | EDF Energy | E.ON | Npower | Scottish Power | SSE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customers satisfied with service | 71% | 68% | 71% | 65% | 68% | 74% |
| Customers satisfied with understandable bills | 73% | 71% | 74% | 70% | 70% | 73% |
| Customers satisfied with contacting supplier | 75% | 68% | 70% | 65% | 65% | 75% |
| Customers that would recommend their supplier | 35% | 29% | 33% | 28% | 28% | 35% |
Correct as of February 2018. Source: Ofgem.
Between the Big Six, Scottish Power receive the most complants with around 2,800 complaints for every 100,000 customers. However, SSE and E.ON follow closely behind, both with around 2,500 complaints each per 100,000 customers. Interestingly, British Gas can boast the fewest complaints with just under 1,500 per 100,000 customers.
Npower is the supplier that takes the longest to resolve complaints - only solving aound half of customer complaints within one working day. Compare this to E.ON who manage to resolve a much better rate of 78% of complaints within a day.
| British Gas | EDF Energy | E.ON | Npower | Scottish Power | SSE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complaints per 100,000 accounts * | 1,486 | 2,291 | 2,517 | 2,208 | 2,799 | 2,546 |
| Complaints resolved within 1 day * | 60% | 58% | 78% | 49% | 54% | 77% |
* Third quarter 2018 (July - September). Source: Ofgem.
The United Kingdom has a massive amount of smaller companies trying to get a slice of the retail energy pie. Here's just a few of them:
The UK energy sector is made up of several layers:
Energy suppliers are the last step in the energy journey, their one job is to charge you for the energy you use. They buy up gas and electricity in bulk on a wholesale market so they can then sell it on to British households and businesses for profit.
This energy wholesale market is similar to a stock market with the price of electricity and gas fluctuating depending on demand and supply. Energy providers try to buy energy at low prices when electricity generators are outstripping demand on the national grid. This allows energy providers to sell it on to their customers with a sizeable markup that goes straight to their bottom line.
The opposite can also happen where demand comes close to meeting the outer envelope of supply which then drives up energy prices on the wholesale market. In those situations, energy companies may make less money or even lose a little.
While British energy companies play the energy wholesale market, regular customers are insulated from sudden changes in energy prices through two main types of tariffs which most energy suppliers adhere to:
While it might be tempting to think that one energy company will provide better quality gas or electricity than another, that’s simply untrue. Every UK household gets the same kind of gas and electricity through the national grid and their local Distribution Network Operator, no matter where they are.
Going with a cheaper energy provider doesn’t mean more power cuts or brownouts. In fact, in the unfortunate event of a power outage, your energy supplier will only be able to refer you to your Distribution Network Operator or a national power outage helpline who will actually be responsible for dispatching engineers who can fix the problem
The main differences between energy companies for UK customers are as follows:
Green energy companies are no longer more expensive than companies that are less caring when it comes to the environment. Renewable electricity is competitive when stacked against less environmentally-friendly sources. Using greener electricity comes down to mere willingness to do so in this day and age.
Since a more expensive provider doesn’t net UK energy consumers a more reliable gas and electricity supply, there is no point staying with a company that overcharges its customers. The UK energy market privatisation was justified as a way of giving all Britons more choice and better prices for their gas and electricity.
This means that UK households are responsible for finding the best deal for their home. However, over 70% of people stick with the same big energy company instead of shopping around for a leaner and more competitive supplier.
It’s worth noting that the majority of the big energy suppliers listed above are owned by foreign companies. Anyone staying with these suppliers out of a sense of patriotism is misplacing their loyalty. Take Scottish Power, for example, they are owned by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola.
With so many energy companies doing essentially the same thing, picking the right one for your home is no easy feat. Here at theSwitch, we have a few pointers to get you started:
