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 - we’re going to start by clearing this up a little.
About Sainsburys Energy
In this section, we’ll take you through a few common questions that pop up about Sainsburys Energy:
Who provides Sainsburys Energy?
Until April 2019, Sainsburys Energy was provided by British Gas. From this date, its customers were switched over to British Gas and those who have taken no action will still be with this provider.
Later in 2019, Sainsburys entered into an agreement with Npower and customers who have signed up to a Sainbsurys Energy tariff since should still be under contract with Sainsburys, though their home is supplied by Npower.
Is Sainsburys Energy closing?
No. The provider’s new partnership with Npower is alive and well and seems to be unaffected also by Eon’s takeover of Npower in 2020.
I was a Sainsburys Energy customer prior to April 2019 - how was I affected?
If you were a Sainsburys Energy customer prior to April 2019, you will have been switched to British Gas automatically from this date. This will not have affected you significantly, as the energy giant was already behind your supply and the customer services associated with your account, but it’s important to know.
If you’ve taken no action since this period, it’s highly likely that you’ve since been switched to British Gas’s standard variable tariff from the deal you were on, which likely means you’re paying a lot more.
Sainsburys Energy reviews
Sainsburys Energy reviews online offer a conflicting image of how happy customers are and have been with the provider. At first glance, its score of 3.7 out of 5 stars on consumer review site Trustpilot appears positive. On closer inspection, however, it can be seen that almost half of reviewers give the provider a negative review.
One way to explain away this problem is that Trustpilot gives more weight to reviews placed more recently, and it’s true that recent Sainsburys Energy reviews are often positive. Here’s a sample of what reviews for the provider are saying:
So far so good, have nothing to complain about. Switch went smoothly, had to contact customer services to change a minor account detail, they were helpful, friendly and efficient. Pricing is competitive and the app and website are very easy to use, enter readings and manage your account.
Call centre staff, in particular, come in for some praise in recent reviews, often being described as friendly and efficient. Reviewers often name the agent who was helpful to them, which makes us think that people are being asked to leave a review to bring up the provider’s score, but as long as the review is truthful we see no problem with this.
A helpful customer support team providing a good service goes a long way in an industry where complaints performance is increasingly poor, so we would say that Sainsburys Energy reviews suggest that the provider is worth considering.
Sainsburys Energy tariffs
In this section, we’ll take you through Sainsburys Energy tariffs and the benefits of signing up with them:
Fix and reward tariff
These Sainsburys Energy tariffs both come with an exit fee attached of £30 but its prices are fixed for the full term of the contract. The annual estimates fall under the regulated price cap of £1,138 for dual fuel at the time of writing (last updated May 2021), but we would say you could definitely find a deal that’s easier on your wallet.
Green tariffs
While Sainsburys Energy tariffs are not technically 100% green - you can see its fuel mix for yourself below - as it uses fossil fuels like natural gas and coal to create its energy, it does claim that its tariffs are 100% renewable. This is because it matches 100% of the electricity its customers use with the purchase of REGOs (link coming soon), which is energy generated from renewable sources.
This process of matching the energy you use with renewable energy generation is called carbon offsetting, and you can learn more about it in our guide.
Fuel mix
Like all providers, Sainsburys Energy is obliged to give a full account of where it sources its energy from. You can find this information and see how it compares to the UK average in this table:
| - | Coal | Natural gas | Nuclear | Renewables | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sainsburys Energy (Npower) average | 4.8% | 54.4% | 6.2% | 30.7% | 3.9% |
| National average | 3.9% | 39.4% | 16.6% | 37.9% | 2.2% |
These figures are also Npower’s figures, and this is because Npower supplies Sainsburys customers’ fuel. They make for disappointing reading for those wanting to reduce their carbon footprint, relying more on fossil fuels and less on renewable energy than the national average.
Sainsburys Energy app
Customers can manage their energy use either online via the provider’s website or via the Sainsburys Energy app. The app offers the following features:
- Track how much you use and when you use it
- Submit your meter readings quickly and easily
- A built-in torch function to read your meter in the dark or in hard-to-reach places
- See your energy use across days, weeks, or months with easy-to-read graphs
- Check your estimated use for the future
- Access all of your tariff information
- View your account history
- Contact a customer service agent through the app
The Sainsburys Energy app is available for download in both the App Store and in the Google Play store. It is rated reasonably well by reviewers on both operating systems, scoring 3.7 out of 5 for iOS and 4 out of 5 for Android, with few reviewers finding a reason to complain about its functionality or any bugs.
Sainsburys Energy log in help
Whether you’re logging in online or via the app, you’ll need to enter the email address with which you signed up and your password to log in. If you’re struggling to remember your Sainsburys Energy log in information, you can get help by clicking the link that says ‘Reset / Change password’ under the login button.
Sainsburys Energy smart meter
Sainsburys Energy does offer smart meters to its customers. It says that installing a smart meter is not obligatory, but it is committed to rolling them out in line with the government’s policy of having them in every home in the UK by 2020.
We would recommend that customers get a Sainsburys Energy smart meter fitted so as to save money and cut their carbon footprint by staying in control of their energy consumption. Smart meters also save you the hassle of meter readings and eliminate the possibility of paying over the odds with estimated bills.
Sainsburys Energy warm home discount
Sainsburys Energy customers could be eligible for the Warm Home Discount with the provider. The scheme offers a discount of £140 from the energy bills of vulnerable people at risk of fuel poverty. There are two ways to qualify for the Sainsburys Energy warm home discount:
- You could qualify as a member of the Core Group, in which case you will be notified by the government in advance and receive the discount automatically.
- You could qualify as a member of the Broader Group, in which case you have to apply every year to your provider (if it offers the discount).
The Sainsburys Energy warm home discount is offered to members of the Broader Group on a first-come, first-served basis, so you’ll have to pay attention to when applications open on the provider’s website. You can apply online or over the phone, but there is no guarantee that you’ll be accepted, even if you received the discount the previous year.
Sainsburys Energy contact number
Looking for a Sainsbury’s Energy contact number? You’ve come to the right place, you can find the numbers you need in the table we’ve put together below:
| Department | Sainsburys Energy contact number | Opening hours |
|---|---|---|
| General inquiries (new customers) | 0808 274 3338 | Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except for bank holidays) |
| General inquiries (existing customers) | 0800 088 4127 | Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm; Saturday 9am to 1pm (except for bank holidays) |
If you don’t want to wait to be attended to over the phone, you can email them at [email protected] and an agent will get back to you.
Looking for the number to call in case of an emergency?If you’re a Sainsburys Energy customer and you want to report a gas emergency, the number to call is 0800 111 999, which is a 24-hour emergency line. To report a power cut, call 105.