List of Electricity Supply Companies in the UK
Although you can get an electricity contract with almost all UK energy companies, many people are still with their incumbent supplier before deregulation. Here’s a comprehensive listing of all the electricity suppliers in the UK.
There are six leading electricity and gas supply companies in the UK, and anyone can choose to switch to these companies no matter where they’re based geographically. It’s easy to switch your electric and gas supplies over to these companies, and most will do all the hard work for you.
- British Gas
- Eon (formally Powergen and Npower)
- OVO (including SSE)
- Octopus
- ScottishPower
- EDF Energy
Other companies supply just to their region; an example is SWALEC, which only offers supplies to homes in Wales.
Price Comparison Websites
When thinking of changing your electricity supplier or checking out the latest offers in the marketplace, you can either go to one of the big six companies’ websites mentioned above or one of the many price comparison websites.
Either way, you will only need your address and consumption data to get a range of accurate quotes.
You may find that the energy companies’ websites show you their competitor rates as they don’t want to pay the commissions on the comparison sites. So although the rates will generally be the same, it’s still worth checking out deals directly first. The primary price comparison websites in the UK for residential energy products are as follows:
- Moneysupermarket
- Uswitch
- EnergyLinx (powers GoCompare)
- The Energy Shop
- Love Energy Savings (includes Energy Help Line, powers CompareTheMarket)
The other Ofgem accredited comparison websites are My Utility Genius, Simply Switch, Switch Gas & Electric, QuoteZone and Unravel It.
Green Energy Companies
Some specialist companies offer green-only contracts that power your home with renewable energy. Some power your home directly, while others offset your usage of brown electricity by buying renewable energy on your behalf. Depending on your needs, you should check the terms of supply. Most big six suppliers also offer green-type contracts, mainly on buying renewable energy to offset your “brown” energy usage. Two of the main players in the green market are:
- Ecotricity
- Green Energy UK
Switching Your Supply Made Easy
Thousands of homeowners switch their energy suppliers each month to take account of the ever-changing prices. But, unfortunately, if you have never switched or are on a standard tariff, you’ll probably be paying far too much for your electricity and gas supplies.
Switching your supplier is easy these days, and most of the hard work is done for you by the new electric and gas provider to your home. Therefore, all you need to do is to find a contract that saves you money. The supplier we recommend is British Gas because they have become more competitive in the UK energy market and were the first to cut prices in previous years.
You should check out all deals to see if you want to fix your prices or opt for a discount on a standard tariff that most special contracts offer. And if you are not paying by monthly direct debit, you are also spending too much. Most suppliers provide between a 6% and a 10% discount for paying by this method.