Sainsbury’s Energy with British Gas
A new partnership between British Gas and Sainsbury’s sees the energy options offered extended with the opportunity to earn Nectar points.
A new agreement between the giant supermarket Sainsbury’s Energy and British Gas was announced. Previously the agreement was with EDF energy. If you were a customer with EDF you will continue to be supplied by that company but going forward new customers will have their supplies through British Gas. If you continue to stay with EDF as a Sainsbury’s Energy customer then you will no longer be able to collect Nectar points under the agreement.
Collecting Nectar points under this new energy agreement has also been expanded. If you make a dual fuel switch you’ll earn a massive 10,000 points (5,000 for each fuel switched) and another 1,100 points for being a customer after the first year. You can also benefit from having solar panels installed in your home by gaining an additional 10,000 Nectar points (although the Nectar points should not simply be the main reason for choosing Sainsbury’s energy product).
You can also collect Nectar points by signing up directly with British Gas from their own website but for some reason you only get 800 points for a dual fuel contract. The Sainsbury’s Energy site is hard to use because you can’t actually get a quote unless you opt to switch. So seeing what you would pay and trying to compare to other tariffs is currently impossible to achieve. There is also no information as to the rates of the tariffs or even the types of tariffs offered (in relation to the current British Gas offers available).
Other services offered by this new partnership include the installation of solar panels, loft installation and home energy assessments. Although prices are difficult to find, the website does say that they will be expanding the information to make it easier to make an informed decision.
A 2.1 kWp (kilowatt peak) solar panel install costs from £9,999 which makes it reasonably competitive in this evolving industry. This should generate around 50% of an average home’s electricity requirements and with the current government’s feed in tariffs could generate around £881 per year in earnings and savings. If you are looking at solar panels then this could be a good start but it’s expensive and will not generate all the electricity you need. It’s best to undertake your own research in the first instance and get a professional opinion before progressing.
Our view ? This is a good step for Sainsbury’s as British Gas consistently offer the lowest standard tariffs in the UK although a standard tariff is the most expensive method to receive gas and electric supplies for most home. It’s always best to use a comparison site to see what are the best available rates in your region as there are always discounted fixed and variable pricing available. We look forward to the development of Sainsbury’s energy website to offer more transparency over pricing and are sure more services will be offered in the longer term.