Electricity Supplier

Who can supply electricity?

All electricity supplier companies must have a licence from the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). One of the licence conditions is that an electricity supplier must produce codes of practice on:

• procedures for complaints
• payment of bills, arrangements for dealing with arrears and prepayment meters
• site access procedures
• energy efficiency advice
• services for older, disabled and chronically sick people. As part of this code of practice, the electricity supplier must keep a register of these people and provide services to help those who are blind and partially sighted or deaf or hearing impaired.The customer may have to pay for some of these services.

Although the codes of practice are not legally enforceable, they will be useful when negotiating with an electricity supplier and any breach should be reported to energywatch (see under heading Complaints).

Choosing an electricity supplier

You can change your electricity supplier if you wish. If you are considering changing your electricity supplier you should be aware that the pricing structures, services offered and policies will differ between the different electricity suppliers.You should carefully check the information and contracts of the competing electricity suppliers, and compare these to your current terms, to make sure that you choose the best deal for your needs.

You should find out:

• how you will be charged for your electricity supply. Some electricity suppliers may make a fixed standing charge and then a unit charge for the amount of electricity used; an electricity supplier may not make a standing charge, but charge a higher unit price
• whether different charges apply to different periods during the day
• if cheaper prices are offered for particular payment methods, for example, if you pay by direct debit
• what service standards each electricity supplier is offering, for example, for repairs, extra help for older or disabled customers.All electricity suppliers must keep a list of their customers who ask to be identified as pensioners, chronically sick or disabled.The electricity supplier must tell all its customers that it keeps such a list and give information on how customers can be added to the list
• the electricity supplier’s policies, for example, on debt and disconnection.

Dual fuel offers

Dual fuel is the supply of gas and electricity by the same Electricity supplier. Some gas and electricity suppliers are licensed separately by Ofgem to supply customers with both fuels. Some electricity suppliers will supply both fuels under one contract, while others will give one contract for gas and another for electricity.

Suppliers who make dual offers will often give a discount off the total bill as they can make administrative savings by issuing combined bills and collecting combined payments. However, this does not necessarily mean that the cost of gas and electricity


Return To Electricity Forum