The six biggest energy companies in the UK are often referred to as the “Big Six”. Between them, these six energy suppliers provide 95% of the energy in the UK.
Many people would never even consider switching to an energy supplier outside of these six. But why is this? Could any suppliers outside of these six be offering you cheaper gas and electricity deals?
The big six energy companies are comprised of SSE, EDF Energy, British Gas, npower , E.ON UK and ScottishPower.
Whilst these companies supply almost all the households in the UK with energy, there are many smaller suppliers that offer great deals on gas and electricity. With our free and impartial energy comparison service we will show you offers from all the suppliers in the UK; not only from the big six providers.
Many people have often questioned whether or not the energy market in the UK has a high enough level of competitiveness.
One of the main concerns is that the Big Six might use their high level of control to raise prices unfairly. They often raise their prices at around the same time, leading to many people claiming that they are fixing prices at rates that are unnecessarily high.
However there have been many reviews into the behaviour of these big six energy companies in recent times and none of them have found these companies guilty of any wrongdoing. Both the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) and Ofgem (the regulator of the energy markets in the UK) concluded that all of these companies had acted reasonably and responsibly, with regard to the setting of their prices.
Politicians have continuously called for people to look around for cheaper electricity and gas deals. In spite of this, under half of the households in the UK have ever changed their gas or electricity supplier.
Many people believe it is very difficult to switch energy supplier; that it takes a long time or that they would need to lay new pipes or cables before they would be able to. However this just is not the case. Switching energy supplier doesn’t need to take more than five minutes.
All you need to do to switch is tell us your postcode and your energy usage. With this information we can present you with a list of all the best energy deals that are available to you.
If you choose to switch by using our energy comparison tool, you won’t experience any interruptions to your power supply at any point. You also won’t need any new pipes or cables put into your house. This is because all energy suppliers deliver their energy in the same way, the only thing that changes is who supplies it and how much you pay for that supply.
There are many small gas and electricity suppliers out there who offer a viable alternative to those companies in the Big Six. In fact many of these companies have much higher levels of customer satisfaction than the companies in the Big Six.
The main concern that people express, when they are asked about switching energy to a smaller supplier, is that they might be left high and dry if the small supplier were to go out of business. However, this is not a concern that you need to have.
Ofgem, the regulator for energy in the UK, has put in place measures to protect you from losing your energy supply if your supplier goes under. This means that no matter what happens you will always receive a steady supply of energy to your household. If your current supplier can no longer provide you with energy, you will simply be switched to another supplier that can.