ESB Energy is a largely state-owned Irish electricity company, based in Dublin but serving customer across the UK and Ireland.
Historically a monopoly in Ireland, ESB Energy began operating as an energy supplier commercially in the United Kingdom in 1993. Having formed in 1927 as a corporation to provide electricity to Irish residents, its members are nominated by the Irish Government.
ESB Energy offer two main tariffs, which are both fixed price:
Once your contract has run out, you can either renegotiate a contract with them, or you will be placed on the standard variable tariff. This is more expensive than the fixed price tariffs, so make sure that you are aware of when this happens.
For electric vehicle owners, ESB Energy have over 140 chargers available across London, Birmingham and Coventry.
You can sign up to a membership at £4.99 a month, which gives you access to rapid charging for 25p per kWh, or pay 29p per kWh as a pay-as-you-go customer.
In a bid to become greener and provide more sustainable energy, ESB announced this year that all of their fixed rate tariffs would become from 100% renewable sources.
This means that the electricity is from solar, offshore wind, and hydroelectric sources. The gas is also carbon offset, meaning that they are supporting projects which take back carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while using more eco-friendly gas sources such as green hydrogen.
However, the latest data for their fuel mix shows that they do still get a lot of their energy from fossil fuels on their standard variable tariffs. The data shows that they get 6 percent of their energy from coal power plants and 67 percent natural gas. Only 15 percent of their fuel mix is from renewables, whereas the national average is 37.9 percent.
Their move to providing green energy for customers on their fixed rate tariffs shows that they are making an effort to change this, so it is likely that their variable tariff will also soon be greener, or be sure to renegotiate your contract once your fixed-rate term expires.
One of ESB Energy’s promises is to provide ‘customer care (that actually cares’. With over 3,500 reviews, ESB Energy have a 4.4 star rating on Trustpilot. This gives them an overall score of ‘Excellent’, with many customers happy with the service and prices that they receive for their energy.
ESB Energy do have early exit fees for their fixed rate tariffs. However, these are much lower than most competitors, and stand at only £30 per fuel (gas or electricity).
This means that they are confident that you will be happy with the prices that you pay and the service that you receive when you are signed up to them, so they do not need to make it difficult for you to leave.
