I’ve had a great experience with Bulb, easy to switch and manage the account. 100% renewable is energy is great and so is the price. If you sign up with my referral link you can get £50 credit to your account and they’ll pay any exit fees you have! bulb.co.uk/refer/glenm4591
Highly recommend Octopus. Very transparent, even emailed saying I could get cheaper at another provider but they aim to be cheaper long run. Will find out I guess - but happy so far. Referral link if ur interested https://share.octopus.energy/lucky-mink-428 (£50 each).
I’d like to put another word in for Pure Planet - the easiest and most-informed switch I’ve ever undertaken (and I’m a serial switcher), plus environmentally friendly energy to boot. There’s also an active Community for those that like to get involved.
Designed to be disruptive from the go-get, Pure Planet charge a ‘monthly membership fee’ to cover their costs and margin, with your actual power consumption being billed at the wholesale price with no mark-up (https://www.power-technology.com/features/featurerenewable-energy-at-cost-how-pure-planet-plans-shake-up-the-uk-energy-market-5885384/) - even passing on ‘efficiency savings’ to customers; membership is now just £8.50 per fuel (https://utilityweek.co.uk/pure-planet-drops-prices/).
My only slight concern is the variable nature of the tariff (typically I’m a ‘fixer’), however this ‘fixed fee + at cost’ structure somehow seems ‘fairer’ and ‘more transparent’ to me - and Which seems to think it will still save me money (https://www.which.co.uk/news/2017/05/next-generation-energy-tariffs-could-they-save-you-money/).
Even their staff seem to be happy! (https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Pure-Planet-UK-EI_IE1662977.11,25.htm)
Don’t just take my word for it though - Pure Planet are currently rated 8.8 / 10 [2,477 reviews] on Trustpilot (https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/purepla.net).
If you’re looking for a supplier offering 100% renewable electricity and gas through an innovative pricing structure, fronted by a clear and intuitive App then I can recommend Pure Planet.
Note that I am not affiliated with this company in any way - just a happy customer. If you, too, would like to join (but do your research and make sure it’s right for you - likely they won’t be the cheapest, although they will be pretty close AND it’s green!) then both you and I can get a £25 Amazon gift voucher if you use this link: https://referme.to/YbaMhso. Alternatively, you can sign-up directly via https://purepla.net/.
The only issue with this is that it may not include all energy providers.
I think they do. In their FAQ, one of the questions is “Do You Include All Tariffs in the Market” and the answer given is:
"Yes we do - we don’t exclude any tariffs, nor do we do what some comparison sites do and have a default setting where you only see those that pay us. Though of course if you select our ‘top picks’ tab - as is explained there - you’ll only see a limited number of tariffs based on those we think, for editorial merit, you should also consider but may miss if you’re just looking at pure price.
It’s important to note that there are also ‘collective switches’ available sometimes, and we can’t include those (except our own). A collective switch is where a trusted intermediary such as a council or other organisation asks energy firms to bid to provide a tariff for it.
Often these can offer deals better than the market’s cheapest, but regulator Ofgem’s rules means you have to register for these schemes before the tariffs become available (you’re not obligated to take the tariffs once you’ve registered).
So it is possible, on occasion, for an ‘exclusive’ elsewhere to undercut the winner of our open market comparison - yet, if you are considering one, do make sure you compare it."
Generally, all financial decisions that I make are researched using his website as one of my main tools. Ironically the only decision I made that isn’t on his site is join Monzo.
Ah interesting to know!
I used MSE to switch from Bulb to Green Network Energy, which was cheaper. In fact I often use MSE for many financial requirements, but my perception of comparison sites generally is that those who pay commission will be listed, and this perception included MSE.
Here’s my referral link to GNE if you want it.
I’ve been more then happy with bulb since signing up in September got my first statement today which was only £124 in 6 weeks! £50 credited to yours and mine account with referal code below if decide to join!
I was with Bulb, very nice people and nice app and service. I left them as they kept putting up their prices.
I’ve just done a quote this second as I’m looking to switch and they are wanting £109 a month (£1,303 !!)
(((13.640 * 5000) + (3.938 * 12000)) / 100 + £89.64 + £89.64 - 30) / 12
I’m currently with Outfox but in December they plan on increasing again to £101.50 a month (£1,218 from £1,063 October !!).
(((11.30 * 5000) + (3.94 * 12000)) / 100 +(15.03*12) ) / 12
Possibly now looking at Pure Planet that want £96.25 a month (£1,155)
(((12.443 * 5000) + (2.993 * 12000)) / 100 + (8.50x12) + (8.50x12) - 30) / 12
Or Peoples Energy who want £94.82 a month (£1,138)
(((12.7319955 * 5000) + (2.899995 * 12000)) / 100 + (0.21x365) + (0.21x365)) / 12
I see PurePlanet are giving £25 Amazon vouchers for referrals so that might be the clincher.
I’ve been with Octopus for a few years - but switched to Bulb as their referral offer was just too good to turn down. I got a £100 referral credit through using someone’s link, and the quote was about £30 cheaper per month than Octopus.
Out of curiosity Octopus are wanting £113.42 a month (£1361 !!) if I switched to them.
(((15.981 * 5000) + (3.591 * 12000)) / 100 + (0.190995365) + (0.168365)) / 12
Energy prices really have gone nuts.
Has anyone got any better recommends than Pure Planet / Peoples Energy? Or is £95 the new norm? I was paying £70 a couple months ago with Outfox. sigh
I’ve gone from £79 a month to £93 and that was the cheapest I can get.
Energy prices have risen so even the cheapest deal you will get is likely to be more expensive that what you have been paying.
I have mentioned this earlier in the post, but I swear by this tool when searching for new energy deals:
Just signed up, and it matches my calculations above lol.
Oh well at least my maths are correct.
£192 increase from Outfox Jul to Outfox Nov.
Yea it sucks…this is the first time in a few years that my energy bills are actually going up so I’m gutted.
I always try to stick with fixed tariffs as well. No horrible surprises when the price randomly goes up.
The thread has become broader than just Bulb & Octopus - which I think is a good thing.
Perhaps the title should be changed to Energy Suppliers, or some such.
So Outfox whacked up everyones bills twice, stopped their chat and the phones engaged. They are going to be forcing Winter / Summer DDs.
People that were on £80 a month are now paying £100 (or a lot more).
And they are also saying if your monthly is now £100, we now want £140 and pay £60 in Summer.
So they want an extra £240 a year, and +£60 right now on what people were paying a couple months ago.
People are obviously not taking this, especially those with £xxxs credit built up. TrustScore 8.4 now at 7.7 and dropping.
They haven’t worked out that peoples wages don’t go up in the winter and down in the summer to cover it.
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.outfoxthemarket.co.uk?stars=1
Switching to Bulb was a great move for me. The flat I purchased was previously supplied by British Gas
Here are a few top line figures:
BG 21.61p kWh | 9.31p kWh (Night) | 36.82p standing
Bulb 16.3p kWh | 7.91p kWh (Night) | 24.56p standing
No brainer, cheaper than Ovo and 100% renewable without extra charges. Plus their onboarding was painless and customer service is excellent. App is good too.
If anyone wants to switch and fancies £50:
I was with Bulb for over a year but switched to Octopus energy 2 months ago and very happy so far. Enjoy £50 free crefit if you decide to sign up. https://share.octopus.energy/loyal-rill-939
If you are trying to decide between Bulb, Pure Planet and Octopus, I’ve created a useful comparison based on the Typical Domestic Consumption Values from ofgem.
In summary:
ELECTRIC ONLY Bulb
DUAL FUEL WITHOUT ECONOMY 7 Pure Planet
OTHERWISE depends on your usage
In a little more detail, the findings are as follows:
-
If you are an ‘Electric Only’ customer (whether you have Economy 7 or not), choose Bulb (regardless of your Usage) [1]
-
If you are a ‘Dual Fuel’ customer WITHOUT Economy 7, choose Pure Planet (regardless of your Usage)
-
If you are a ‘Dual Fuel’ customer WITH Economy 7:
3a. Choose Bulb if any of the following are true for you:
-
Low Gas Usage (regardless of your Electric Usage)
-
Medium Gas Usage and Medium / High Electric Usage
-
High Gas Usage and High Electric Usage
3b. Otherwise, choose Pure Planet in the following cases:
-
Medium Gas Usage and Low Electric Usage
-
High Gas Usage and Low / Medium Electric Usage
-
I’ve also created this handy flowchart showing the same for those that prefer something more visual:
For those interested in the underlying calculations, you can also view the (very exciting!) Google Sheet “Bulb vs Pure Planet vs Octopus”.
Re: Octopus, I chose the tariff which I thought most closely matched the ‘green credentials’ of the offerings from Bulb / Pure Planet, however even when considering their ‘best value’ tariff they were still not the most competitive in any of these particular scenarios. [2]
Note that your mileage may vary - rates are different in different parts of the country, so this could certainly have an impact, plus I’m not sure there’s such a thing as the ‘average household’ that will actually match any of these consumption models!
Nonetheless, I hope that this helps someone! If it does, and Pure Planet works for you, you can say ‘thank you’ by using my referral link (and we’ll both get £25 in vouchers if you do!); otherwise, if Pure Planet is the one and you’d prefer to switch directly, their website is here.
[1] Although Pure Planet have a cheaper p/kWh rate than Bulb, you’d have to be using over 7,000 kWh of electricity per year before the cheaper fixed costs of Bulb were negated.
[2] If you are a very low user of electricity (less than 750 kWh per year) on an Electric Only tariff, Octopus is likely worth a look.
Disclaimer: Not affiliated with Pure Planet in any way - just a happy customer trying to help others find the best value deals in a complicated world! On that note, E&OE (although please let me know so I can fix!)
Am curious as to why the restriction to these. Are they generally considered superior to other green energy suppliers? If so, on what basis?