Economy
Green energy firms Good Energy and Ecotricity break mould with winter price freezes
Good Energy and Ecotricity, two leading renewable energy suppliers, have taken the unprecedented steps of freezing their gas and electricity prices until the end of winter. The moves set the pair aside from the big six firms that have announced price hikes of as much as 10.4% in recent weeks.
Juliet Davenport, Good Energy’s founder and CEO, said that because most of the company’s external costs were remaining flat until April, it could therefore hold bill prices for its 35,000 electricity and 12,000 gas customers.
She added, “As a renewable electricity company, Good Energy offers something different to the bigger energy companies. Our customers choose us because we are an ethical business offering 100% renewably sourced electricity, award-winning customer service and reasonable prices.”
Ecotricity customers on both its 100% Green Electricity and Green Gas tariffs, meanwhile, will also now see stable bills until at least April 1.
The green energy supplier said in September that it would no longer be matching the standard tariffs from the big six – British Gas, E.ON, EDF, SSE, Npower and Scottish Power – but that instead, it was able to provide its 90,000 customers with slightly cheaper bills because it generated much of its electricity independently.
All firms in the big six, except E.ON, have unveiled winter price rises in recent weeks. Npower’s 10.4% hike is currently the largest. This has led David Cameron to pledge to review the impact of environmental and social taxes on energy bills.
Ecotricity’s founder Dale Vince said, “The big six are increasing prices by up to 10% just before winter, the government is playing politics by blaming ‘green taxes’, and the regulator has not been strong enough ever.”
He added, “The energy industry has to change. It needs to serve the people of Britain, not the largely foreign owners of the big six.
“Putting prices up at the start of this winter is a good example of what’s wrong: it’s cynical timing just as consumption doubles, and it’s just not justified by wholesale energy prices. In the end, it’s the people of Britain who are losing out.”
Both Good Energy and Ecotricity feature in Ethical Consumer magazine’s list of the best green energy suppliers in the UK, with Good Energy coming out top of the ranking.
Further reading:
Good Energy customer on BBC Question Time: ‘my energy bills have never been cheaper’
Regulator supports calls to speed up energy supplier switching process
Ecotricity announces plans to undercut ‘big six’ electricity prices