“the enjoying subject is tilted towards us for the time being”
– Iain Conn (CEO, Centrica)
It is a frequent criticism from the massive suppliers:
They’re deprived by the social obligations they carry that do not apply to smaller suppliers.
They carry the burden of those prices, they usually don’t have any possibility however to cross on to their clients within the type of larger power payments.
Let’s take a more in-depth look.
For Octopus, our normal variable tariff is at the moment about £121 cheaper than British Fuel. That is £923 vs £1044 for a medium person.
Is that this distinction all the way down to obligations?
After all it is not.
We have carried out the maths, and it is constructed into our enterprise mannequin.
The obligations for us can be about £40 per buyer. So even when we have been obligated, and handed all of that on to our clients, we would nonetheless be £81 cheaper than British Fuel.
And let’s face it. Power costs are altering.
A “worth freeze till August” is just a approach of saying a worth rise in September.
If British Fuel announce an analogous rise to what we have seen from the opposite Large 6 suppliers, they’re going to be at one thing like £1120 per 12 months – about £200 greater than Octopus, and £160 greater than Octopus can be if we have been obligated.
The straightforward reality is that British Fuel are costlier as a result of they aren’t as environment friendly, and make greater earnings.
As one Large 6 guide put it to us:
“If in case you have a large buyer base, and discover you may preserve placing your costs up? Effectively, you’ll, would not you?”
Now, it will stand to cause that with a costlier product, the service a buyer may count on can be higher.
And as soon as once more, that is simply not the case.
It is the smaller suppliers which are delivering higher service – simply examine Trustpilot the place we, and different new suppliers, are rated over 9/10 by actual clients, while the Large 6 languish at 5/10 and decrease (all the way in which all the way down to 0.2/10!)
And we’re extra sustainable too. Main the way in which in photo voltaic power, in addition to clear power produced from vegetable matter.
So if Iain actually desires to know why we’re cheaper – and what actual customer support seems to be like – we’re inviting him to go to us, to speak to our group, and see what greatest follow in power seems to be like in 2017.