Ecotricity

About Ecotricity

Ecotricity came from humble beginnings, founded in 1998 by Dale Vince with a single wind turbine which he used to power an old army truck that he lived in. From there, Ecotricity began building commercial wind turbines, and most of the electricity that it supplies its customers today comes from its large network of wind farms across the UK.

They claim to be Britain’s greenest energy company, supplying 100% renewable energy, and putting significant investment into green gas mills. On top of this, Ecotricity provides 100% vegan energy, which has been certified by the vegan society.

Tariffs and Pricing Information

Ecotricity offer just one main tariff for dual fuel customers, which is their Green Gas & Electricity tariff. This one simple tariff is variable in price, and does not lock you in to any contractual obligations, which means no exit fees so you can switch whenever you want.

They also offer a more specific tariff for owners of electric vehicles, which is called the Fully Charged Bundle. This gives EV owners a discount on their electricity rates, which they claim can save you over £100 a year in your energy bills, as well as offering a discount on the Rolec Wallpod EV smart charger.

Unlike most of their competitors, Ecotricity do not offer any fixed rate tariffs to customers.

Ethical Pricing – What does it mean?

Ecotricity’s ethical pricing promise means that they only offer one price for gas and one price for electricity. This means that everyone pays the same amount, and that they can keep the prices as low for customers on their variable tariff as possible. It also means that they do not tie you down to any contracts, so if you are unhappy with their service or prices, you are free to leave without having to pay any early termination fees.

PAYG Options

Ecotricity offer a pay as you go (PAYG) tariff to customers who have a prepayment meter installed. This deal is backed with 100% green electricity and carbon neutral gas.

Prepayment customers can top up their credit at PayPoint or PayZone shops, as well as the Post Office. For those with smart prepayment meters, you can use the Ecotricity app to make payments and add credit to your gas and electricity meters.

Exit Fees

In line with their ethical pricing policy, Ecotricity do not charge any fees if you choose to switch to another energy company at any stage.

Fuel Mix – How Green is Ecotricity’s Energy?

As a green energy supplier, all of Ecotricity’s electricity comes from renewable energy sources. In particular, the majority of its energy comes from its own network of wind farms and sun parks, which differs from other suppliers, who mainly purchase their energy from different sources.

For their Green Gas & Electricity and PAYG tariffs, the gas that is provided is also completely carbon neutral. This means that in order to counter the carbon emissions that are released into the atmosphere when burning natural gas, Ecotricity fund schemes that take the carbon back out of it, such as the planting of trees.

Ecotricity are also investing heavily into green gas mills, where grass is grown, which is then broken down into biomethane and burnt for energy. The carbon dioxide, which is then released into the atmosphere, is offset by the natural growing of the grass in the process. At the moment, just one percent of Ecotricity’s gas is from their green gas plants, however they plan to increase this share in the future.

Coal

0%

Natural Gas

0%

Nuclear

0%

Renewable*

100%

Other

0%

*Wind
Solar
Biomass
Wave and tidal
Hydroelectric
Geothermal

Customer Service

On reviews platform Trustpilot, Ecotricity score 3.9 stars out of five, which gives them an overall rating of “Great”.

A number of customers have been very happy with the service that they receive, although there are some complaints from customers saying that it was difficult to get a response from the customer services team, and others have complained about the prices that they have been paying.