What’s in this review?
Are you interested in a greener energy option?
Did you know that Good Energy only sources their electricity from renewable sources?
This review will give you a balanced look at the Good Energy company, including its many features, reviews from Trustpilot and our rating.
Let’s do this.
Founded in 1999, Good Energy is a green commercial energy company that aims to transform the UK’s energy market by offering homes and businesses a sustainable energy choice, working with over 1,400 independent generators and businesses to source enough energy to power their customer’s properties across the country.
The company only sources electricity from renewable options; this includes certain things like solar and hydropower. 6% of the gas they produce, which is green, comes from something called ‘biomethane’, which is produced from organic matter.
With more businesses going green, it’s definitely worth some serious consideration as more options are realistically viable.
Check this out:
Type of Energy |
Percentage Used |
| Wind | 57% |
| Biogeneration | 20% |
| Solar | 18% |
| Hydro | 5% |
Skip right ahead to Good Energy reviews.
Costs and Fees
If you are looking to use sustainable energy for your home, Good Energy is a strong and affordable option, for a ballpark average of what your bill might look like, keeping in mind that this may vary based on where you are in the UK, see the table below.
| Number of Bedrooms | Estimated Gas & Electricity Quote Per Month | Estimated Quote Per Year |
| 1 – 2 | Electricity: £33.70 Gas: £38.00 Total: £71.70 |
£860.34 |
| 3 | Electricity: £49.93 Gas: £52.46 Total: £102.39 |
£1,228.70 |
| 4+ | Electricity: £70.21 Gas: £70.55 Total: £140.76 |
£1,689.15 |
Like many companies, Good Energy offers separate tariffs where you get your electricity or gas from a different supplier and dual fuel tariffs where you would get both your gas and electricity from Good Energy. However, it does not seem like Good Energy offers a dual fuel discount like some of its competitors.
They did lower their gas prices by 7% in 2016, but recent reports are that they have raised their prices by 7% in January of 2018, which means that objectively there are other companies that offer green energy but at a lower rate.
Core Services and Offerings
One of the unique aspects of this business is that they allow customers to buy shares in their company to help fund their renewable energy production.
What makes this so unique?
The Good Energy Bonds I supported the development of 13 solar farms in the UK, not only helping our access to green energy, but it also helped local communities by community benefit funds, educational open days and wildlife/biodiversity programmes.
Some of the benefits of being a Good Energy customer:
- 100% renewable energy
- Decrease your carbon footprint by 20%
- Direct debit discount
- Fixed and variable options for contracts
- Feed-in Tariffs, where you are paid for your excess solar power energy
- An online service that allows you to submit meter readings, view your bills and understand your energy use
- Buy shares in the company
- They will be offering smart meters in late 2018
Customer Support Good Energy Reviews
In the Which? Customer survey 2018, Good Energy ranked 19 out of 31 energy companies, which is a sharp fall from ranking 10th in 2017 and even further from ranking 2nd in 2016.
Although this mid-rank result does place them above many of the ‘big six’ energy companies like Scottish Power and British Gas, plus the number of complaints has not increased in the last few years, there does seem to be consistent complaints about inaccurate bills and technical problems.
Positive Customer Service Good Energy Reviews:
I’ve been with Good Energy for about three years now (including a change of address) for both gas and electricity. I find their customer service fantastic. I always get straight through to a friendly person who knows exactly how to answer my questions and doesn’t just keep passing me on to other departments as most other companies do.
Have been with Good Energy for two years in two different properties – the move over was made very easily and although the price has increased this is due to our new flat being much colder and us having to use the heating more (plus a particularly cold winter). The customer service is perfect – I can almost always get through and do not have to go through loads of phone options.
Negative Customer Service Good Energy Reviews:
Truly shocking service from a business that needs to get their house in order. Set up my account due to their green credentials, but from the get-go, their customer service was sloppy. I had to give them my direct debit details several times, then, much to my horror, they didn’t set it up properly and ended up billing me over £1000.
Unbelievably high prices, not to be trusted. You wait on the phone for up to an hour to speak to them and when you do they are completely unhelpful. They have put me on an extremely high direct debit, and then they keep putting up the amount I owe anyway. I have now switched, and they want me to pay over 500 pounds to complete my account.
Contract Length and Fees
While Good Energy doesn’t offer a massive amount regarding some tariffs, and your costs will vary depending on where you are, you do have a choice regarding how you want to pay. Opting to pay by direct debit giving you a discount of £15 per fuel per year.
Fill out the form on their website to discover the tariffs you are eligible for and the price dependent on your area, their website does not appear to tell you what tariff options there are on one page with breakdowns, which means that you need to browse different pages at the same time.
All-Electric Tariff
The Good Energy Standard electricity only tariff uses 100% sustainable energies sourced from one of the 1,400 independent generators and businesses.
According to their website, this is a non-fixed contract which means that you are not locked in, and there are no exit fees should you decide to switch to another provider.
It also appears to be variable instead of fixed, meaning that instead of the cost of your energy staying the same per kWh, it will rise and fall in price depending on the market.
Electricity for a three bedroom house.
| Supplier | Good Energy |
| Tariff name | Evergreen |
| Tariff type | Good Energy Standard |
| Payment method | Cash/cheque/Direct Debit |
| Unit rate | 16.23 p for every kWh |
| Charge per day standing | 26.30 p for every day |
| Tariff ends on | No fixed term |
| Price guaranteed until | No fixed term |
| Exit fees? | Not Applicable |
| Discount and additional charges | Not Applicable |
| Additional products or service included | Not Applicable |
| Kilowatt-hour (kWh) | A kilowatt-hour is a unit used to measure energy. For example, 1 kWh would power an 8 Watt LED lightbulb for 125 hours. |
Another option, if you have an Economy 7 meter, is to sign up to their multi-rate tariff.
This does mean that you will pay less at night than you do in the day, with a difference of over 7p per kWh in the day vs at night. Like their standard tariff, this is a no fixed term contract, and there aren’t any exit fees if you decide to switch.
It is essential to check the Good Energy reviews before you make a solid decision about whether this tariff is right for you.
Electricity for a three bedroom house:
| Supplier | Good Energy |
| Tariff name | Evergreen |
| Tariff type | Good Energy Standard |
| Payment method | Cash/cheque/Direct Debit |
| Unit Rate for the Day | 17.99 p for every kWh |
| Unit Rate for the Day | 10.08 p for every kWh |
| Charge per day standing | 27.58 p for every day |
| Tariff ends on | No fixed term |
| Price guaranteed until | No fixed term |
| Exit fees? | Not Applicable |
| Discount and additional charges | Not Applicable |
| Additional products or service included | Not Applicable |
| Kilowatt-hour (kWh) | A kilowatt-hour is a unit used to measure energy. For example, 1 kWh would power an 8 Watt LED lightbulb for 125 hours. |
Electric Vehicle Tariff
Especially for people who have an electric car, the Electric Vehicle Tariff claims to allow drivers to save £76 a year compared to other tariffs, typically those that are from the big six.
Is it the best tariff for those with electric cars? It depends on your situation, so it is a good idea to make sure you compare and check the Good Energy reviews to see how much you could save and if this tariff is the best choice for you.
Dual Fuel
The dual fuel option for Good Energy customers means getting both your gas and electricity from them, like their other contracts. This is a no fixed term contract with no exit fees, but unlike their competitors, they do not seem to offer a dual fuel discount.
This type of contract is variable, the cost of your energy with increase and decrease as the market fluctuates, which depending on which Good Energy reviews you see can be a positive or negative.
Electricity for a three bedroom house:
| Supplier | Good Energy |
| Tariff name | Evergreen |
| Tariff type | Gas+ Dual Fuel |
| Payment method | Cash/cheque/Direct Debit |
| Unit rate | 16.23 p for every kWh |
| Charge per day standing | 26.30 p for every day |
| Tariff ends on | No fixed term |
| Price guaranteed until | No fixed term |
| Exit fees? | Not Applicable |
| Discount and additional charges | Not Applicable |
| Additional products or service included | Not Applicable |
| Kilowatt-hour (kWh) | A kilowatt-hour is a unit used to measure energy. For example, 1 kWh would power an 8 Watt LED lightbulb for 125 hours. |
Gas for a three bedroom house:
| Supplier | Good Energy |
| Tariff name | Evergreen |
| Tariff type | Gas+ Dual Fuel |
| Payment method | Cash/cheque/Direct Debit |
| Unit rate | 4.34 p for every kWh |
| Standing charge | 29.80 p for every day |
| Tariff ends on | No fixed term |
| Price guaranteed until | No fixed term |
| Exit fees? | Not Applicable |
| Discount and additional charges | Not Applicable |
| Additional products or service included | Not Applicable |
| Kilowatt-hour (kWh) | A kilowatt-hour is a unit used to measure energy. For example, 1 kWh would power an 8 Watt LED lightbulb for 125 hours. |
FIT
The last type of tariff that Good Energy offers is their FIT or ‘feed-in tariff’, which was introduced by the government in 2010.
One of the biggest providers of this tariff in the UK is Good Energy.
If you have a source of renewable energy as part of your house like solar panels, you will generate money for the energy you produce.
It is essential to check the Good Energy reviews before you make a solid decision about whether this tariff is right for you.
Customer Reputation
Good Energy has a very mixed range of reviews, with a total Trustpilot score of 3 out of 5 stars, you can see that they have 1% more ‘bad’ reviews than ‘good reviews’.
Many of the negative reviews have been because of a series of billing issues that, according to customers reviews on Trustpilot, have cost many customers thousands of pounds and some have been driven into debt.
According to reviews, many customers were undercharged for a year, which resulted in a flurry of bad reviews as the company then charged individuals more to make up for that mistake.
Remember that these mistakes do not happen often, and keeping in mind this company was once 2nd in the Which? Customer survey just a few years ago, it is likely that the company will regain their good standing once this problem is resolved.
Positive Good Energy Reviews:
Great customer service: polite and helpful. Also really nice to hear about all the positive community action on clean energy that Good Energy support and inspire. I am so glad I changed my energy supplier to one with an ethical and progressive stance on energy production.
I love the fact I am helping the environment by using Good Energy. Forward thinking for a better world for all of us. Service is also good and clear billing.
Negative Good Energy Reviews:
The projection for electricity for the year on current bill is marked as £545.43, yet we’re getting bills for £200 a month?! for Electric ONLY. I’ve lived in this house for five years and never paid this much, and when I called them they said it’s because we were underpaying? We’re in debt now.
Don’t use this company!! They trick you with cheap quotes and then hit you with insane invoices!! They quoted me £132 a month, and now I have to pay just under £600 for two months energy. I’ve never paid that much in my whole life!
Comparison with other companies
| Company | Bulb | So Energy | Affect | Good Energy |
| Overall Trustpilot Score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★ |
| Discounts | No | No | £15.75 per fuel per year | £15 per fuel by paying by debit card |
| The average cost for dual fuel three bedrooms home | £82 | £78 | £90.00 | £102.39 |
| Positive Reviews on Trustpilot | 92% Positive | 86% Positive | 86% Positive | 34% Positive |
Who is Good Energy for?
Based on all of the information available and the Good Energy reviews, Good Energy may be suitable for those who are looking to invest in the development of renewable energy and are more focused on the long-term than the short term.
Good Energy Review
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Range of services
Summary
Good Energy used to have a very high standing, but due to billing issues, the reviews on Trustpilot have reflected a business that has some problems that need to be rectified. It is very likely that Good Energy will fix these issues and return to a prosperous company that wants to fight climate change and develop the UK’s solar, hydro, wind and biogeneration energies.
Pros
- Uses a fuel mix that is entirely green
- Invests in renewable energy
- Offers services for both domestic and business customers
Cons
- Billing errors have caused customer dissatisfaction
- There are some growing pains with an expanding company
- Their yearly quote is not as competitive as other similar companies
