All businesses want to cut down on costs as much as possible wherever they can. With that in mind, nPower Energy products are purposely designed to save you money on your energy bills through initiatives that are geared towards energy saving and unit price reduction.
What’s in this review?
Now that you have a glimpse of what’s going to be covered let’s dig in.
Costs, Fees & Core Services
nPower is a world-class energy supplier in the UK with an impressive market share in the energy industry for both business and domestic customers. nPower’s headquarters is based in Solihull.
The company produces more than 10% of the power requirements in the UK.
As one of UK’s top energy providers, nPower supplies energy to more than 4.9 million businesses and homes with over 350,000 customers being corporations and SMEs.
How Do You Find the Ideal Business Energy Supplier?
Firstly, you need to put together a list of what’s most important regarding your business needs and then establish if the supplier can integrate seamlessly into your business.
No two businesses are alike, and so you need to consider:
- Is the supplier trustworthy?
- Will your energy supplier save your business money?
- Will you need additional support on energy management?
- Do the energy supplier’s contracts compliment your business operations?
To satisfactorily answer all these questions, consult the EnergySeek comparison tool.
What are the Offers of nPower Electricity for Businesses?
Below are the offers for electricity tariffs for small businesses.
Small Businesses
- Payment made through cash, cheque, or direct debit
- Direct debit has the advantage of a 5% surcharge
- Fixed tariff comes with the option of 1 to 3 years contract length
- The variable tariff does not have a contract or exit fee
- With a 30-day notice, you can change suppliers
- No deposit or credit check needed
- If the prices of energy decrease, your bill will also go down
Medium to Large Businesses
Medium to large businesses have the following offers
- An option of fixed-rate contract
- Unmetered supplies calculate the amount of energy supplied to various unmetered services among them streetlights and traffic signals.
- Select & secure is a deal that gives you the opportunity to access the energy market on a wholesale level.
- Consultant products are for purchasing products for both brokers and consultants.
- Flexible energy allows you to benefit from price changes based on timely and comprehensive market information.
- Renewable energy supports sustainability
Other Offers on nPower Energy Products
There are various offers on energy products available at nPower including:
- Generating Energy
If you produce your energy either through renewable resources or directly, nPower offers integrated options. This can help reduce your long-term bills as well as generate extra income for your business.
- M3 Audit
This program applies different measures to lower your yearly invoices. You get a free complete audit of your data usage, energy monitoring, and tips on energy reduction.
According to nPower Energy, by taking their advice, you can be able to reduce your bills by 15%-20%. This reduction also trickles down to your charges on carbon offset as outlined in your statement.
Does nPower Have Smart Meters?
Yes, they do. Once you qualify for a smart meter, you can schedule an installation.
With a smart meter you don’t have to submit meter readings manually, and what’s more, it gives more accurate bills. It is possible to monitor daily usage via a screen and effect ways to reduce energy consumption real-time.
Smart meters can report electricity usage after every other second and gas usage on a half hourly basis.
Are you interested in a smart meter? All you need to do is fill out a request form for a smart meter from nPower.
Other Meters From nPower Energy
nPower provides a Nest smart thermostat for about £159.00. The nest can create a schedule based on your energy habits. With Nest, you can remotely manage your energy using your smartphone. This way, you will be up-to-date on your energy usage.
nPower App
The nPower app comes with a built-in torch and CO2 tracker. The app allows you to:
- Submit your meter readings
- Set up DD (Direct Debit) Payments
- access a timeline of your energy usage
So, should you get the nPower app? It does come highly recommended with about 5,900 Android users giving it 3.5 stars and about 2,680 iPhone users giving it four stars. The total star rating is five making the average score of the nPower app pretty commendable.
Contract Lengths & Fees
The tariff information provided in the table below is accurate as of August 14th 2017.
Note:
- Under tariff type, the electricity and gas tariff range include fixed rate, variable rate(standard), prepayment, and green deals.
- Value of average bill refers to the average price of the 14 energy regions using dual fuel that have a 3100kwh usage of Ofgem medium of electricity with 12500kwh of gas, and a monthly payment via direct debit.
- In case you are in a fixed tariff, and you want to switch energy providers, you will pay an exit fee of around £25-£35/fuel.
Tariff Name | Tariff Type | Value of Average Bill | Exit Fee |
Standard | Fixed Dual Fuel | £1,187 | N/A |
Standard Prepay | Variable Prepayment | £1,067 | N/A |
Online Fixed Energy (August 2018) | Fixed Dual Fuel | £939 | £0 per Fuel |
Clean Energy Fix (October 2019) | Fixed Dual Fuel | £1,077 | £0 per Fuel |
Super Fix (March 2021) | Variable Dual Fuel | £1,096 | £30 per Fuel |
Can’t wait to switch to nPower? If you want to change to nPower energy suppliers, you need to be aware of the below:
What Should You Expect With nPower?
- nPower accepts all gas customers despite their credit score on condition that they exceed consumption of 500kWh on a yearly basis.
- Supplies electricity to customers who have a minimum annual consumption of 10,000kWh
- Only assesses electricity customers who have a credit score of over 16.
Do you tick against the above boxes? Then, this is how you switch to nPower energy suppliers.
How Do You Switch to nPower Business Energy?
Quite simple really. All you have to do is to get a quote from their web page. If the quote matches your needs and budget, you will be required to fill in an application. You can either do this over the phone or online.
nPower will then perform the switch which takes a maximum of 17 days.
How Do You Pay nPower Energy Bills?
- Via Direct Debit
- Through Internet banking
- At the post office or bank by cash, cheque, standing order, credit, or debit card.
- Call nPower automatic system and make your payment over the phone.
Did You Know?
nPower offers to backdate climate Change Levy exemptions and VAT declarations for four years. |
What Happens When You Move Business Premises?
Whether you are moving into an address supplied by nPower or leaving a property provided by nPower, you are required to inform their Business Movers Team.
Customer Support
For any complaints, you can call or write to nPower customer service. You can also have a live chat once you log into your account online.
As soon as nPower receives your complaint, you are assigned a case handler, and your case is resolved within no more than 28 working days.
However, if your complaint is not resolved within this timeline, the Complaints Manager takes over your case which is investigated within five working days.
How Do You Contact nPower?
There are some ways in which to contact them.
- You can call them on 0330 100 3000 or 0800 073 3000. Mobile charges will vary, but landline calls are free. The lines are open on weekdays, that is, from Monday-Friday from 8 am-8 pm. On Saturday, you call them between 8 am and 6 pm.
- nPower can be reached on Twitter and Facebook as well.
- You can also chat with them online from Monday-Friday between 7 am and 11 pm. On Saturday, they are available from 8 am to 8 pm.
- If you prefer to write to them instead, there are several addresses available including:
Head office
nPower Group Ltd Windmill Hill Business Park Whitehill Way Swindon SN5 6PB |
General enquires
nPower PO Box 177 Houghton le Spring DH4 9AQ |
Energy efficiency support
nPower Group Ltd PO Box 115 Peterlee SR8 9DL Complaints |
About gas and electricity complaints
nPower Group Ltd PO Box 177 Houghton le Spring DH4 9AQ |
nPower Energy Reviews
Unfortunately, nPower does not have a positive online reputation, with only a 1-star rating on Trustpilot that is from over 1,400 reviews. Only 3% of those reviews are positive, while a massive 92% fall within the negative category and the rest are somewhere in the middle.
Many of the negative reviews state that nPower are challenging to get into contact with, problems regarding overbilling and their complaints department don’t get back to customers.
Although online reviews aren’t always accurate, it is an idea to take them into consideration when deciding whether to switch suppliers.
Positive nPower Reviews
Most of what we need is accessible online and, on the couple of occasions I have had an issue or query, the customer support team are responsive and very helpful.
Negative nPower Reviews
Trying to contact this dreadful company for over three days now. You cannot call as you are put on hold and told they are too busy every single time ever, trying to arrange a call back is just as bad been waiting for over three days for that. Managed to get onto their live chat and as soon as I told them I wanted to end my tariff they informed me they were not getting my responses and ended the chat!
Company Comparison
Company | Bulb | So Energy | Affect | Npower |
Overall Trustpilot Score | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★ |
Discounts | No | No | £15.75 per fuel per year | No |
The average cost for dual fuel three bedroom home | £82 | £78 | £90.00 | £84.45 |
Positive Reviews on Trustpilot | 92% Positive | 86% Positive | 86% Positive | 3% Positive |
Who Should Use the Company?
Businesses looking to find the best energy suppliers in the UK mostly start with the well-known Big 6 before moving to other energy suppliers. Is this right for you and your business? nPower can give you the stability of a big six energy company and offer many different extra services.
nPower Review
Summary
nPower is one of the largest energy suppliers in the UK, offering their customers the reliability of a big company while claiming to provide their customers with ways to cut down the cost of your power.
Pros
- Stability of a larger company
- Offers smart home gadgets
Cons
- Poor 1-star rating on Trustpilot
- Not easy to get in touch with according to reports
- nPower aren’t as competitively priced as their competitors