Utilita in 2022: Prices, Reviews and Contact Details

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Utilita
Founded	2003
Client Email	customerrelations@utilita.co.uk
Client Number	0345 2072 000
Log in	Log into your Utilita account here
Number of clients	800,000
Postal Address	Utilita Energy, Hutwood Court, Bournemouth Road, Chandler’s Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3QB

Is Utilita Energy right for me?

If you’re looking for an energy provider that sits outside the big six and leads with technology, Utilita Energy could be right for you. One of the things that Utilita are best-known for is their use of smart meters and technology, to give their customers control over their energy usage.

Some of their other benefits include:

• Free smart meters and installation
• No exit fees or standing daily charges
• Various payment options including PAYG, with a choice of flexible tariffs
• An app that allows customers to check their balance and add credit online
• Several customer initiatives including: interest-free emergency credit, warm home discounts and participation in the Green Deal Scheme.

Who are Utilita?

Founded in 2003 by Bill Bullen, a former British Gas employee, the original Utilita Energy team wanted to bring something more fair and transparent to the energy market. Starting with just a few people around a board table, they now have almost 800,000 UK customers.

Utilita Energy pride themselves on being the UK’s leading pre-pay meter service, and they offer smart meters to all their customers to facilitate this. Utilita customers only pay for the energy that they use rather than getting billing based on estimates, and they make the top-up process really simple by offering a range of options for payment online, via text or through their app. They also have no cancellation or exit fees, giving their customers lots of flexibility with their energy.

Is Utilita Energy any good?

As with all energy companies, choosing Utilita Energy has its pros…

• Value for money
• Prepayment and PAYG options
• Good use of technology
• No cancellation or exit fees

...and its cons

• Poor reputation for customer service
• Difficulties with complaint handling
• Issues with overestimating bills for non-metered customers

Utilita Energy Tariff and Prices

There’s a range of tariffs for Utilita Energy, and of course, the price that customers pay will vary based on factors such as location, fuel type, payment methods and more. However, they offer pay-as-you-go energy and smart meters and, on their standard tariff, customer’s energy costs decrease once they’ve spent 50p on gas or electricity each day. As they don’t use standing charges, Utilita customers don’t pay when they’re not using energy.

Instead of a standing charge, Utilita uses a two rate system to charge their customers. The first unit rate applies to a specific amount of energy use each day, such as the first 2 kWh of electricity or gas used each day for the Smart tariff, or the first 1 kWh of electricity or gas used each day for the Premium tariff. After the set amount of electricity or gas associated with the first unit rate has been used all additional use of electricity or gas will. be charged using the second unit rate.

Utilita customers can choose from a range of tariffs, depending on their location and requirements. Many of their tariffs are variable rather than fixed, and have options for both credit or prepayment. Utilita offers Gas, Electricity and Double Fuel tariffs, including Economy 7.

Utilita Average Annual Total Costs

Hear you can find a list of the average total annual costs associated with Utilita's tariff plans that are available to new customers:

Smart Tariff Plans

In the case of the Smart tariff plan the first unit rate applies to the first 2 kWh of electricity or gas used each day and the second unit rate applies to all additional electric or gas use that day.

Here is the pricing info for the Smart tariff plans:

Premium Energy Tariffs

In the case of the Premium tariff plans the first unit rate only applies to the first 1 kWh of electricity or gas used each day and then the second unit rate applies to all additional electricity or gas use that day. The Premium Energy Tariffs are also name of the standard tariff plan for Utilita, meaning it is the default option for new customers.

Here is the pricing info for the Premium tariff plans:

Utilita Economy 7 tariffs

Additionally, Utilita also offer the following electricity tariff packages for those that have an Economy 7 meter installed in their home.

You can find the pricing information on their E7 electricity tariffs here:

You can visit Utilita’s website to understand all the plans and options available for your area. There are a number of additional tariff plans listed on the Utilita website that are available only to existing Utilita customers, so if you are an existing customer go to the Utilita tariff page for more information.

Utilita Energy price changes

Coming into effect from 1st October 2020, Utilita recently announced that they would be reducing the price of their default tariff known as Smart Energy. For customers on the Smart Energy tariff, they can expect savings of around £79 a year, with the annual total reduced to £1,040.

What are Utilita Energy’s customer initiatives?

Utilita have a range of initiatives to support their customers from emergency top-ups to high-tech smart meters, a mobile app and access to warm home discounts.

Utilita Energy emergency credit

It’s a little-known fact that Utilita gives all their customers a £15 emergency credit for their energy. Recently, Utilita has launched their PowerUp™ service, which gives customers a £30 credit for gas and £20 electric interest-free if they’ve run out of credit, and lets customers pay it back when they are able.

Utilita smart meters

Utilita Energy was one of the early adopters of smart meters. Their smart meters come with an In-Home Display -- a portable screen that allows customers to understand their current energy usage in kWh as well as pounds and pence.

Utilita’s smart meters mean that customers don’t have to give manual readings, as the data is sent directly to Utilita via Wi-Fi. Not only that, the smart meters give a clear view of the amount spent on energy and fuel each day, giving customers an idea of the amount they’re spending each day. This is a particularly useful feature for their PAYG customers.

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Does Utilita take part in the Green Deal Scheme?

The Green Deal Scheme is a government-backed initiative in the UK that encourages people to invest in renewable energy and energy-efficient products such as boilers, insulation, heating and hot water systems. This investment is then repaid via your electricity provider.

Although Utilita isn’t a Green Deal Provider, as a Green Deal Licensee, they can accept customer repayments towards their Green Deal, and pass these on. For Utilita’s PAYG customers, repayments will be deducted automatically from their electricity meter balance. For customers who pay by bill, the charges will be applied to their account and upcoming bills.

Utilita Warm Home Discount

Another UK government-funded scheme, the warm home discount supports lower-income and vulnerable households with their energy costs during the colder winter months. If the criteria are met, those households will receive a payment of £140 towards their winter fuel bills.

For PAYG households, customers will receive two £70 payments in December and January applied to their gas and/or electricity meters. For those who pay by bill, the full £140 will be automatically applied to their accounts in January.

Utilita energy customer reviews

Interestingly, reviews for Utilita are quite mixed depending on the source. They have reviews on Which?, Google and Trustpilot which range between 1.8 and 4.2 overall. Anecdotally, most customers are happy with the value for money they get from Utilita and are less satisfied with the customer service availability and complaints handling procedures.

Utilita 2020 customer rating

In the annual Which? customer survey, Utilita energy came joint-20th out of 35 energy companies rated. Their customer service, bill accuracy and complaints handling all averaged a 4 out of 5, with bill clarity, digital tools and value for money all rated as 3 stars. Interestingly, a report from the energy regulator Ofgem showed that Utilita took longer than six weeks to resolve 40% of their complaints and that only 25% were solved within two days in the same period.

Utilita Energy reviews

As of October 2020, TrustPilot has over 27,000 reviews for Utilita, with an average of 4.2 stars. 65% of these are Excellent, 8% Great, 4% Average, 3% Poor and 20% Bad ratings.

At the same time, Utilita Energy Limited’s Google Reviews have an overall rating of 1.8 out of 5, with most customers discussing frustration with the customer service processes, and lack of available agents to talk to on the phone.

Utilita customer service

If you’re in need of support, Utilita has a few options to get in touch with them. Start by heading to the help section on their website. They have live chat available 24/7, accessible help videos and a help centre so you can find the information you need, regardless of the time of day.

Utilita Energy’s fuel mix

1. 60% of Utilita’s fuel comes from natural gases
2. 18% comes from nuclear resources
3. 9% comes from renewable energy sources*
4. A further 9% comes from coal
5. 4% comes from other fuels

*Renewable energy resources include wind, solar, biomass, wave and tidal, hydroelectric and geothermal.

Does Utilita use renewable energy?

While Utilita does use some renewable energy, it’s only 9% of their total energy source. This is at the lower end of the scale for UK energy providers, with others operating at 50-100% renewable energy. Although they do promote saving energy and energy-efficient practices, they have made no commitment to increasing the percentage of renewable energy that they source in the future.

Utilita’s contact number

Utilita’s customer care number is 0345 207 2000, and they’re available from 8AM to 8PM Monday to Friday, and 8AM to 5PM on Saturdays.

Utilita’s email address

You can send an email to Utilita on customerrelations@utilita.co.uk.

Utilita’s emergency number

If you’re out of power because you’ve lost your supply, Utilita has an emergency line on 0345 2068 999 which is available 24/7. If you’ve lost supply during normal working hours, you can get in touch with Utilita on 0345 207 2000.

Utilita complaints

If you have any issues with Utilita or want to raise a complaint, you can contact Utilita’s Customer Care Team by phone on 0345 207 2000 or by email on customerservices@utilita.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can write to them here:
Utilita Energy Limited
Hutwood Court
Bournemouth Road
Chandler’s Ford
Eastleigh
SO53 3QB.

Don’t forget, if your complaint isn’t resolved to your satisfaction, you can contact the energy ombudsman once eight weeks have passed.

FAQ

How much is Utilita Energy?

Utilita has a range of tariffs which will vary in cost depending on where you live, how much energy you use and which tariff you’ve selected.

Is it easy to switch to Utilita?

Yes! With Switch-plan, you can give us some basic information about you and your household, and we’ll compare prices for you and sort the rest. To get started, give us a ring on 0330 818 6223.

Will Utilita give me a smart meter?

Yes, Utilita Energy installs smart meters for their customers, which will accurately measure the amount of gas and electric that you use. Utilita smart meters send your usage data to your supplier using Wi-Fi, meaning customers only pay for what they use.

How can I top up my Utilita meter?

There are a few ways to top up your Utilita meter(s). The easiest way for Pas As You Go (PAYG) customers is to top-up directly from the MyUtilita app and customers can top up as little as £2 at a time.

Utilita customers can also top-up your account online with a MyUtilita account, or simply input your postcode and customer reference number to the Utilita website to pay online, saving you awkward trips to the shop and lengthy phone calls.

What’s MyUtilita?

Utilita Energy customers get access to MyUtilita as part of their agreement. MyUtilita is an app that lets customers view their balance, monitor energy usage, submit meter readings, top-up and apply for a PowerUp™ from their phones.