Who are the Big Six Energy Companies
You may be using one of the ‘Big Six Energy Companies’ to provide you with your energy. But are they the right choice for your business? Find out now…
The ‘Big Six’ is a term widely used to describe the biggest UK energy firms. Historically, this consisted of British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Scottish Power, Npower and SSE. However, since January 2020 the six companies that make up the Big Six have seen their market shares change.
The Big Six gas supply market share (domestic)
The graph below taken from Ofgem shows the historical Big Six, along with the two newcomers to the gas market, OVO Energy and Octopus Energy, who have both quickly increased their market share to become part of the Big Six with SSE and Npower no longer supplying domestic gas customers.
Source: Ofgem (data updated July 2023) – Click the image for a larger version.
The Big Six electricity supply market share (domestic)
The graph below taken from Ofgem shows the historical Big Six, along with the two newcomers to the electricity market, OVO Energy and Octopus Energy, who have both quickly increased their market share to become part of the Big Six with SSE and Npower no longer supplying domestic electricity customers.
Source: Ofgem (data updated July 2023) – Click the image for a larger version.
Who are the Big Six energy companies in the UK?
Since January 2020, the takeover of SSE by OVO Energy marked the end of the historical ‘Big Six’ energy companies. This was soon followed by Npower’s domestic customers being moved over to E.on Next, having already been a subsidiary of E.on since January 2019, and Octopus Energy with their takeover of Bulb Energy.
British Gas – One of the Big Six energy companies:
British Gas is one of the oldest UK energy providers, having been established for over 200 years. During this time they have managed to accumulate over 500,000 business energy customers. This UK energy provider also supplies their business customers with a variety of additional service options such as online meter submissions and account management.
Read more about British Gas
E.ON – One of the Big Six Energy Companies:
E.On is a German company and UK energy supplier that works in 30 countries and has over 500,000 customers. Originally this provider was a government-owned UK energy supplier named Powergen, however changed ownership to become E.ON in 2002.
Read more about E.On
EDF Energy – One of the Big Six Energy Companies:
EDF is one of the UK’s largest energy providers. They generate low-carbon power via nuclear, gas and coal power stations that are spread throughout the UK. EDF have plans for further expansion via the erection of new stations at Hinkley Point and Sizewell.
Read more about EDF Energy
Scottish Power – One of the Big Six Energy Companies:
Scottish Power is a well-established member of the Big Six energy companies, celebrating its 100th birthday in 2001. This energy supplier generates their power via a series of hydroelectric power stations, CCGT power stations and the Daldowie sludge processing plant near Glasgow – All of which are sustainable resources.
Read more about Scottish Power
Octopus Energy – One of the Big Six Energy Companies:
Octopus Energy was founded in 2015 and has since built up its market share with takeovers and agreements to take on smaller energy companies’ customers. Even before their takeover of Bulb Energy’s business with their 1.5 million customers in October 2022, Octopus had already increased their own number of customers to 3.1 which already made it one of the largest energy suppliers in the UK.
OVO Energy – One of the Big Six Energy Companies:
OVO Energy was founded in 2009 and has slowly been building up its market share over the years, including acquiring Spark Energy. They remained one of the smaller energy suppliers until September 2019, when OVO agreed to buy SSE’s retail division which saw their number of customers jump to around 5 million customers in January 2020. This number has declined since they acquired SSE, but they are still one of the largest energy companies in the UK.
Energy companies that are no longer part of the Big Six
The so-called Big Six also once consisted of Npower and SSE, both of which were taken over by other energy suppliers and no longer providing gas and electricity to domestic customers.
Npower – Previously one of the Big Six energy companies:
Npower was one of Britain’s largest energy suppliers with over 5.1 million customers. Coupled with EDF, they were part of the RWE Innogy group. They have since been merged with E.on, providing energy services to domestic customers under the E.on Next branding.
SSE- Previously one of the Big Six energy companies:
SSE was one of the UK’s broadest-based Big Six energy firms and was formed in 1998 following the merger of Scottish Hydro Electric and Southern Electric. SSE played a role in Scotland’s hydro revolution in 1943 with the Hydro Electric Act which resulted in electricity being delivered to the highlands of Scotland for the first time. They have since been taken over by OVO Energy, making OVO one of the largest energy companies in the UK since the takeover.
Are there still only six big energy providers?
Although the so-called Big Six were the most well-known of all the energy suppliers, there were many more than that supplying gas and electricity to customers all across the UK. In fact, at its peak, there were 70 energy companies supplying the domestic energy market in 2016.
Due to a range of factors including the energy market volatility and other reasons, many of those suppliers ceased operations and exited the domestic energy market. This has likely led to many domestic and business energy customers becoming more weary of choosing smaller energy companies, leading to the market dominance that will still be seen today with four of the historic Big Six still holding on to large market shares.
Exits from the UK energy market
At their height in 2018, energy companies designated as ‘small suppliers’ by Ofgem, had an 11.8% share of the electricity market and a 12% share of the gas market. As of 2023, this is now only 1.6% and 1.5% respectively.
This is partly due to an ever-increasing number of the smaller domestic energy suppliers ceasing to trade, with many thousands of domestic customers being moved to a supplier of last resort (SoLR).
What this has meant for customers, is that they were moved to a new supplier when their existing supplier ceased trading and supplying their gas and electricity. They will then be designated a new supplier to ensure that their supplies are not interrupted or cut off entirely.
The last quarter of 2021 saw the largest number of suppliers cease trading and exit the energy market according to Ofgem, shown in the image below.
Source: Ofgem (data updated July 2023) – Click the image for a larger version.
The most well-known energy company to have exited the energy market was Bulb Energy. However, at the time, it was quite a shock to the energy industry and beyond to see such a large energy company cease trading.
It did mean that Ofgem and the UK Government had a sizeable task on their hands trying to decide what to do with Bulb’s 1.5 million customers in the long term. As we ultimately know now, that decision on who would be the supplier of last resort (SoLR) was Octopus Energy, which took over Bulb Energy and its customers in October 2022.
SSE was taken over by OVO Energy, increasing their market share and inclusion in the so-called ‘Big Six’. Npower was taken over by fellow Big Six company, E.on helping to increase their market share further.
Is a Big Six provider the right option?
The Big Six energy companies aren’t always the right option for your business. However, large energy companies will be able to be more competitive than smaller ones.
Your energy, whether it’s gas or electricity will never change in regards to where it comes from. What will change will be the provider, the price and the level of customer service. All of these will determine which energy provider you choose, with price being the most likely reason for you to switch.
The majority of British homes and businesses have not yet switched
At this moment in time, the UK’s biggest energy companies supply close to 95% of British households and businesses with gas and electricity. That’s not to say there aren’t any other energy firms out there – Exchange Utility works with both large and small suppliers so that we can run comparisons based on all different types of tariff and usage options. Small or independent energy suppliers often represent a valid alternative to the UK’s biggest energy companies.
Which of the big UK energy companies are best for my business?
The energy market fluctuates and prices change regularly so this depends on your business usage and which supplier is best aligned to help your organisation at the time of your renewal. We can compare all our gas and electric suppliers to find you better rates with a new supplier or your existing one.
Should I stay with one of these energy companies?
Small suppliers often offer deals on par with, or in some cases cheaper than, the Big Six. The biggest UK energy companies often offer deals on par with, or in some cases cheaper than, the small suppliers! We encourage our customers to compare all UK suppliers at once so that they can see which one is going to be best for their business.
However, many business owners remain unsure about making the switch, even if they could end up making a saving. A survey carried out in April 2013, revealed that 44% of those signed up with one of the Big Six energy companies would not consider moving to a smaller supplier.
Why should I switch business energy supplier?
When customers switch, gas and electric suppliers fight to keep customers and prices become more competitive in the market as a result.
If everyone in Britain remained with one provider indefinitely, there would be no need for suppliers to lower prices and compete for customers. Therefore we should all switch in order to keep pricing at a fair rate.
Switching is an easy process and is achieved without any wire, meter or other physical changes to your business. All we need is a verbal agreement and a signed form and we can take care of the whole switchover process for you! We then get back in touch to let you know that your new tariff is live.
To get started, call us on 0800 9777 000 or fill in the quote form above to see how much you could save…