London Mayor Undercuts Biggest Utilities in Green Power Push
London Mayor to Undercut Biggest Utilities in Green Power Drive
(Bloomberg) --
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is getting into the power supply business.
Londoners will now be able to buy 100% green electricity at a price that could be significantly cheaper than they pay traditional suppliers that include both domestic and some of Europe’s biggest utilities. Greater London Authority, the body overseen by the mayor’s office and partner Octopus Energy Ltd. aim to cash in on the growing trend of households leaving the larger companies for lower prices and a guaranteed climate-friendly power.
“It is a disgrace that many Londoners pay too much to heat and light their homes, with more than a million living in fuel poverty,” Khan said in a statement. “For the first time we have a fair, affordable, green energy company specially designed for Londoners.”
Upstarts like Octopus have disrupted the dominance of the biggest energy suppliers in the U.K., known as the Big Six. The moniker is becoming somewhat of a misnomer after Scottish utility SSE Plc last year sold its retail unit to startup Ovo Energy Ltd. The deal with London adds to Octopus’s efforts to try and offer customers more options to source power locally.
The new companies often use more efficient technology that can be difficult and expensive for the established players to match. Also, customers who are with the big utilities are often on a default plan, which is likely the most expensive option. By switching to a new plan from any provider can offer customers hundreds of pounds in annual savings.
London Power Co. offers a fixed yearly plan without a cancellation fee as well as a pre-pay option. A search for a power plan for the post code of Bloomberg’s office in the City of London suggested potential savings of about 300 pounds ($389) per year compared with the biggest suppliers. The website also details how much carbon dioxide would be saved by switching to London Power.
The company plans to invest profits from the venture in projects that will help address climate change and cut the city’s emissions.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Mathis in London at wmathis2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net, Lars Paulsson, Jonathan Tirone
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