Bulb energy - UK's biggest green supplier - becomes Octopus energy

[editor]

I've got questions...

What does it actually mean? Do they produce power themselves? Do they own a wind farm or whatever? Or are they reselling it?

Do they include biogas, or nuclear fuel power generation? Are they green?

What if loads of people switch to them? So more than a third of power consumption is through them, more than the total green power available?

What if no one uses them, does the same amount of green power go in to the grid anyway?

Are they just paying some of their earnings back in to green power development?

It sounds great. And I was with Ecotricity ten years ago. But something seems to not quite fit with my understanding of the grid.

I'm not sure how it works either - in fact I haven't a clue -but there's loads of info on their site.

We're proud to be the UK's biggest green supplier. We provide our members with 100% renewable electricity from solar, wind and hydro. Plus, our gas is 100% carbon neutral. 10% is green gas produced from renewable sources like food or farm waste. And we offset the rest of the gas we supply by supporting carbon reduction projects around the world.

Independent generators
We buy our energy from independent renewable generators from across the UK, like Gail and Miles from Old Walls Hydro in Dartmoor. Wherever possible, we have direct relationships with these generators to purchase their electricity. We buy the rest from the wholesale market. We source our energy from solar, wind and hydro. They're a pretty impressive bunch, our generators.

Where does my energy come from?
We think it's really important that you know where your energy comes from. We supply 100% renewable electricity from a mixture of generation types including wind, solar and hydro. Plus, our gas is 100% carbon neutral. 10% is green gas produced from renewable sources like food or farm waste, and we offset the rest by supporting carbon reduction projects across the world.

Wherever we can, we partner with renewable generators to directly purchase their electricity. Where we can't, we buy electricity from the market and match every unit with a certificate to guarantee a unit of renewable electricity is put onto the grid. We also work with trusted partners like SmartestEnergy who connect us with their own community of renewable generators.

Bulb - Making energy simpler, cheaper, greener

 

[Guineveretoo]

I've been with Bulb for almost a year now and I'm very pleased with them. Definitely much better to deal with than NPower and EDF who were my previous suppliers.

Guineveretoo When I signed up with Bulb they estimated my usage based on the type of property I lived in but that didn't factor in that I work from home most days so their estimate of my monthly cost and therefore the original direct debit was significantly lower than my actual usage. However, it's still cheaper than I was paying before.

The same thing happened to me - I worked from home at that point as well. I kind of forgave them that, although it irritated, but I can’t forgive their incompetence with the meter reading and their way of dealing with it.

Am still with them though..,

 

[Guineveretoo]

I think you may even be able to sign up for a fast tracked installation of a smart meter. I'm not sure how much quicker you'd get it though.

Ooh - I might chase that up since I am classed as disabled...

 

[joustmaster]

I'm not sure how it works either - in fact I haven't a clue -but there's loads of info on their site.




Bulb - Making energy simpler, cheaper, greener

It's always so hard reading the marketing stuff. It feels like 80% needs cutting out.

And the language always seems so snake like. Even from these seemingly reputable dudes.


I guess they do have a limit to the number of customers they can accept then...

 

[editor]

Oh fuck off with your cutesy pictures.

 

[moose]

I signed up to Bulb a few months ago, after trying out the various MSE Energy Switch companies, most of whom couldn't even put a decent website together. Quite pleased with them so far - I like the fact you can top up payments in months when you go over the direct debit amount, rather than having a nasty surprise later.

 

[Badgers]

I think you may even be able to sign up for a fast tracked installation of a smart meter. I'm not sure how much quicker you'd get it though.

When I asked they said the technology was not good enough at the moment bit this will be rolling out later this year.

 

[dervish]

Here's one reason:

View attachment 167086

Do Bulb pay interest on your credit? Ovo pay 3% which is pretty good, better than my bank. And Ovo you can buy more green credits to bring it up to 100% if you want to. I don't know how that would compare in costs to bulb though.

 

[Leafster]

When I asked they said the technology was not good enough at the moment bit this will be rolling out later this year.

Yeh, I read their earlier blog posts explaining the older technology and why they weren't happy with it. They've published a more recent one (last month) where they've said they've started rolling out the new meters in some parts of the country. I may have misread the bit about being fast tracked . All it seems to say it that you can join the waiting list.

An update on our smart meter rollout | Blog | Bulb

 

[souljacker]

We have an engineer booked to put our smart meter in on 23rd May

 

[gentlegreen]

Why the enthusiasm for a smart meter ?
It only benefits the suppliers - not you.

I don't much care about them working out my lifestyle (I challenge them )
My only real objection is those patronising adverts implying I just need to be constantly shown my usage for me to save enough for a day out.

That and the incessant SPAM - recently got a phone call where I told them to F off in no uncertain terms.

 

[Leafster]

Why the enthusiasm for a smart meter ?
It only benefits the suppliers - not you.

I don't much care about them working out my lifestyle (I challenge them )
My only real objection is those patronising adverts implying I just need to be constantly shown my usage for me to save enough for a day out.

That and the incessant SPAM - recently got a phone call where I told them to F off in no uncertain terms.

I'm not particularly bothered about having a Smart Meter. My only concern was that my electricity meter cupboard is small so I wanted to check that if I had to have a smart meter installed, it would fit.

I can see some benefits for people who struggle to read their meter and there's also demand from people with electric cars as smart meters allow for tariffs which mean it's much cheaper for them to charge them between say midnight and 4am.

 

[editor]

Why the enthusiasm for a smart meter ?

Because:

Smart meters are better for you, and they’re better for us too. They send accurate data about your energy usage to your Bulb account automatically. This means your monthly statements are based on actual usage, and you don’t need to take meter readings any more.

When smart meters are installed, you’ll also be offered an In-Home Display. This is a small screen that displays real-time information from your smart meters, so you can see exactly how much energy you’re using, and when. Many people find that knowing more about their usage can help them save.

 

[gentlegreen]

Because:

It's a bit like organic food.
Only a few percent of those who buy it do so for non-woo reasons.

The REAL advantage is more precise demand calculation and is particularly useful to the renewable energy industry and is a GOOD thing.

But I'm still not biting.

 

[editor]

It's a bit like organic food.
Only a few percent of those who buy it do so for non-woo reasons.

The REAL advantage is more precise demand calculation and is particularly useful to the renewable energy industry and is a GOOD thing.

But I'm still not biting.

Well i like seeing how much energy I'm using at a given time and if it's high it gives me the impetus to check what's on and turn 'em off.

 

[UrbaneFox]

Oh fuck off with your cutesy pictures.

View attachment 167386

Phoney picture as well. Dogs don't wave like that.

 

[Chz]

Here's one reason:

View attachment 167086

That's a bit harsh. Ovo offer green and non green rates. It's £8 extra a month for 100% green.

Mind you, it's not like *you* get green energy out of it. They just promise to pay for green energy to be pumped into the system. You get the same power whether you pay or not. You're paying to subsidise the green industry, whether that's worth it is up to you but it doesn't change the power you get.

Smart meters... When we get spot pricing they'll be great. Until then, it's just something else to go wrong and allows them to cut you off remotely. I'd hold off until spot pricing comes in.

 

[RoyReed]

Just switched to Bulb using editor 's link - hope it helps with the server fund.

 

[editor]

Just switched to Bulb using editor 's link - hope it helps with the server fund.

Ah, it was you! Thank you - it does help as funds have gone a little low.

 

[kalidarkone]

I just switched so £50 coming your way editor

 

[BristolEcho]

Switched before I clocked this. Want to echo that Bulb have been pretty good so far. Love the app, plus they are better and cheaper than Flow.

 

[kalidarkone]

I can't wait to tell OVO how shit they were and that's why I've switched. Also they never stopped phoning me

 

[passenger]

Just did it, needed that nudge

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I'm with Tonic as they worked out cheaper than bulb at the time, they were all green, and there was no lock in. I don't know much about them beyond that. Very small company, but had good ratings. Probably been with them a year and have not looked at moving yet, despite alerts from MSE that they are probably not the cheapest anymore.

 

[passenger]

I just switched so £50 coming your way editor

I did the same from the link, will the same apply?
just checked it, we do.

 

[Chz]

I can't wait to tell OVO how shit they were and that's why I've switched. Also they never stopped phoning me

That's interesting. Did they start just before your contract was up, or the whole time? I'm probably switching from them when my lock expires in February (because there are better deals, and I can), but honestly they've given me zero trouble.

 

[kalidarkone]

They were hassling me to get a smart meter.

 

[Badgers]

Interestingly I asked Bulb about smart meters.
They said they are not rolling out until the tech is fixed as the current batch are a mess.

 

[gentlegreen]

It was nPower / Lowry Beck and the smart meter bollocks that was the final straw for me too - I managed to stop the texts, but there was then a voice call which I answered to rather succinctly.
I hope Bulb don't let Lowry Beck threaten to kick doors down over "gas meter safety checks".

 

[kalidarkone]

I'm £145 in credit with Ovo. They insisted that I paid a whopping £169 a month and then put it down to £149 -but MSE is telling me now I'm paying too much.