Our Managing Director Peter Haigh explains:
Just like all councils across the UK, Bristol City Council has to follow strict procurement processes when choosing suppliers, including where they get their energy from. So although we are owned by Bristol City Council, it doesn’t automatically mean we can win contracts for supplying electricity and gas to their corporate estate. And this is the way it should be - a fair competitive process.
Until recently we supplied some of the Council via that process, and we’ll continue to bid for contracts in future. We won’t win them all, but every time we take part we are giving the bigger players in the market a run for their money. In reality, British Gas only fractionally undercut us here, so it was very close.
We’re just over 2 years old and we supply over 120,000 customer meters, over 2,500 businesses, and buy renewable electricity from around 40 generators across the UK. We’ve achieved all our core targets for the past year and will continue to grow and challenge our competitors.
We have the Council’s full support, and we’ll do everything we can to support our great city. We were set up to challenge the sector by offering residents and businesses a better deal. And to tackle fuel poverty, which currently affects people in one in every eight Bristol homes. We’re working hard with local communities and charities to reach and help those people who need it most. How many other energy providers are able to say the same?
This story came about as a result of some research from another domestic energy supplier Bulb, who found that 9 out of 10 local authorities are with the Big Six, and aren’t supplied by renewable energy.
This is the case because many new entrants and smaller suppliers in the market focus on the more profitable bits, and often exclude more complex areas like the business sector. We’re challenging that status quo because someone has to, and we encourage all customers - residents or businesses - to choose an energy company that is fair, but also ethical too – and is in it for social good.