When you decide that you’ve been overcharged for gas and electricity too long and it’s time to switch energy providers, there are just a few bits of information you’ll be expected to provide.
You’ll need your:
- Name
- Address
- …and an idea of how much you’re currently paying for your gas and electricity.
You’ll also need to know who your energy supplier is. At this point, there’s a very good chance that lots of the people reading this page have just looked up, stared vaguely into the middle distance and asked themselves: ‘Who is my energy supplier?’.
It may seem like a silly question. After all, you know who supplies your groceries, you know who your cable TV supplier is and you know what make your car is. But your energy supplier…
It’s a symptom of the fact that the energy market is now so open and so crowded. The government watchdog Ofgem found, in December 2018, that there were no fewer than 62 companies supplying energy in the UK, from the Big Six household names to the smaller suppliers specialising in green energy. This means lots of lovely choice but also lots of not-so-lovely confusion. It also means that the question ‘How do I find out who my energy supplier is?’ is often followed by another question; ‘Why should I bother?’
Well, you should bother because, as also found by Ofgem, 54% of all UK customers have spent the last three years simply putting up with their supplier’s default tariff when a simple (and it really is simple) switch to a better deal could have saved them £320 a year.
£320 a year over three years is nearly a thousand pounds and, unless you’re the bloke who runs Facebook (we think he probably has someone to switch energy providers for him) a thousand pounds is a lot of money.
That’s why you should make sure you know how to read your energy meter, how to find your MPAN and MPRN and, if you’re renting, how tenants can set up energy supplies. We know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘What’s an MPAN and MPRN?’
- Your MPAN number is a unique number linked to the electricity meter in your home. It’s a 21-digit number that can be found on your bill, and it’s different to your customer reference number.
- Your MPRN number is similar, but is linked to your gas meter and is between six and 10 digits long. Like the MPAN, you’ll find your MPRN on your bill.
Finding your supplier
Of course, if you had a bill in your hand you could easily find out who your supplier is, so we’ll assume that you haven’t got a bill and want to know who’s charging you so much for gas and electricity.
You could start the process of finding out who your supplier is by getting in touch with your distribution network operator (DNO). Your DNO is the company that owns and operates infrastructure like the power lines and gas pipes leading into your home. They’re the people you need to contact for issues such as moving a meter, dealing with a power cut or making sure the power is connected when you first move into a property.
You can find out who your DNO is by visiting the Energy Networks Association website. The site has a simple tool which enables you to enter your postcode to find out who your network operator is.
Join over 500,000 members and stop overpaying for your gas and electricity now!
If you’d rather phone
If you don’t have access to the internet or would rather phone to find out, then you can call 0870 608 1524 to speak to the Meter Number Helpline. Calls to this line currently cost 7p per minute.
The situation is slightly more complicated when it comes to speaking to an electricity distribution operator, as electricity distribution is divided through the UK on a regional basis. Depending on where you live in the UK, the number to call will be the following:
North of Scotland:
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
0800 048 3515
Central & Southern Scotland:
SP Energy Networks
0330 1010 300
North East England & Yorkshire:
Northern Powergrid
0800 011 3332
North West England:
Electricity North West
0800 195 4141
Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales & North Shropshire:
SP Energy Networks
0330 1010 300
East Midlands & West Midlands:
Western Power Distribution
0800 096 3080
South Wales & South West England:
Western Power Distribution
0800 096 3080
London, South East England & Eastern England:
UK Power Networks
0800 029 4285
Central Southern England:
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks
0800 048 3516
Northern Ireland:
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks
03457 643 643
When you contact your DNO they’ll be able to tell you who your supplier is, which is when you can get in touch with your supplier and find out which tariff they’ve put you on. If you haven’t made the switch to a specific tariff in the past, then it’s highly likely that your supplier has placed you on their default tariff, which will charge one of their least competitive rates. Even if you’re on a specific tariff other than the default, there’s every chance that a better tariff is waiting out there somewhere. In some cases, your supplier will charge cancellation fees for leaving a tariff before the end of the contract, but the difference in the amount you pay is often so much that, even being charged as much as £30 for switching gas and £30 for switching electricity, you still emerge with a considerable saving. If you hadn’t worked it out by now, that means you might be getting overcharged a lot.
Once you sign up for free to Look After My Bills with your details you can simply forget about the rest. We’ll find the best deals for you to consider, and the deals we recommend will still save you money even if you do have to pay a cancellation fee. Even better than that, we’ll keep switching you in the future, every time we find a deal that could save you at least £50.
