London-based Bulb, formed in 2015, supplies 100% carbon neutral gas and 100% renewable electricity. Its operations and customer service teams are based in London at their UK call centre and they enjoy very high levels of satisfaction from both residential and commercial customers.
In a few years, they have gone from start-up to Britain’s biggest supplier of green energy. If you are considering switching your company’s gas and electricity supplier and you want to know more about the options offered to you by Bulb, we’ll share with you in this article:
- where Bulb sources its electricity and gas from,
- its current business energy tariffs,
- details of the contract you sign when you become a new customer,
- more about its customer service team, and
- how customers view Bulb.
Are you considering switching business energy supplier but want some help to find the best deal? Please leave your details on the form above and we’ll get in touch to find out more about you. Our service is free of charge.
If you’d like to find more about how energy contracts for businesses are governed, please click here for OFGEM’s review.
About Bulb Energy
Bulb Energy Ltd., trading as Bulb, is based in London but, in addition to its UK-wide operation, it also trades Texas, Spain, and France.
Its first five years of existence have seen it rise meteorically to become one of the nation’s biggest suppliers. In such a short time, they have captured 5% of the home electricity supply market – getting very close to the market share of 8% enjoyed by Npower. In gas, they have a 4% market share.
In early 2019, they surpassed the million customer mark for the first time.
Bulb business energy tariffs
| Supplier Name | Fixed price option | Fixed contract length | Variable price option | Type |
| Bulb business energy | No | No tie in | Yes (30 days’ notice if prices rise) | Renewable |
Bulb only has one single tariff for both business and for homes. It’s a variable tariff meaning that what you pay may go up or down if the wholesale price of electricity and gas moves.
Customers pay the true price for the energy they use. While it might seem attractive to fix your price for a number of years and while it is true that there has been an upward trend in gas prices in recent years, there is always the danger that you could lock yourself out of savings when the price does fall.
Bulb’s current charges for gas and electricity are:
| Region | Electricity pence per kWh | Gas pence per kWh |
| East England | 12.51p | 3.12p |
| East Midlands | 12.88p | 3.11p |
| London | 12.05p | 3.25p |
| North East England | 12.91p | 3.08p |
| North Scotland | 13.79p | 3.15p |
| North Wales, Mersey & Cheshire | 13.8p | 3.2p |
| North West England | 12.84p | 3.15p |
| South East England | 12.53p | 3.3p |
| South Scotland | 13.06p | 3.15p |
| South Wales | 13.34p | 3.13p |
| South West England | 13.64p | 3.35p |
| Southern England | 13.02p | 3.35p |
| West Midlands | 12.97p | 3.26p |
| Yorkshire | 12.87p | 3.08p |
According to Bulb’s own figures, they are cheaper than 17% than the Big Six suppliers despite the fact that they use exclusively green energy which historically has attracted a premium.
When prices are due to move, Bulb will inform you 30 days or more in advance so that you have time to make alternative supply arrangements for your business – if that’s what you choose to do.
Bulb business energy contracts
You don’t need to notify Bulb that you want to leave – simply switch to another supplier and your new supplier and Bulb will make all the arrangements for you.
Bulb’s customer service team
270 staff work at Bulb at their London headquarters. Getting in touch with them is both easy and straightforward and much of your account management can be done online.
Bulb business energy reviews
Which? review on Bulb
Readers of Which? recently reviewed Bulb’s performance through the perspective of their customers – it came joint eighth out of thirty.
| Rating | Out of 5 |
| Bill accuracy | 4 |
| Bill clarity | 4 |
| Phone customer service | 4 |
| Online customer service | 5 |
| Complaints handling | 4 |
| Helping you understand and reduce energy use | 4 |
| Value for money | 5 |
Bulb reviews on TrustPilot
TrustPilot is a review site on which consumers and business customers can leave their feedback about a particular company. There have been 30,000 Trustpilot reviews on Bulb and it scores an impressive 4.5 out of 5.
| Rating | %age of reviews |
| Excellent | 89% |
| Great | 6% |
| Average | 1% |
| Poor | 1% |
| Bad | 3% |
Typical excellent Bulb reviews on Trustpilot
Julia G said, “No frills – easy to use website – helpful and courteous reminders – excellent value.”
Janet said, “Since moving to BULB I have found the service they offer to be easy to access. If I have been unable to sort out online and I have opted to telephone it has been invaluable having a proper person at the other end rather than an automated system.”
Typical bad Bulb reviews on Trustpilot
Jason Big said, “My issue about an incorrect bill has been outstanding for more than 3 months and complaint is not responded for more than 1 month. I won’t recommend anyone to use them, especially when you want to switch from Bulb, a nasty surprise will be waiting for you.”
Tracy Newnham said, “I switched to another company my bill was in credit and I have been asking for a refund since November 2019 and still get nothing, No reply to emails, Phone calls are a joke, letters are a waste of time. I have told them they have 7 days to send the refund or I am putting in a complaint and informing OFGEM.”
Where does Bulb get its electricity from?
All of the energy Bulb supplies to clients is from renewable sources. They do not generate the electricity themselves but what they do instead is to buy in substantial volume from their suppliers and this bulk buying allows them to offer competitive rates to their clients.
Their careful sourcing of suppliers means that they deliver gas and electricity to homes and business complete with a Renewable Guarantee of Origin certificate. Their gas is 10% green gas with the remainder being offset by providing support to projects aimed at carbon reduction.
In conclusion
Bulb’s online customer ratings are very complimentary about both the company’s pricing and its customer service support.
Although they offer only green energy, which traditionally carried a hefty premium, their current prices are towards the cheaper end of the market. Many companies now wish to signal their commitment to the environment and, if this is a particularly important issue for your target audience, signing up to Bulb could be one form of expression of your corporate social responsibility drive.
Some businesses may be put off by the lack of predictability in pricing because Bulb only offer variable tariffs. While reducing your fixed costs is a very understandable motivation in any form of procurement, you can cancel within 30 days. If you do, just make sure that you have an alternative supplier lined up for switch over so that your business is not charged Bulb’s out-of-contract rates.
Let us help you find the right supplier for you – it may be Bulb if green energy is important to your business. There are more than a dozen green-only energy suppliers and we may be able to find a cheaper tariff for you.
Whatever your gas and electricity needs, work with us. Our service is free and there’s no obligation to take up any offer we find for you.