While first founded in 2015, Bulb Energy has quickly risen to be one of the most popular energy suppliers in the UK. In fact, Bulb Energy now has over 1.5 million customers, with an estimated 200,000 business customers. That’s impressive for a company that’s almost half the age of the nearest youngest competitor except for Octopus.
Bulb also maintains impressive reviews. It’s one of the highest rated business energy companies on Which?. Additionally, Bulb delivers 100% renewable energy with 10% renewable gas. This combination makes the energy company a popular choice for businesses looking to go green. Plus, with competitive pricing, Bulb has a lot to offer.
Main Topics
Bulb Business Electric Tariffs
Bulb uses a single electric contract for business and domestic clients. Additionally, they only offer a single, variable rate tariff. While you will pay different rates depending on where you are in the UK, all other pricing is the same. This makes Bulb incredibly transparent, predictable, and easy to compare to other energy suppliers.
- No contracts
- 30-day notice to terminate energy usage
- No exit fees
- Standing charges of 27.40p per day
- Electric costs 16-18.5p per kWh depending on location
- 100% renewable energy
- Variable tariffs/ no protection from the market
However, Bulb will offer reduced tariff quotes to big businesses on request. This means you can reduce the total tariff if you use enough electric. Some businesses report rates as low as 13.5p per kWh. However, your eventual rates will heavily depend on location.
Bulb Business Gas Tariffs & Plans
Bulb uses a single gas plan for businesses. However, you can get a small annual discount for choosing a dual plan. While this won’t likely influence your decision much, Bulb otherwise makes it as easy as possible to choose their gas or not.
- No contracts/no termination fees
- Standing charge of 27.4p per day
- Costs range between 3 and 3.35 p per kWh across the nation
- 10+ % renewable gas
- 100% carbon offset
- Variable tariffs/no protection from the market
While Bulb only has one plan, that plan is highly competitive, straightforward, and transparent. With only one plan, you don’t have to worry if you’re getting the best deal or not. You also get full transparency throughout the contract. For example, Bulb promises to alert you to rate changes at least 30 days before rates change – allowing you to update your budget rather than accruing debt. And, with pre-pay or a credit metering system, that’s easy enough to do.
Bulb Business Reviews & Ratings
Bulb maintains a significantly positive reputation across the web. In fact, Bulb is one of the highest rated energy suppliers on Trustpilot. The company maintains a 4.6-star review on the website, with 86% of reviews being positive. Negative reviews almost entirely relate to inaccurate invoicing and billing – which Bulb self-reported and paid fines for in 2020. Bulb is also one of the only energy companies to maintain more than a 3-star rating on Reviews.co.uk, where it has a 3.5-star rating.
Citizen’s Advice also rates Bulb highly. In fact, Citizen’s Advice places Bulb Energy as one of the top 20 for customer service out of the 70+ energy companies in the UK. They receive a 2.98-star rating, which is mostly kept down by a low rating on high rate of new complaints.
Additionally, Bulb is very well rated by Which?. The consumer watchdog gives Bulb Energy a 69% score. This breaks down to 4 stars for bill accuracy, 4 for bill clarity, 4 for customer service, and 3 for value for money. Which? also rates Bulb as #10 on their list of best-to-worst energy companies in the UK.
Pros:
- Transparent pricing
- No contracts or termination fees
- Good customer service
Cons:
- Variable tariffs are subject to change
- Limited options mean customer service is inflexible
- Bulb has a high rate of invoice mistakes
Switching to Bulb Business Energy
Bulb makes it relatively easy to switch to their energy services. In most cases, business providers can simply fill out the request for quote form and wait for Bulb to call back. Bulb does not provide a phone number to call to expediate this process.
Like other energy suppliers, Bulb handles most of the changeover process. This means you are unlikely to have to contact your old supplier unless this is stated in your contract. You can simply contact Bulb and wait for them to handle everything for you. Additionally, it’s important to check which meter you have. Bulb supports some pre-payment credit meters, Economy 7, and standard meters. They also support second generation smart meters. However, if you have a first-generation smart meter (installed pre-2018/SMETS1) that hasn’t been updated, Bulb will have to replace your meter to set up a contract.
- Submit a request for a quote on Bulb, have your business information and estimated usage ready
- Wait for Bulb to call you back. Have additional information such as address, move in or switch date, etc., to hand
- Submit the first meter reading
- Wait for the 14-day cool-off period to end
- Set up your Bulb.co.uk account and login. Bulb uses pre-payment via the app or website portal, so it’s a good idea to do so. This ensures you have oversight of what you are paying and when
That’s it. Bulb only has one contract option, so there won’t be any complexities during setup. You simply opt in and go.
Commercial Energy Billing Process
Bulb uses pre-payment or credit metering through its app or online portal. Businesses with credit meters installed can normally use those as well. However, in most cases, you pay for credit upfront through the app. Bulb will set a monthly tariff based on estimated usage. They will then update this throughout the year if you build up too much credit or debt.
Bulb will send you a monthly invoice based on an estimate of expected usage. You’ll then get a final statement and invoice to your account, with actual usage at the end of the month. So, funds are loaded to the account in advance, and you’re billed afterwards. That’s standard for credit metering – except you handle it in the online account instead.
Change of Tenancy
Bulb handles all change of tenancy requests via the online app or portal. This means you’ll have to log in to tell Bulb you’re moving. Other than that, Bulb makes moving in and out as easy as possible. You’ll need:
- Your moveout/move in date
- The new tenant’s contact details/old tenant’s contact details
- Your meter reading
- The address
In most cases, Bulb will process your moveout date and then submit a final bill to your account after the moveout date. If you still have credit on your account, you’ll be refunded. If you have debt on your account, you’ll be sent a final bill.
Business Bill Payment Methods
Bulb Energy uses direct debit as its primary, standard payment method. You can set this up in the app or online portal. Additionally, if you have a pre-payment credit or top up meter, you can use this. Bulb also supports gas and energy cards.
However, if you don’t want to use these methods, Bulb is open to accepting other payment options. These include:
- Bank transfer/ BACs
- Post Office / MoneyGram
- Fuel Direct
- Cheque (Mail to Bulb, Attn: Finance Department, 155 Bishopsgate, London. EC2m 3TQ with your Bulb account email address and bulb account number on the back.
While Bulb accepts all of these, you will have to email them to set it up. Bulb asks that you send an email to help@bulb.co.uk with the subject line, “Choosing a way to pay” and include your email and preferred payment option.
Submitting Meter Readings
Bulb uses smart meters. However, if you still have an old-fashioned meter, you can easily submit your meter reading by logging into your account. If you do not have a Bulb account, you will have to make one to submit a reading. There is no other way to submit it.
However, once you log in, you can submit your meter reading in a few steps:
- Click “Submit Meter Reading”
- Choose Electric or Gas
- Either manually enter all but the red numbers from your meter or scan the meter with your phone’s camera in the app.
- Click submit. That’s it.
Smart Meters
Bulb offers smart meter installation. However, the company is still in the process of rolling installation out. This means that when your zip code is eligible, Bulb will contact you to make an appointment. Smart meters are especially useful for pre-pay suppliers like Bulb. Why? They mean you’ll never pay for more energy than you’ve used. Additionally, your monthly estimates become more accurate, because you can see what you use in each month, seasonally, and throughout the year. You also won’t have to worry about submitting meter readings again, because the meter will submit them automatically.
Bulb Business Contact Details
Getting in touch with Bulb is somewhat more difficult than some competitors. However, the energy supplier does maintain an all-UK team, which means that when you do, customer service should be better.
Phone Number: +44 300 303 0635
Opening Times: 9 AM-5PM Mon-Fri
Email Address: help@bulb.co.uk
Address: 155 Bishopsgate, London. EC2m 3TQ
If you want to learn more, or want to use Bulb’s chat service, visit their “contact us” page.