About npower
npower, originally established as National Power in 1990 following the privatisation of the state-owned Central Electricity Generating Board, is a subsidiary of E.ON, which acquired it in January 2019.
As such, npower does not exist as a supplier for residential customers - its customer base was transferred to E.ON under its E.ON Next banner. As a brand, it now only exists for business customers.
npower energy prices and tariffs
npower was one of the big six energy suppliers in the UK, meaning that it has a range of tariffs designed to appeal to as many customers as possible.
npower Select
In March 2019 npower launched npower Select, a new version of its service operating under the RWE Group banner aimed at customers who want to solely manage their energy online. It provides a range of app and online-only energy tariffs for customers regardless of their meter type.
How npower prices have changed in 2021
Just like most energy suppliers operating in the UK, npower is subject to Ofgem's energy price cap, which sets the maximum rate suppliers can charge their customers on standard variable or default energy tariffs.
In February 2021, Ofgem announced it would be increasing the price cap to £1,138 as of 1 April 2021. In line with this, npower also announced it would be increasing prices on its standard variable tariff - Standard (Paperless) - by 9% from April to match the £1,138 price cap - an average price rise of £96 per year for npower's Standard (Paperless) customers.
Based on a medium energy user on a standard dual fuel tariff, paying on receipt of bill, with bill sizes averaged across all regions.
Previous changes to npower energy prices
In October 2020, npower dropped its prices for standard variable tariffs following the lowering of the energy price cap level by Ofgem. The new average price of £1,042 consitututed a 7% reduction from npower's previous average price for its standard variable tariff. Prepayment meter customers also saw an annual reduction to £1,069.
npower had previously announced a price drop in February for standard variable tariff customers of 1% in line with the then Ofgem price cap level. Prices were lowered by £18, meaning that customers on these tariffs would pay an average of £1,161 per year (effective from 1 April 2020).
In August 2019, npower reduced the cost of its standard variable tariff by 6% in reaction to a drop in the price cap rate. Prices were lowered by £75, effective from October 2019. This brought the average cost of the tariff to £1,179 per year.
This followed a price rise from npower in February 2019 for around a million of its standard variable customers. The supplier increased rates by 10% to the new energy price cap level of £1,254.
In May 2018, npower announced a price rise of 5.3% on average for dual fuel customers on its standard variable rate tariff. The increase meant a hike of £64 per year on average for around 1 million of its customers.
Read more about npower's price change history.
npower renewable energy
The supplier is also one of just a few companies to have earned the Carbon Trust Award for sustainable management of energy, water and waste.
RWE npower renewables is one of the biggest wind-power and hydroelectric generators.
Is npower going bust?
The energy market is challenging and unpredictable at the moment and there is a certain level of risk to some suppliers - find out why in our energy market Q&A guide.