About Utilita
Utilita energy is the leading supplier of prepayment energy in Great Britain using smart meters.
Utilita is an independent gas and electricity supplier who specialise in prepayment energy with the newest smart metering technology available today.
Utilita energy was formed in 2003 with the intention of bringing innovation to the energy supply industry to address the issues outlined in the Energy White Paper of February 2001.
In 2007 Utilita re-launched, with a partner to address fuel poverty by using smart meters to help consumers reduce their energy consumption.
By 2010 Utilita was one of the first energy suppliers to model itself on the needs of prepayment customers.
Utilita and Omni Energy
Omni Energy ceased trading as a result of the energy market crisis in October 2021, and Utilita was appointed as the supplier of last resort. This meant it took on Omni's customer base of 6,000 customers.
Utilita and Our Power
When Our Power ceased trading in January 2019, Utilita was appointed by Ofgem to take on Our Power's 31,000 domestic energy customers.
How Utilita Energy prices have changed
Most energy suppliers in the UK are subject to Ofgem's energy price cap, which sets the maximum rate a supplier can charge for its standard variable or default tariff.
In February 2021, Ofgem announced a 9% increase to the price cap rate, effective from April 2021. In reaction to this, Utilita announced a 9% price rise on its standard variable tariff (known as the Smart Energy tariff). This translates to an average £96 per year price rise for customers on Utilita's Smart Energy plan from April.
In September 2020, Utilita announced it would be reducing the average cost of its default tariff (known as Smart Energy) in line with a reduction in the price cap rate. This change will mean an average £79 price drop for customers on Utilita's Smart Energy tariff. This price change came into effect from 1 October 2020.
The price drop brought the average cost of Utilita's standard variable tariff down to £1,040 per year, £2 below Ofgem's price cap level.
Is Utilita 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.