Npower Business Solutions, Powered By E.ON Reviews: Is It Worth Switching?

npower Business Solutions, Powered By E.ON: What You Need to Know

Belonging to the E.ON group, npower Business Solutions, Powered By E.ON provides business energy to large business and corporate business customers, while E.ON Next supplies energy to the domestic arm of the business. 

What’s npower Business Solutions, Powered By E.ON’s renewable energy generation like?

npower Business Solutions has received triple certification to the Carbon Trust Standard for its work to reduce carbon emissions and improve waste management across all of its offices throughout the United Kingdom and remains the only energy company to have received this accolade

All of the paper npower uses to communicate with its customers comes from 100% sustainable sources. These forests are meticulously managed to reduce the pressure on natural forests providing similar resources, while also able to provide many other environmental benefits alongside their primary function.  

When it comes to tariffs and renewable electricity, however, it is unclear whether or not npower offers 100% renewable electricity with its tariffs. 

100% renewable electricity is almost an industry-standard inclusion within energy tariffs these days, so maybe they’re not mentioning it because it’s a given, but nothing is clear on their website. 

However, they are owned by E.ON as we have mentioned, and E.ON includes 100% renewable electricity as standard with all of their energy tariffs, which is derived from renewable generation assets, UK wind generator supply agreements and the purchase of renewable electricity certificates. With this in mind, it would seem unlikely that npower’s tariffs weren’t powered using the same energy. 

npower Business Solutions, Powered By E.ON’s energy tariff options 

Your Energy Bill Explained

Energy bills contain lots of information that you need to know, and terminology that may not make sense, so it can be a little overwhelming to make sense of them in one go. And for customers of npower, that holds true as much as for any other energy supplier.

To help you navigate your way around your energy bill, we've put together this guide to make everything in your bill crystal clear for you. It's essential to understand what's in your energy bill, especially if you switching energy suppliers, or simply need to contact your supplier to rectify an issue.

1. Payments and balance

Your payments and balance overview is just a snapshot of what you’ve paid and whether you’re on debit or credit. It’s best to find yourself in credit over the warmer months, and then this accounts for your higher usage when it’s cold. Your monthly payments are chosen based on your annual usage and should see you in credit at the right time.

2. Tariff name

This is simply the name assigned to your fixed or variable tariff. It usually includes the month and year that the tariff ends, and after that you’ll move onto the supplier’s default tariff and probably pay more. It’s a date worth remembering!

3. Payment type

This is a reminder of how you pay your bill, so if you see ‘Direct Debit’ then you know the payment comes out automatically. If you’d like to change this then get in touch with your supplier.

4. Tariff end-date

This confirms the end date of your tariff. It’s really important to make sure that you get a new deal in place, and that you don’t simply default to an expensive standard tariff. You have the option of either getting a new offer from your supplier or shopping around for something better.

5. Exit fee

This is important information, as it warns you about any cost to exit your contract. If you want to switch during your contract and there is an exit fee, you’ll almost certainly have to pay it. Some deals don’t have an exit fee, leaving you free to switch at any time for no cost.

6. Estimates

These will let you know how much gas and electricity your supplier expects you to use. You can use this information when you compare energy deals and you are asked for your annual consumption, or you can do it based on how much you spend. On the third page of the bill, you’ll find a more detailed breakdown of estimates.

7. Energy usage and cost

Here you’ll see your energy usage and cost. There are two different parts to your cost of energy - your unit rate and your standing charge. These are combined to create the cost of gas and electricity.

On the third page, you’ll see points 2-7 are all repeated in the same format for gas.

8. Gas supply number (MPRN)

The MPRN is your Meter Point Reference Number. It refers to the number used for your gas supply, and your energy supplier may ask for this at some point, so it’s handy to know what and where it is.

9. Electricity supply number (MPAN)

This is your electricity supply number, or Meter Point Authentication Number. You’ll usually find it has an ‘S’ before it, and, as with the gas number, it can be handy to know where to find it.

 

The tariffs npower has to offer are as follows: 

Fix 1 Year Plus v4 

• Smart meter or smart meter installation required
• Fixed price of energy until February 28th 2022
• No early exit fees
• Direct debit or pay on receipt of bill payments optional
• Online account (there if you want to use it)

Fix Online v43

• Smart meter or smart meter installation required
• Fixed price of energy until February 28th 2022
• £30 per fuel exit fees may apply before January 10th 2022
• Direct debit payment
• Online account necessary

Standard Variable

• The price for your energy may vary
• No early exit fees
• Pay by Direct Debit, Receipt of Bill or Prepayment
• Online account (there if you want to use it)

Npowers’ home services

Npower offers E.ON home services that you can sign up for separately from your gas and electricity deal: 

New boiler installation

Through E.ON, npower offers brand new boiler replacement where you have the option to pay using three year 0% interest-free credit. If you choose to replace your boiler, you can receive up to a 10-year guarantee and smart thermostat compatibility to control your heating and hot water from your smartphone.

E.ON offers three types of boilers; combination, regular and system boilers. 

Boiler cover via HomeServe 

HomeServe is a company E.ON uses to offer boiler covers to its own customers and npower’s. As you’d expect, there are various plans that vary in price, with the more costly ones offering more assurances. See the table below for all the options: 

	Electrical Emergency & Breakdown Cover	Gas Boiler Breakdown	Gas Central Heating	Electric & Heating	Plumbing, Heating & Electrics
Assurances	Electrics	Gas boiler Boiler service Gas supply pipe	Gas boiler Boiler service Gas central heating Gas supply pipe	Gas boiler Boiler service Gas central heating Gas supply pipe Electrics	Gas boiler Boiler service Gas central heating Gas supply pipe Plumbing and drainage Water supply pipe Electrics
Monthly cost (from)	99p	£7.99	£12.99	£15.99	£19.99

Solar power

E.ON offers solar panel installation, which costs £121 a month with their interest-free finance option over 36 months. 

With E.ON’s solar panels you’ll become eligible for the Home Exclusive energy tariff should you want the option in the future. If this is something that appeals to you in the future, once you’ve had the panels installed you could switch to E.ON’s Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff that’ll pay you for the energy you put back into the grid. 

npower and additional support

Warm Home Discount 

npower offers the Warm Home Discount, a government-led scheme that offers £140 to those who are eligible to help cover the costs of their energy bills during the colder months when bills tend to be at their highest. 

Our guide on the Warm Home Discount scheme should provide all the information you need to know about it. 

npower’s customer service

npower’s Help and Support tab offers to take you to a range of pages to help with various questions and issues you might want answered, such as what to do if you’re moving home and you’re worried about what happens to your energy tariff. 

There are also various pieces of content to help you with different types of energy meters found in homes, along with some information on how npower functions as an energy supplier belonging to the E.ON group. 

You’ll find a section with common questions about bills and payments that you can read if you have any issues that need solving, but of course, you can always phone them in your query isn’t resolved through their online resources. 

What is npower's contact number?

npower has two customer numbers you can call them on:

0800 073 3000

Or

0330 100 3000

(lines open between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday)

A live chat option is also available which will allow you to talk to someone via instant messaging on the npower website. 

npower’s customer ratings

npower’s Trustpilot scores aren’t good, scoring a measly 1.2 out of 5 stars. 93% of all the people to have reviewed them on Trustpilot have come out as “bad,” which is the equivalent of a 1 out of 5 review. 

A lot of the reviews have involved extremely poor experiences when talking to their customer advisors over the phone, with many going as far to say they have come off the phone feeling patronised and frustrated. Some have also stated how expensive their energy bills have been since moving to npower, advising everyone reading the Trustpilot reviews to stay well away. 

If you still want to switch, we’re here to do it all for you

If you think you’re paying too much for your energy, the best thing you can do is compare energy tariffs. Luckily for you, that’s why we’re here. 

Simply enter your postcode followed by some details about your current energy supply, and compare away.