About the company
Utilita is the first and only Pay As You Go Smart Energy supplier in the UK. It promotes smart meters and was the first UK company to install one in 2008. Now around 90% of its customers use them and do not have to worry about overpaying for their energy bills. Utilita was created because its CEO Bill Bullen wanted to challenge the Big 6 operators and offer fairer, more transparent energy services. Utilita’s score on Trustpilot is 4.3 (excellent) and is a sum of over 33 thousand positive reviews left by its clients. The supplier cares about those in need and gives back to local communities. It supports numerous charities around the UK and has been taking part in many fundraising events to raise money for them. Recently, Utilita won the Best Energy Efficiency and Best Smart Meter Installation categories in Uswitch Energy Awards 2021.
What does Utilita offer?
Utilita is one of not many UK energy providers that does not include a standing charge in its tariffs. That means that if you don’t use energy, you don’t pay.
Customers can enjoy Utilita’s Smart Energy tariff that includes 2 unit rates:
- The first-rate is being charged before a customer spends 50p on fuel on that day. On average that means that they need to use 2kWh of energy.
- After a customer spends 50p on a certain day, the lower rate called the ‘Saver Rate’ is activated and their energy gets cheaper.
- The tariff resets at midnight every day.
All of Utilita’s customers are awarded £15 Emergency Credit that they can use when they run out of credit and are struggling with topping-up their prepayment meter.
Moreover, if you are experiencing real financial difficulties you can lend money from Utilita with no interest rate. Thanks to the Power Up option, you can lend credit up to £30 on gas and £20 on electricity.
Additional features
In 2018 Utilita introduced an energy management app called ‘My Utilita’. Since then, Utilita won the Uswitch’s Best App category twice. The app is supported on both Android and iOS and has thousands of positive reviews.
All Utilita’s customers get access to it and can manage their top-ups there. The app also allows you to save and manage your payment cards, check how much energy credit you have left, and track your energy consumption. The Power Up option can also be activated in the app.
Last year two more innovative features were added to My Utilita:
- a torch, which can help you check the meter when it’s dark
- the Winter Savings feature, which can help you save money for the colder months
Utilita’s customers can also use Energy+ that uses data from your Smart Display to help you save money and be more environmentally-friendly. It uses real-time energy usage information. The main features of Energy+ are:
| feature | overview |
| My Energy | Allows you to check how much energy your appliances use each month. |
| Energy Aid | Helps you ensure the safety of your loved ones. |
| Energy Eye | Gives you the option to get property insights. |
How to top-up with Utilita?
As Utilita is a Pay As You Go supplier, you can decide how much money you want to add to your prepayment meter. As you pay for the energy upfront, you don’t have to worry about remembering to pay monthly bills. You can easily check how much credit you have left and top-up when you see you’re running low.
You can top-up online using the My Utilita app. You can also send a text or phone Utilita’s team to do it. Alternatively, you can go to your local PayPoint store.
Is Utilita green?
Utilita uses several sources to generate its energy. In 2019/2020 they were:
| Fuel Type | Utilita Fuel Mix | UK Average Fuel Mix |
| Coal | 6% | 4% |
| Natural Gas | 72% | 39% |
| Nuclear | 8% | 17% |
| Renewables | 8% | 38% |
| Other | 5% | 2% |
Natural gas, which is the main source of Utilita’s energy, is a cleaner and more efficient fossil fuel.
Why you should switch to Utilita
- Utilita is the UK’s leading pre-pay meter supplier.
- Topping-up is very easy and quick thanks to advanced technologies that the supplier uses.
- Utilita gives you the tools that allow you to keep track of how much energy you’re using.
- The company offers emergency credit that can be useful if you ever cannot afford the supply at a certain moment.
- Utilita does not charge a standing charge.
- There are no cancellation or exit fees.
- Utilita makes acquiring smart meters very easy.
- The supplier is a great alternative to the Big Six.
- Utilita offers fair service and competitive prices.
- The company gives something back and supports numerous charities.