Sainsbury's Energy

Sainsbury's Energy is a trading name of Eon Next, part of big energy firm Eon. It says it's the only energy provider that's part of the Nectar scheme so you can earn points by being a customer.

Sainsbury's Energy sells dual fuel plans (gas and electricity), electricity-only plans and gas-only plans lasting one or two years. New customers will make fixed payments with the group's Fix & Reward tariff, which means you pay the same amount every month. There's a £30 exit fee if you decide to cancel before the end of the contract.

Sainsbury's Energy also claim their energy is 100% renewable from sources such as wind, solar, and hydro.

Previously Sainsbury's Energy was a partnership with Npower. Npower's customers were moved to Eon Next in 2021. Before that, Sainsbury's Energy was a partnership between the supermarket and British Gas.

Find out whether you're on the best energy deal for you by using Which? Switch to compare gas and electricity prices.

Sainsbury's Energy customer review

We spoke to 8,390 survey respondents to find out exactly what they thought of their energy supplier. We reviewed 18 energy companies, and Sainsbury's Energy finished in joint-tenth place along with SSE, Eon and Scottish Power.

In general, customers were fairly satisfied with the company, although many of those we surveyed reported they had just moved over to Sainsbury's Energy, and therefore could not provide a detailed evaluation.

Many responses were given in the sense of 'so far, so good', with Sainsbury's Energy showing decent service and value for money.

Sainsbury's Energy score

The graphic below shows the breakdown of Sainsbury's Energy's score from our survey.

Scroll down to read the full Which? verdict on Sainsbury's Energy, plus how its prices compare with other energy suppliers.

[-] indicates too few responses to give a rating

Find out how Sainsbury's Energy compares with other energy firms – head over to our Which? energy survey results.

Which? verdict on Sainsbury's Energy

Pros: Customers can be rewarded with Nectar points

Cons: Average service, not particularly outstanding

We did not receive enough responses to give Sainsbury's Energy star ratings on their customer service, or the accuracy or clarity of their statements. Plus, as aforementioned, many of those who responded had only been with Sainsbury's Energy a short time, so could not reflect on the long-term pros and cons of this provider.

However, the feedback we received resulted in Sainsbury's Energy earning a 55% overall customer score - one of the lower scores we've seen in our survey.

In addition, 68% said its customer service was good and 62% said they were satisfied with the company as their supplier. When it came to complaints, 14% told us they had reason to complain in the year to October 2021.

Sainsbury's Energy Value for Money

Sainsbury's Energy earned a 'fair' three stars in terms of value for money. The highest rating among all the energy companies in our survey was four stars.

Some customers reported prices with Sainsbury's Energy to be fair and reasonable, especially considering the UK's current energy crisis.

Plus, users can collect Nectar points when they use Sainsbury's Energy, which should help save money down the line.

Sainsbury's Energy and Nectar Points

If you switch to Sainsbury's Energy from your current supplier, you'll be rewarded with Nectar points. Customers that switch both their gas and electricity to Sainsbury's will get 'triple Nectar points every time they shop with Sainsbury's'. Those points can be spent on treats from Nectar partners including Argos and Vue Cinemas.

Signing up with Sainsbury's Energy means you will be able to manage your account online or with the free mobile app. Customers can compare their energy use with previous days, weeks or months and send meter readings 'in seconds'.

Up until April 2019, Sainsbury's Energy was provided by British Gas. From that date, customers were automatically switched over to British Gas – users that have taken no action since will still be with this provider. That same year, Sainsbury's entered into an agreement with Npower. Now it's a partnership with Eon Next.

Can I join Sainsbury's Energy with a prepayment meter?

No, Sainsbury's Energy does not accept customers with prepayment meters. 

Check our guide to prepayment meters to find a supplier which does, and how customers rated them in our latest survey.

Does Sainsbury's Energy sell renewable energy?

Sainsbury's Energy is supplied by Eon Next, which is part of the Eon Group. It sells 100% renewable electricity tariffs, matched partly by renewable electricity Eon generates, partly buying it directly from generators and partly by buying renewable energy certificates to match customers’ use with renewable power.

Some 81.9% of Eon’s electricity fuel mix is renewable, 1.8% is nuclear and the remainder comes from fossil fuels. 

The renewable electricity it generates is from biomass, which it says is fuelled by responsibly-sourced waste and recycled wood. Eon’s Sheffield site uses locally-sourced waste wood which otherwise would have gone to landfill. 

Eon also buys around a third of the electricity used by its customers from renewable generators. It says it helped generate many of its supply sites over the last decade. 

This doesn’t match every customer’s use though – a fifth of its electricity is matched with renewable power generated outside the UK, in Europe, using Guarantees of Origin (GoOs).

Sainsbury's Energy notes that 'there are currently no environmental benefits to [its] tariff'.

Find out more about the differences between energy companies’ renewable electricity.

Sainsbury's Energy in the news

Sainsbury's Energy in 2021

October: Sainsbury's moves to use 100% renewable energy across its own estates by the end of the year, including using energy-efficient pallet trucks.

March: Sainsbury's offer bonus of up to 10,000 Nectar points when customers sign up for Sainsbury's Energy, as well as earning extra points when shopping at Sainsbury's stores.

Sainsbury's Energy customers are now supplied by Eon Next. Npower became part of the Eon Group and all of its customers were moved to Eon Next.

Sainsbury's Energy in 2020

January: Sainsbury's announce to invest £1bn to reduce their own operations to 'net zero' by 2040