Utilita

Formed in 2003, Utilita specialises in supplying customers through Pay As You Go (PAYG) smart energy meters. 

It has been installing smart prepayment meters since 2008 and now more than 90% of its customers have smart meters.

It's one of the only energy suppliers to have no standing charge, which means you won’t pay anything if you don’t use any energy.

The My Utilita app lets customers see their balance, make payments, see their energy usage and more.

Compare energy prices using our free tool to see if you could spend less.

Utilita score 

We combine the results of our customer survey with an in-depth assessment of companies' behind-the-scenes practices and policies to give you an overall view. 

Take a look at our table below to see our score breakdown for Utilita:

Here's how Utilita's customer and policy assessments break down:

Find out how Utilita compares with other energy suppliers: see our full results of the best energy suppliers.

Which? verdict on Utilita

• Pros: A good performance in our supplier assessment and great support for those who need it
• Cons: Mixed feedback and poor results in our customer survey

Utilita customer review

Utilita came 11th out of 17 energy companies rated by 11,945 members of the public in the annual Which? customer survey.

Customer ratings reflected fairly low satisfaction with the company. It achieved two stars out of five for all the categories we looked at, including for overall customer service, ease of contacting, customer communications and value for money.

Feedback from customers was mixed. One happy customer said: 'I love being with Utilita. I have had issues with my meters but they have been a great help in the past.'

Not everyone was as happy, though. Another customer said: 'They are so expensive and impossible to contact.'

Utilita customer service

Utilita received a fairly poor two stars in our survey for its customer service. No suppliers received the full five stars and only four (100Green, Octopus Energy, E (Gas & Electricity) and Sainsbury's Energy) received four stars.

Utilita common complaints

In our survey, 7% of Utilita customers who said they had contacted their supplier in the past year did so to make a complaint.

The most common problems experienced by all Utilita customers over the past 12 months were a new energy meter having to be installed (9%), their smart meter not sending readings automatically (8%) and their in-home display not working (8%).

Utilita supplier assessment

In September-November 2025 we looked at five aspects of suppliers' business practices and procedures. Examples of some criteria within each category include: 

• Contacting your supplier – including how and when you can get in touch, call waiting times and the quality of self-service help online
• How well they deal with complaints – how many complaints suppliers get and how quickly they resolve them
• Supporting customers who need it – including web accessibility, those in vulnerable situations, those who use prepayment meters, and those who need materials in languages besides English 
• Switching – how well suppliers handle switching
• Smart meters – including performance against 2024 smart meter targets and the proportion of customers' smart meters actually operating in smart mode.

We did this using a combination of the responses to a survey we sent to suppliers and our own assessments.

Utilita came joint fourth in our assessment with a supplier score of 68%. 

In our assessment it received the maximum 10 points for its support for vulnerable customers. It also scored 10 out of 10 points for smart meters. Its contacting your supplier performance could be better though, with seven points out of 12.  

Can you join Utilita with a prepayment meter?

Yes. Utilita specialises in supplying customers with prepayment meters so you can't join it and pay by direct debit or when you receive a bill. It previously had credit customers but these were transferred to EDF Energy in 2025.

• Utilita customers can top up online or using its mobile app, as well as over the phone, via SMS or at a PayPoint or Payzone outlet. 
• Customers also can transfer credit between meters using the My Utilita app
• It has opened ‘energy hubs’ in Blackburn, Derby, Gosport, Hartlepool, Huddersfield, the Isle of Wight, Leicester, Leith, Luton, Sheffield, Shirley and West Bromwich, where customers can top up, and get energy efficiency advice and help from staff, face to face.
• Customers with smart meters can also apply for Power Up – a top up of up to £25 for electricity and £25 for gas when you’ve run out of credit. You can apply for it when your credit goes below £2 and you then pay it back from future top-ups.

Find out whether prepayment energy is right for you.

How sustainable is Utilita?

Sustainability credentials are important when choosing an energy supplier for two thirds of those responsible for choosing their provider. That’s according to our online survey of 3,000 UK adults in August 2024.

So we factor in a range of sustainability criteria in our Eco Provider assessment. We are next running this research in 2026.

Here’s how Utilita fared:

• Proportion of renewable electricity sold to customers: 0.2%
• Utilita explains that, to calculate this it uses "location-based methodology which matches our customers' half hourly consumption to half hourly local grid mix to show real emissions – anything else is greenwashing".
• Doesn't generate renewable electricity.
• Offers time-of-use tariffs for those with Economy 7, Economy 10 or other related meters. 
• Its app has a personalised carbon footprint tracker for household energy consumption.
• Offers installation of solar PV, battery storage, heat pumps and EV chargers.

Find out more about the differences between energy companies renewable electricity, and find out how we assessed energy suppliers for sustainability.

Based on information supplied by companies in August 2024 and their most recent published fuel mixes, where available.

Making your home more energy efficient will save money on your bills in the long term and lower your carbon footprint. Get started with our guides to home energy efficiency.