Bristol Energy
Bristol Energy was one of the new kids on the block in the energy sector was founded by Bristol city council as recently as 2015. It was a municipally-owned energy supply company that lasted until August 2020, when its business account was sold to Yü Energy. Only a month later, its residential accounts were assaulted by Together Energy. If you would like to read more information or learn more about the pricing of business energy, you can do so here.
Bristol Energy
It didn’t just supply gas and electricity within Bristol, however. It supplied electricity and gas to domestic and business customers all across the United Kingdom. The remnants of the old operation haven’t wholly ceased to exist, and as of 2020, Bristol Energy is, in fact, a brand of Together Energy.
History of Bristol Energy
Although the company was only founded in 2015, plans for its setup began as far back as 2010 when Bristol City Council decided to create a company in the rough form of what Bristol Energy would end up taking. It took on this task as part of this climate change and energy security framework. The first few years of the plan were slow, however. Not until February 2015, an actual business was produced.
However, the next step was a lot faster, with the council cabinet’s approval coming only five months later, in July of the same year. In February 2016, the company began taking on its first customers only seven months after that. So we can see by this timeline that although the initial formulation of the idea was prolonged, once a business plan was eventually put out, things got into motion very quickly.
You’d be forgiven for assuming that Bristol city council would be chomping at the bit to work with the company they have set up. However, in spring 2018, Bristol Energy lost the contract to supply energy to Bristol City Council, the same organisation that set them up just a couple of years earlier. Bristol Energy hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, that they slightly undercut on price by British Gas. This small undercutting was unfortunate for the young company, who would have expected support from the council that had recently brought them into existence. Are
However, there was no need for SSD attitude to linger for too long as it was only a few months until Bristol Energy began supplying gas to the City Council again in November of that year. The fact that Bristol Energy had managed to win back some of the lost business from British Gas was a good sign.
Things continued to look up when only a couple of months later, in January 2019, the company announced it had received a grant from the European investment bank and the European Commission to fund renewable energy that totalled €1.9 million. This was achieved with the help of Plymouth City Council. There’s no doubt that the EU was impressed by the company’s dedication to renewable energy. 79% of the company’s energy supply came from renewable sources in that year, which is even more impressive when you consider how new the company was and the size of some of its competitors.
Bristol Energy and the Community
Bristol Energy’s credentials for social good were further enhanced when in May 2019, the company announced a partnership with The Big Issue. A couple of months later, in August 2019, it was revealed that Bristol energy had employed and was continuing to employ two individuals who had previously been homeless. Bristol has a history of being a progressive city, and the new company was doing the city’s name proud.
When the company received over £30 million worth of funding from Bristol in August 2019, it was expected that the company wouldn’t become profitable for another five years.
The company was initially owned by Bristol city council through Bristol Holding Ltd (an intermediate holding company). It was decided in May 2020 that it would be better owned by someone else and so was put up for sale.
Shortly afterwards, it was decided that Yü energy would take hold of 4000 business customer accounts. They paid £1.34 million and took on £580,000 worth of debt for this. Not long after that, the remaining brand in residential accounts was sold to Together Energy from Clydebank for £14 million.
Bristol Energy – To Conclude
Bristol Energy’s path has been a bumpy one. It took a while to get off the ground things started moving fast and, in a very “Bristol” way, once found its feet. It has started a new page, and now we get to see the new parent company’s direction.
Find out more about switching business energy providers here.
Other useful links about Business Energy
Understanding Business Energy
How Smart Meters Can Benefit Your Business
Things To Consider Before Switching Business Energy
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