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Sainsbury's Energy archive

Sainsbury's Energy ceased trading on 1 January 2022. Its customers were transferred to British Gas under Ofgem's Supplier of Last Resort scheme. This page is kept as a historical record.

Founded 2011 London

Ceased trading · 1 January 2022

Sainsbury's Energy no longer supplies UK households

Sainsbury's Energy was a white-label partnership brand. The original British Gas partnership ended in 2019 and the subsequent Npower / E.ON Next partnership wound down. Existing customers were absorbed by British Gas / E.ON Next. Customers were transferred to British Gas under Ofgem's Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) scheme. This page is kept as a historical record. Information presented below was accurate at the time of original publication.

Founded

2011

Years on the UK market

About

Who is Sainsbury's Energy?

Registered as Sainsbury's Energy (white-label partnership — historically with British Gas, then Npower / Eon Next), Sainsbury's Energy uses this legal name for Ofgem licence filings, contracts and any formal communications. The trading name customers see on bills is the shorter, more recognisable form.

The company is headquartered in London, where it runs its senior management, customer operations and regulatory liaison with Ofgem.

Sainsbury's Energy was founded in 2011. The supplier operated under a domestic-supply licence until its closure, with a track record of customer service and billing publicly documented for the years it traded.

Sainsbury's Energy is part of the J Sainsbury plc (retail brand) — energy supply provided by British Gas (Centrica plc) under historical partnership group, which provides shared governance, financial backing and a broader pool of expertise in trading, hedging and regulatory work.

The company is regulated by Ofgem, the UK's energy regulator, and its complaint handling falls under the Energy Ombudsman alternative dispute resolution scheme.

Timeline

Sainsbury's Energy — key dates

A short timeline of the Sainsbury's Energy brand — founding, milestones, regulatory events and the closure that brought it to an end.

  1. 2011

    Sainsbury's Energy launches as a partnership between J Sainsbury plc and British Gas, offering Nectar-points rewards on energy tariffs.

  2. 2019

    The Sainsbury's Energy / British Gas partnership ends in February; all customers are transferred to British Gas in April.

  3. 2019

    Sainsbury's Energy is relaunched in April under a new partnership with Npower.

  4. 2020

    Npower is acquired by E.ON; Sainsbury's Energy customers eventually move to E.ON Next.

  5. 2022

    The Sainsbury's Energy brand winds down and stops accepting new domestic energy customers.

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Common questions

Sainsbury's Energy — frequently asked questions

Sainsbury's Energy was a white-label partnership brand. The original British Gas partnership ended in 2019 and the subsequent Npower / E.ON Next partnership wound down. Existing customers were absorbed by British Gas / E.ON Next.

Existing customers were transferred to British Gas under Ofgem's Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) scheme — supply was never interrupted.

Your supply has not been interrupted: under the SoLR scheme, your supply is automatically handed to the successor supplier. Log in to the successor's online portal as soon as possible to set up your account, confirm your bank details and download any final Sainsbury's Energy statements while the legacy website is still online.

You are not required to pay any exit fee to leave the deemed tariff. Once your account is set up, compare current deals through Selectra to find a cheaper plan that fits your usage.

Yes. Customer credit balances on accounts at the date of cessation are protected under Ofgem's SoLR scheme. The successor supplier (British Gas) is required to honour your credit balance. Confirm the balance in writing within the first 30 days to avoid disputes later.

Yes — outstanding debts owed to Sainsbury's Energy transfer to the administrator of the company's estate, not the SoLR. You may receive a written demand for the outstanding amount from the administrators. Verify any demand against your final Sainsbury's Energy statement before paying.

You can complain about the conduct of Sainsbury's Energy (mis-selling, billing errors, customer service) to the Energy Ombudsman, even after the supplier has ceased trading. For complaints about the SoLR transfer itself (delays, incorrect tariff), the route is the same — Ombudsman first, then Ofgem.

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