UK Edition
Shell to switch 700,000 UK homes to renewable energy
Royal Dutch Shell will begin supplying renewable electricity to more than 700,000 homes in the UK this week as it powers up plans to take become the world’s biggest electricity company.
Under the brand Shell Energy, it will become one of the country’s biggest green power suppliers overnight when it replaces First Utility, a year after acquiring the “big six” challenger brand.
Customers will automatically switch to green energy at no extra cost.
“On Monday morning more than 700,000 homes will wake up, turn on the lights, and switch on the kettle, using renewable electricity,” said Colin Crooks, the chief executive of Shell Energy Retail.
“We are building on the disruptive nature of First Utility to give customers something better. We know that renewable electricity is important to them and we are delivering that.” The new supplier will also offer a 15pc discount on electric car chargers and a 3pc discount on petrol and diesel at all Shell forecourts across the UK.
Shell Energy expects to roll out a string of other home energy services, including batteries, this year. The Anglo-Dutch company will draw on expertise gathered during its flurry of acquisitions of clean energy start-ups.
“We’re joining together the dots,” Mr Crooks said.
In addition to First Utility, Shell has snapped up NewMotion, Europe’s largest fast car-charging network, Limejump, the energy software company, and Sonnen, the battery-maker.
Shell is also in talks to buy Eneco, the Dutch utility.
The oil and gas giant is spending around $2bn a year on breaking into the market for clean electricity. It expects to be the biggest power company in the world by the early 2030s.
Maarten Wetselaar, director of Shell’s new energies division, told reporters earlier this year that the energy supply company “may be small, but it’s an important part of the business”.
“We are deeply committed and we intend to grow substantially,” he said. “We would not get into this market and continue to supply fewer than a million customers. I think you will see we will be very active ... for the coming year.”