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 almost 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.

It has a new tool which automatically checks whether its customers are eligible for free or subsidised energy efficient home improvements. Utilita will contact customers to tell them the results in early summer 2024.

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 for 2024.

Utilita customer review

Utilita came seventh out of 16 energy companies rated by 9,025 members of the public in the annual Which? customer survey - slipping down from fourth place last year. 

Customer ratings reflected a fair amount of satisfaction with the company. It achieved an average three stars for most of categories we looked at, including overall customer service and value for money - where no company achieved a higher rating. 

Its communications about energy costs were appreciated by customers, giving it four stars for this category.

Feedback from customers was mixed. One happy customer said: 'I like the app. The prices seem very reasonable when I've compared. There is no standing charge for gas or electric'.

Not everyone was as happy though. Another customer said: ''Their customer service is hard to reach and they do not resolve the problems'.

Which? verdict on Utilita

• Pros: A good performance in our supplier assessment
• Cons: Not particularly outstanding in our customer survey

Utilita supplier assessment

In October 2023 we looked at four aspects of suppliers' business practices and procedures: 

• customer service - including how and when you can get in touch, 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, in financial difficulty, who use prepayment meters, and those who need materials in languages besides English 
• smart meter targets performance in 2022 (the most recent).

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

Utilita came joint-sixth in our assessment with a supplier score of 71%. This put it in fifth place overall combining its supplier score and customer survey score. 

It received very respectable scores in our assessment of its support for vulnerable customers with 7 out of a possible 10 points and for its customer service, where it scored 11 out of 15. Its complaints performance could be better though, with six points out of 10.  

Where Utilita did score particularly well was for achieving its smart meter targets. It was one of just two companies to score the maximum 10 points out of 10.

Since our assessment Utilita has become a member of Energy UK's Vulnerability Commitment.

Utilita customer service

Utilita received a satisfactory three stars in our survey for its customer service. Only Octopus received the full five stars.

Utilita common complaints

In our survey, 4% of Utilita customers said they contacted their supplier to make a complaint in the past year.

According to its website, 38% of complaints received were about customer service, with a further 16% about payment issues and another 14% about smart metering and installation.

Can you join Utilita with a prepayment meter?

Yes. Utilita says it specialises in supplying customers with prepayment meters, but you can also join it and pay by direct debit.

• Utilita customers can top up online or using its mobile app, as well as over the phone 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, the Isle of Wight, Leicester, Leith, 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 £40 for electricity and £60 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.

Does Utilita sell renewable energy?

Utilita's fuel mix is the same as the UK average, meaning that 40.8% of its customers' electricity is matched with renewable sources. It doesn’t generate renewable electricity or buy it directly from renewable generators. Its focus is on helping customers use less energy. 

In August 2023, we asked energy companies for information on a range of sustainability criteria. We awarded them points based on their responses as well as information published on their websites, including the annual Fuel Mix Disclosure (FMD). Aspects we scored included how much of the electricity they supply is renewable and whether they generate renewable energy or buy it directly from generators.

Utilita told us its High5 campaign to help customers cut wasted energy and save money reached more than four million households. It's now running a campaign with supermarket Iceland to help families better understand cooking costs. 

Utilita's Smart Score uses smart meter data to calculate energy efficiency and give tips on how customers can reduce energy wastage in their homes.

When we compared energy companies on their green credentials in November 2023, Utilita scored 35%. This places it in the lower half of our table of the 17 companies we rated.

Find out more about the differences between energy companies’ renewable electricity and how Utilita compares to others.