EDF Energy Review – Our Verdict
In our experience, EDF Energy operates a professional, reliable and consistent service when it comes to handling new customer energy supply applications.
We like the transparency of their pricing.
It probably goes without saying, but is worth pointing out nevertheless that, given the financial strength of the group, there is negligible financial risk to being on supply with EDF Energy.
We have awarded EDF Energy a 4 star service rating (from 5) and are happy to recommend them to customers.
Company Description
EDF Energy is one of the Big 5 (was 6) energy suppliers supplying the domestic energy market. However, its operations extend way beyond just energy supply.
Although the supply business was incorporated back in 1988, the origins of the current UK group date back in the early 2000’s when it was established through a series of mergers and acquisitions. These transactions brought together the assets of several energy businesses – London Electricity, SEEBOARD, SWEB Energy and the former Virgin Energy.
Today EDF Energy in the UK is involved in the supply of gas and electricity to commercial, residential and industrial customers and the generation of electricity through a portfolio of generation assets including nuclear, coal, gas and renewable generation.
In generation it owns and operates one gas fired power station (West Burton B CCGT), 2 coal fired power stations (Cottam, West Burton A) and 8 nuclear power stations (Dungeness B, Hartlepool, Heysham 1, Heysham 2, Hinckley Point B, Hunterston B, Sizewell B and Torness). Seven of these are Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors (AGCRs) and the eight is a Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR).
The company operates 2 gas storage facilities in Cheshire.
EDF Energy is also active in renewable generation. It currently operates 31 wind farm sites and has more coming on stream over the next few years.
In the energy supply business, EDF Energy had 3.3 million electricity customer accounts and 2 million gas customer accounts at the end of 2015. This was a slight fall in customers on 2014.
Going forwards EDF Energy, in partnership with China General Nuclear Corporation, is planning to build new nuclear reactors at Hinckley Point in Somerset. They will also work together towards developing proposals for nuclear plants at Sizewell in Suffolk and Hinckley Point in Essex. EDF Energy is also proposing to develop a gas power station at Sutton Bridge.
EDF Energy in the UK is part of the Electricite de France SA group, one of the largest diversified energy companies in the world. At end 2015, the group had net assets of 279 billion Euros.
More about EDF Energy
EDF Energy offers gas only, electricity only and dual fuel tariffs.
The company offers tariffs for prepayment meter customers.
EDF Energy is signed up to the Warm Home Discount Scheme.
The company is signed up to the Energy Switch Guarantee.
Service Rating
We have awarded EDF Energy 4 Stars (from 5). This is based on the proportion of energy switches, undertaken on our energy switching platform, that complete successfully first time around. Using our website, 91-95% of customers can expect their switch complete successfully without any glitches.
EDF Energy has always been one of the most consistently highest rated suppliers in terms successfully completed energy switches. This is down to the consistency and reliability in their order processing. We are therefore happy to recommend EDF Energy to our customers.
Reviews from other sites vary, although Trustpilot reviews ralso ate EDF Energy as excellent.
Ofgem satisfaction surveys show that around 70% of customers are satisfied with EDF Energy customer service, ease of understanding bills and contactability.
Fuel Mix Disclosure
All suppliers, including EDF Energy, are required to provide information about the mix of fuels they use to generate the electricity they supply to their customers. They also need to disclose the environmental impact of this fuel mix.
This information is known as the Fuel Mix Disclosure and is published annually.
The table below shows the EDF Energy Fuel Mix Disclosure for the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.
| Energy Source | EDF Energy | UK Average |
|---|---|---|
| Source: EDF Energy | ||
| Coal | 5.7% | 8.5% |
| Natural gas | 8.4% | 44.1% |
| Nuclear | 76.9% | 21.0% |
| Renewables | 8.8% | 24.2% |
| Other fuels | 0.3% | 2.2% |
| CO2 emissions (g/kWh) | 84 | 249 |
| High-level radioactive waste (g/kWh) | 0.0054 | 0.007 |
Compared to the UK average, EDF Energy supplies a much higher proportion of energy generated from nuclear. – it is after all a significant generator of nuclear power. Consequently a much lower proportion of its energy is generated from natural gas and renewables. It’s CO2 emissions are well below the UK average largely due to low CO2 emissions from nuclear power.
You can view EDF Energy Fuel Mix Disclosure for earlier years here.
Company Structure
The company that supplies energy to domestic and business customers in the UK is EDF Energy Customers Limited.
EDF Energy Customers Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of EDF Energy Holdings Limited (the investment being held through another company called EDF Energy Investments).
Ultimately EDF is owned by Electricite de France SA, a company incorporated in France. It is also the ultimate parent company and also the Group Company under which all EDF Energy business activities are consolidated.
It is worth noting that all these Companies are substantial multi-billion dollar businesses in their own right. Here we present an overview of the supply business (EDF Energy Customers Plc) and the UK Group company (EDF Energy Holdings Limited).
| Company Name | EDF ENERGY CUSTOMERS Limited |
|---|---|
| Source: Companies House | |
| Company Number | 02228297 |
| Registered Office Address | 90 Whitfield Street, London, England, W1T 4EZ |
| Date of incorporation | 8 March 1988 |
| Directors (5) | BIGOIS, Beatrice FORTUNE, Dawn HUGHES, Richard Tudor JACOB, Katherine Rebecca POOLE, James Nicholas |
| Company Secretary | SOUTO, Joe |
EDF ENERGY HOLDINGS LIMITED
The principal activity of this company and its subsidiaries is the supply of gas and electricity to commercial, residential and industrial customers and the generation of electricity through a portfolio of generation assets including nuclear, coal, gas and renewable generation. The group is also involved in the build of new nuclear power stations.
| Company Name | EDF ENERGY HOLDINGS LIMITED |
|---|---|
| Source: Companies House | |
| Company Number | 06930266 |
| Registered Office Address | 90 Whitfield Street, London, England, W1T 4EZ |
| Date of incorporation | 10 June 2009 |
| Directors (11) | CARVAL, Christophe GIRRE, Xavier Rene Louise GUYLER, Robert LACOUR, Veronique LAFONTAINE, Henri Joseph Clement LÉVY, Jean-Bernard MATTHEWS, Colin Stephen MINIERE, Dominique Christophe ROSSI, Simone TODOROV, Pierre Christian URSAT, Xavier Bernard Yves |
| Company Secretary | SANTI, Guido |
Financials
In this section we briefly review the published financial results for EDF Energy Customers Limited and EDF Holdings Limited.
The tables below provide a summary of the financial statements for the last 3 years.
From the statements it is clear that the Company makes no money from the supply of gas and electricity, despite all the criticism it gets about profiteering from politicians and supposed “consumer” experts. Operating profit margins have been close to zero if not negative and indeed, in 2017, EDF Energy Customers Limited raised £990 million from existing shareholders to wipe out the accumulated deficit of almost £1 billion on its balance sheet.
| Year ended 31 December | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: Companies House | |||
| Customer accounts (millions) | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.16 |
| Income statement (£m) | |||
| Revenue | 6,373 | 5,971 | 6,042 |
| Gross margin | 547.1 | 619.1 | 684.8 |
| Gross margin (%) | 8.6% | 10.4% | 11.3% |
| Operating profit (loss) | (137.9) | (19.9) | 48.5 |
| Operating profit (%) | -2.2% | -0.3% | 0.8% |
| Profit before tax | (129.0) | (98.0) | (34.0) |
| Balance Sheet (£m) | |||
| Non current assets | 537 | 546 | 609 |
| Net current assets | (1,152) | (1,367) | (308) |
| Non current liabilities | (223) | (240) | (283) |
| Net assets | (839) | (1,061) | 19 |
| Capital and Reserves (£m) | |||
| Share capital | 10 | 10 | 1,000 |
| Profit and loss account | (848) | (1,070) | (981) |
| Shareholders Funds | (839) | (1,061) | 19 |
Even at the holding company level, while operating margins are healthier, the pretax profit record is both volatile and patchy with the Holding company swinging from profits to losses on a regular basis. This reflects the underlying volatility of the energy business. Nevertheless, the group has SUCH massive asset backing, both in the UK and internationally, that there is negligible financial risk to customers. In the UK alone EDF has assets of over £18 billion.
| Year ended 31 December | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: Companies House | |||
| Customer accounts domestic (millions) | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.16 |
| Income statement (£m) | |||
| Revenue | 8,440 | 7,588 | 7,520 |
| Gross margin | 3,575 | 3,240 | 2,805 |
| Gross margin (%) | 42.4% | 42.7% | 37.3% |
| Operating profit (loss) | 1,624 | 1,399 | 867 |
| Operating profit (%) | 19.2% | 18.4% | 11.5% |
| Profit before tax | (296) | 305 | (299) |
| Balance Sheet (£m) | |||
| Non current assets | 24,027 | 26,131 | 27,952 |
| Net current assets | 2,716 | 3,058 | 2,363 |
| Non current liabilities | (9,856) | (11,118) | (11,840) |
| Net assets | 16,887 | 18,071 | 18,465 |
| Capital and Reserves (£m) | |||
| Total equity | 16,887 | 18,071 | 18,465 |
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