The Big Six Energy Suppliers

The 'Big Six Energy Companies' are Britain's largest energy suppliers - between them they supply gas and electricity to over 50 million homes and businesses in the UK. The Big Six are also the oldest energy companies, having been created with the privatisation of the energy sector in 1990. However, since 1997 many smaller independent suppliers have entered the UK market, with the aim of providing real competition for the Big Six, and creating a fairer market for consumers in the process.

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More Information About The Big Six Energy Suppliers

	British Gas British Gas is the leading big 6 energy provider in the UK, supplying gas and electricity to around 15 million homes. The company is a subsidiary of Centrica, which purchased it in 1997. Centrica is a UK based company with headquarters in Windsor. It operates as Scottish Gas in Scotland, and also has operations in North America under the brand name Direct Energy.
	EDF Energy EDF Energy is the largest producer of electricity in the UK. Wholly owned by the French state-owned EDF SA, it was formed in 2002 with the merger of SEEBOARD and SWEB energy, and purchased British Energy in 2009. EDF supply gas and electricity to 5.6 million homes in the UK.
	E.ON E.ON supplies energy to 5.3 million homes and business across the nation. They are also the UK market leader in producing 'combined heat and power'. Previously called Powergen, the company was acquired by the German E.ON AG in 2002. E.On AG is the world's largest investor-owned electric utility service with over 26 million customers.
	npower npower, previously known as Innogy, and before that National Power, was purchased by RWE of Germany in 2002. npower supplies gas and electricity to 6.5 million residential and business customers in the UK, and provides the gas and electricity of customers of the Utility Warehouse Discount Club.
	Scottish Power Scottish Power, a subsidiary of Spanish Iberdrola, is the Distribution Network Operator in central and southern Scotland as well as the Merseyside and North Wales regions. Scottish Power is one of the smaller Big Six energy companies, with 5.3 million customers in the UK. It was acquired by Iberdrola in 2006 and owns PPM Energy in the United States.
	SSE SSE is a Scottish-registered company with headquarters in Perth. Previously known as Scottish and Southern, the company trades in different regions under the brand names SSE, SSE Southern Electric, SSE SWALEC and SSE Scottish Hydro. SSE is the second largest Big Six energy supplier in the UK with 9.1 million customers. It is also the UK's largest generator of energy from renewable sources.