The Electricity Industry in the UK has three key stakeholder areas. They are:
-
Generators - responsible for generating the energy we use in our homes and businesses. Generated electricity flows into the National Transmission network and through to the regional Distribution networks.
-
Distributors - are the owners and operators of the network of towers and cables that bring electricity from the National Transmission Network to homes and businesses. Even so, they are not the organisations that sell electricity to the end consumer. This is carried out by organisations who make use of the distribution networks to pass the energy commodity to your property - the suppliers.
-
Suppliers - are the companies who supply and sell electricity to the consumer. The suppliers are the first point of contact when arranging an electricity supply to domestic, commercial and smaller industrial premises.
Since May 1999 - and the introduction of the competitive supply market back in 1990 - over 19 million customers have changed supplier, with some domestic consumers realising significant savings on their energy bills. As a result of competition, UK energy prices have fallen considerably since 1999.