Tesla bid to become a UK electricity supplier gets politically 'charged' | Hacker News Reader

Tesla bid to become a UK electricity supplier gets politically 'charged'

theregister.com

11 pointsrntn6 comments

Here's a clear breakdown:

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## 1. Are all of Britain’s electricity suppliers private companies?

*Yes, all major electricity suppliers in Great Britain are privately owned.* There are no significant government-owned electricity supply companies currently operating for households or businesses. The exception was *Robin Hood Energy*, a publicly owned non-profit launched by Nottingham City Council in 2015—but it is no longer active as a general supplier.([Wikipedia][1])

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## 2. Major Electricity Suppliers in Great Britain: Ownership & Revenues

Let's focus on the biggest players as of mid-2025, per multiple market sources:

As of *June 2025*, the top six energy suppliers in Great Britain (by market share) are: *Octopus Energy, British Gas (Centrica), E.ON Next, OVO Energy, EDF Energy, ScottishPower*.([Uswitch][2])

These are all private companies—some British, some subsidiaries of foreign energy groups.

Here’s what we know about each:

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### *Octopus Energy*

* *Ownership*: Part of Octopus Group, an asset management company. Private company.([Wikipedia][3]) * *2024 Revenue*: £12.4 billion (2023: £13 billion).([Wikipedia][3])

### *British Gas (Centrica)*

* *Ownership*: Owned by Centrica, a British publicly listed (but privately held) energy company. * *Revenue*: Centrica group generated substantial revenue; British Gas alone had operating profit of £159 million for six months to June (annualized). Estimated Centrica revenue \~£26.5 billion.([The Times][4], [Wikipedia][3], [Yahoo Finance][5])

### *E.ON Next*

* *Ownership*: Subsidiary of the German energy group E.ON. * *Revenue*: E.ON UK revenue was around *£5.8 billion* in 2017. More recent figures aren’t in cited sources.([Wikipedia][6], [ibisworld.org][7])

### *OVO Energy*

* *Ownership*: British-based private company (founded 2009). Increased scale via acquisitions (e.g., SSE Energy Services).([Uswitch][2], [The Scottish Sun][8]) * *Revenue*: Not specified in sources, but likely in low-billions given size.

### *EDF Energy*

* *Ownership*: Wholly owned by the French state-owned utility EDF (Électricité de France).([Wikipedia][9]) * *Revenue*: Around *£8.72 billion* in 2021.([Wikipedia][9])

### *ScottishPower*

* *Ownership*: Owned by Spanish utility group Iberdrola.([The Standard][10], [The Scottish Sun][8]) * *Revenue*: About *£6.58 billion* (per Statista's figures for ScottishPower).([Statista][11])

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## Summary Table

| Supplier | Owner | Approx. Revenue | | -------------- | ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | Octopus Energy | Octopus Group (private) | £12.4 bn (2024) | | British Gas | Centrica (publicly listed UK) | \~£26 bn (group) | | E.ON Next | E.ON (German multinational) | \~£5.8 bn (2017 data) | | OVO Energy | Private UK company | Not publicly reported (\~£bn est.) | | EDF Energy | EDF (French state-owned) | £8.72 bn (2021) | | ScottishPower | Iberdrola (Spanish utility) | £6.58 bn (circa 2025) |

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### Additional Context

* The overall electricity supply industry in the UK had an estimated total revenue of *£49.7 bn in 2024*, with projections of decline ahead.([ibisworld.org][7]) * There are also various smaller, challenger suppliers active in the market (e.g., Utilita, Ecotricity, Good Energy, etc.), all private as well.([Confused][12], [Uswitch][2])

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## In Conclusion

* *Yes*, all major electricity suppliers in Great Britain are privately owned. * The top six are *Octopus Energy, British Gas (Centrica), E.ON Next, OVO Energy, EDF Energy*, and *ScottishPower*. * Owners range from UK corporations to foreign multinational or state-owned groups. * Revenues vary significantly, from around £6–12 bn for many to £26 bn for Centrica group.

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Let me know if you'd like details on smaller suppliers or more granular data (like profitability or customer numbers)!

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_Energy?utm_source=c... "Robin Hood Energy" [2]: https://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/big-six-energ... "Big six energy suppliers in the UK - Uswitch" [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_Energy?utm_source=chat... "Octopus Energy" [4]: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b21oct-3ghb0l23h?utm_sour... "The 'secret sauce' that helped Octopus take on British Gas" [5]: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-biggest-energy-companies-u... "10 Biggest Energy Companies in the UK" [6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.ON_UK?utm_source=chatgpt.com "E.ON UK" [7]: https://www.ibisworld.org/united-kingdom/industry/electricit... "Electricity Supply in the UK - Market Research Report (2014-2029)" [8]: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/money/15004584/energy-giant... "Energy giant with 5million customers in merger talks to create UK's 3rd BIGGEST gas & electricity supplier" [9]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDF_Energy?utm_source=chatgpt.... "EDF Energy" [10]: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/british-gas-centrica-prof... "Who owns the major energy and water suppliers, and how much profit do they make? | The Standard" [11]: https://www.statista.com/topics/4935/big-six-in-the-uk/?utm_... "Big Six in the UK - statistics & facts | Statista" [12]: https://www.confused.com/gas-electricity/guides/big-six-ener... "Who are the Big Six energy companies in the UK in 2024? - Confused.com"

So what's the big deal when all of britains electricity suppliers are private companies anyway?

we have one of the worlds highest electricity bills, so tesla could shake that up with off peak special pricing, daytime use can use a tesla ev to supply the house.

my guess is tesla wants to offer cheap off peak electricity and allow people to use their tesla to power their homes during the day, thus affecting the corporate stranglehold on those huge profits from the worlds highest electricity bill nation. George Soros funded bestforbitain.org ran an article (https://www.bestforbritain.org/thousands_oppose_musks_uk_pow...) what does soros know what is best for britain?

Let me change "a threat to national security." to "a threat to Europe and World security.".

Ah that is better. We were on the right track to bring Tesla sales to 0%. European politics are dumb I know but we have to change that and make them change the laws that make car makers to buy credits in electric car makers. That and many other laws are reallys stupid.

But having that company to supply anything is already bad.

Your post just deeply offended me and I am contacting the relevant authorities.

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