Green Star: What Customers Need To Know in 2022
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The UK energy market may seem bewildering to those looking at it with fresh eyes. While there, is the familiarity of the “Big 6” energy suppliers, there is also a wealth of smaller independent suppliers. Both home grown and overseas suppliers seem to pop up and disappear within a few short years. As was the case with Green Star Energy. Part of the US and Canada-based Just Energy Group, Green Star established a presence in the UK in 2013. However, their British invasion was to be relatively short lived. After a series of very costly mistakes, the brand’s parent company was bought out in late 2019.
Last updated: November 2022
What happened to Green Star? Why did it shut down? And what happened to its UK energy customers after the buyout?
Who were Green Star?
Green Star were a green energy supplier that provided 100% renewable energy from a combination of wind and hydropower, offering 5 tariffs to UK energy consumers. With over one million UK customers, it was one of the biggest energy suppliers in the country outside of the “Big 6”.
Green Star Energy was part of the Just Energy Group which supplied both residential and commercial energy in the United States and Canada. This, in turn, was owned by The Hudson Group.
Who has taken over Green Star?
Shell Energy have now taken over all of Green Star Energy’s former customers. With a 100% renewable energy fuel mix (surprising given the brand’s background in oil), and a markedly better record for customer service, Shell Energy is a good fit for customers who might have initially been drawn to Green Star.
Green Star also assured customers that their energy supply, plan terms and customer benefits would all remain the same. Nonetheless, when fixed rate tariffs expire, customers may be unsure of whether or not they’ll get the best deal from their new supplier.
Shell’s tariffs
Finding annual tariff costs can be difficult and require you to share information online. To make everything more straight forward and save you a step in inputting all of your information, we’ve gone ahead and have done the research for you. Below is a list of prices for Shell’s available plans.
Below you can find the cost information associated with these tariffs.
| Plan name | Tariff type | Is the tariff live? | Average electricity annual cost (£/year) | Average gas annual cost (£/year) | Average total annual cost (£/year) | Exit fees (£/fuel) | Green tariff?** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | Standard Variable | ❌ | £ 650.564* | £ 556.637* | £ 1,207.201* | £ 0.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Fixed - 12 months | ❌ | £ 745.311* | £ 717.281* | £ 1,462.592* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Fixed - 24 months | ❌ | £ 760.590* | £ 713.368* | £ 1,473.958* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
* Prices vary from one city to another, so we display national averages
* Based on 2,900.00 kWh of ⚡ and 12,000.00 kWh of 🔥 per year on average
** $Green_tariff_def_Shell$
Including 5% of VAT.
Shell Variable Rate Tariffs
Shell has one standard variable tariff available at the moment. Variable rates have an advantage in the form of flexibility to switch to different plans/providers. The disadvantage however is a risk of higher prices than fixed tariffs due to market fluctuations.
The costs associated with this tariff can be seen here:
| Plan name | Tariff type | Type of fuel | Is the tariff live? | Standing charge (p/day) | Unit rate cost (p/kWh) | Average total annual cost (£/year) | Exit cost (£/fuel) | Green tariff?** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | Standard Variable | Electricity | ❌ | 27.410 p* | 18.981 p* | £ 650.564* | £ 0.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Standard Variable | Gas | ❌ | 26.600 p* | 3.282 p* | £ 556.637* | £ 0.000 | ✖️ |
* Prices vary from one city to another, so we display national averages
* Based on 2,900.00 kWh of ⚡ and 12,000.00 kWh of 🔥 per year on average
** $Green_tariff_def_Shell$
Including 5% of VAT.
Shell Fixed Rate Tariffs
Shell currently has 2 fixed rate tariff plans which differ mainly in the time period the tariff is fixed for. We have an overview of them down below.
The pricing on these tariffs can be seen here:
| Plan name | Tariff type | Type of fuel | Is the tariff live? | Standing charge (p/day) | Unit rate cost (p/kWh) | Average total annual cost (£/year) | Exit cost (£/fuel) | Green tariff?** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | Fixed - 12 months | Electricity | ❌ | 34.160 p* | 21.398 p* | £ 745.311* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Fixed - 24 months | Electricity | ❌ | 42.170 p* | 20.916 p* | £ 760.590* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Fixed - 12 months | Gas | ❌ | 18.990 p* | 4.628 p* | £ 717.281* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Fixed - 24 months | Gas | ❌ | 20.870 p* | 4.551 p* | £ 713.368* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
* Prices vary from one city to another, so we display national averages
* Based on 2,900.00 kWh of ⚡ and 12,000.00 kWh of 🔥 per year on average
** $Green_tariff_def_Shell$
Including 5% of VAT.
Shell Economy 7 Tariffs
Shell also has Economy 7 plans available for people who have an economy 7 meter.
As mentioned previously, these tariffs have two separate unit rates, one for peak hours of consumption and another for off-peak.
Pricing on these tariffs can be seen here:
| Plan name | Tariff type | Type of fuel | Is the tariff live? | Standing charge (p/day) | Day Rate (p/kWh)* | Night Rate (p/kWh)p* | Average total annual cost (£/year) | Exit cost (£/fuel) | Green tariff?** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | Economy 7 - Standard Variable | Economy 7 | ❌ | 27.490 p* | 21.730 p* | 12.415 p* | £ 617.121* | £ 0.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Economy 7 - Fixed 12 months | Economy 7 | ❌ | 34.160 p* | 22.523 p* | 16.253 p* | £ 701.568* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
| / | Economy 7 - Fixed 24 months | Economy 7 | ❌ | 42.170 p* | 22.016 p* | 15.627 p* | £ 714.672* | £ 30.000 | ✖️ |
* Prices vary from one city to another, so we display national averages
* Based on 2,900.00 kWh of ⚡ and 12,000.00 kWh of 🔥 per year on average
* Assuming the average Economy 7 tariff user consumes around 58% of his energy on peak and 42% off peak.
** $Green_tariff_def_Shell$
Is Green Star still trading?
Unfortunately not. The supplier had been struggling for some time prior to its buyout in late 2019. An independent consumer survey in 2019 found that its customers rated it just 2 out of 5 stars in all of the following areas:
- Bill accuracy
- Bill clarity
- Value for money
- Complaints handling
- Customer service
- Digital tools
In fact, a total of 37% of its customers rated the supplier as either “poor” or “very poor”. Problems with customer service may have been exacerbated in early 2018 when Ofgem appointed Green Star to take on the customers of failed supplier Future Energy. When a smaller supplier takes on more customers than they have the infrastructure to manage, customer service typically suffers.
The negative customer sentiment cannot have helped with the acquisition of new customers, inevitably creating cash flow problems. As such, when Green Star faced a number of fines from Ofgem across 2019 and 2020, it was on the brink of failure when it was bought for an undisclosed sum.
In July 2019, Green Star was forced by Ofgem to pay £350,000 in recompense for failing to update its records and issue welcome packs to 1,829 new tenants in rental properties. This meant that tenants were unaware of their energy tariffs, and were unable to access their energy accounts online or find cheaper tariffs.
Furthermore, in May 2020, the brand was forced to pay a further £750,000 to its customers and the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme.
When did Green Star cease trading?
While the Green Star website and customer portal are still active, as of October 2020 new customers cannot sign up to Green Star’s tariffs. Instead, customers are redirected to the webpage of the energy supplier who has bought out Hudson Energy Supply UK and all associated suppliers, the biggest of which was Green Star.
How we can help
If you’re a former Green Star customer and have migrated to Shell Energy, you may not have been getting the best value energy plan for your household’s needs since October 2019.
But don’t worry. We’re here to help!
We can trawl through the market to find the best energy deal for home’s usage. What’s more, we’ll even manage your switch from end-to-end. So you can enjoy cheaper, 100% renewable energy on your own terms, completely hassle-free!
Would you like to know more about energy suppliers in the UK? Great! Check out these related articles
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FAQ
Who has taken over Green Star?
Shell Energy have now taken over all of Green Star Energy’s former customers. With a 100% renewable energy fuel mix (surprising given the brand’s background in oil), and a markedly better record for customer service, Shell Energy is a good fit for customers who might have initially been drawn to Green Star.
Is Green Star still trading?
Unfortunately not. The supplier had been struggling for some time prior to its buyout in late 2019.
Who were Green Star?
Green Star were a green energy supplier that provided 100% renewable energy from a combination of wind and hydropower, offering 5 tariffs to UK energy consumers. With over one million UK customers, it was one of the biggest energy suppliers in the country outside of the "Big 6".
Updated on 29 Jan, 2024
Baylee
Journalist & copywritter
Baylee Konen is an American journalist with a passion for creativity. She graduated with two Bachelor's Degrees in Journalism and Spanish from the University of Missouri-Columbia located in Columbia, Missouri, U.S.A. She is now based in Barcelona, Spain working on the UK SEO team for papernest and studying her Master's degree in Brand Strategy at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. She also is a freelance photographer.
Baylee Konen is an American journalist with a passion for creativity. She graduated with two Bachelor's Degrees in Journalism and Spanish from the University of Missouri-Columbia located in Columbia, Missouri, U.S.A. She is now based in Barcelona, Spain working on the UK SEO team for papernest and studying her Master's degree in Brand Strategy at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. She also is a freelance photographer.
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