Pure Planet
Pure Planet Energy was incorporated in 2015 but known as Tulip Energy Supply Ltd from 2015 to 2017. Pure Planet is a technology focussed energy company much like many of the newer energy suppliers in the UK.
They do have some differentiating factors some of which customers may not like such as the lack of a call centre of contact telephone number. Instead you contact them via their app or when you log into the website and use their webchat. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any way to contact them prior to joining them.
Pure Planet Energy
All of the electricity they supply is 100% renewable from solar and wind. Their gas is 100% carbon offset meaning that they invest in projects that should mitigate the carbon released from the gas you burn to provide your heating and hot water.
Uniquely they also have a membership system in place of a daily standing charge. All energy suppliers have a unit cost they charge for each kWh of gas or electricity and a standing charge which is a fixed amount per day for gas and one for electricity.
The reasoning behind Pure Planets membership fee is that they have zero markup on the energy customers use and instead cover their costs and make their profit from the membership fee. They didn't want to make a profit on customers using more energy which goes against their green ethos.
Their current membership fee for their fixed tariff is £6.67 per fuel per month which equates to £160.08 over a 12 month period. This is the equivalent of a standing charge 21.93p per day for gas and 21.93p per day for electricity.
For the variable rate tariff the membership fee is higher at £8 per fuel each month which would equate to £192 over a 12 month period. This equates to a daily standing charge of 26.30 pence per fuel per day.
Pure Planet tariffs
Pure Planet has two energy tariffs, a fixed 12 month tariff and a variable tariff. Unusually their variable tariff works out more expensive than their 12 month fixed energy tariff. Fixed energy tariffs tend to be more expensive than variable rate tariffs because they offer fixed protection, usually for 1 or 2 years, from price increases.
| Month price checked | Tariff Name | Electricity daily standing charge | Electricity pence per KWh | Gas daily standing charge | Gas pence per KWh | Monthly Cost |
| March 2021 | 100% Green 12m Fixed | 20.55 | 16.3632 | 20.55 | 3.1185 | £83.46 |
| March 2021 | 100% Green Variable | 26.30 | 15.792 | 26.30 | 2.9505 | £83.80 |
| August 2020 | 100% Green 12m Fixed | 21.93 | 14.4018 | 21.93 | 2.4633 | £72.68 |
| August 2020 | 100% Green Variable | 26.30 | 13.86 | 26.30 | 2.7394 | £76.70 |
Pure Planet 100% Green 12m Fixed
March 2021
For Pure Planet's fixed rate tariff the cost has increased over the last 6 months or so with the monthly price for the average household at £83.46, a little under £11 a month more expensive. The standing charge (membership fee) has decreased slightly but the unit kWh cost of each unit of gas or electricity you use has increased.
Right now there are a dozen 1 year fixed rate deals that are up to £6.80 a month cheaper but Pure does offer 100% renewable electricity, offset gas and has very good customer ratings and comparatively low levels of customer complaints. However Avro Energy, Green and People's Energy all have slightly cheaper rates and equally well rated suppliers which may be worth considering.
August 2020
The '100% Green 12m Fixed' tariff from Pure Planet is currently their cheapest energy tariff. It was briefly the tenth cheapest energy tariff in the UK but now the 16th cheapest which means it offers good value to customers looking to reduce their energy costs and switch to a green energy supplier.
A typical household would expect to pay £872.14 a year on their 100% Green 12m Fixed tariff. That works out to about £72.68 a month although Pure Planet split the direct debits into summer and winter payments so April to September you would pay £58.14 a month and over the winter months of October to March your monthly direct debit would be £87.22.
Pure Planet Energy does not offer the option of paying equal 12 monthly direct debits as they do not want customers to build up a credit or debit on their accounts.
Pure Planet 100% Green Variable
March 2021
The latest March 2021 prices for their variable rate tariff are good value being cheaper than most other well rated suppliers. The monthly cost has increased since August 2020 but only inline with energy prices to £83.80 a month up by about £7 which is a smaller increase compared to their fixed rate energy.
The only other variable rate worth considering at this time would be Green's variable rate at £76.70 which is slightly cheaper.
August 2020
Pure Planet's '100% Green Variable' tariff costs £920.39 annually for a typical UK household. The equivalent monthly cost works out at around £76.70 per month although the monthly direct debits are split into lower summer (£61.36) and higher winter (£92.04) direct debit payments.
Pure Planet energy reviews
Back in 2019 our aggregated Pure Planet energy reviews rated them at 6.87 which put them at a mediocre score. They appear to have been working hard to improve their performance as they now have a Trustpilot score of 4.6 out of 5 over 11,088 total reviews. There are far fewer Google reviews giving them a score of 2.7 out of 5 for 103 reviews.
Whilst overall the reviews are positive the issue Pure Planet seems to have is when customers experience problems that cannot be resolved without contacting them via telephone. For unusual or complex customer issues it is usually better to talk to someone over the phone. The lack of telephone support appears to be the main point of contention for customers.
Is Pure Planet a good energy company?
FIrst off lets get the negatives out of the way as these are likely to be sticking points for many customers. They do not have a contact telephone number. For the majority of customers this is not going to be an issue as you may never have to get in contact with them. However should an 'out of the ordinary' or complex issue face the customer the lack of online only support has proven to be major cause of concern based on Pure Planet's customer reviews.
For energy customers who need the consistency of fixed monthly payments for their energy then the higher winter payments are likely to be an issue. Many energy consumers, especially those on a tight budget need to be able to balance the budget and 12 equal monthly payments make this easier to do.
On the plus side Pure Planet does offer green energy at a lower cost than most other energy suppliers. The only other energy company with a similar ethos is the energy supplier Green that offers green energy tariffs at a lower cost and are worth taking a look at if you want to reduce your bills and be green at the same time.
You should always do an energy comparison yourself to find out of you are overpaying for your energy and if you find a cheaper deal then easily switch to a cheaper energy provider.