Ikea launches collective energy deal

The firm, which is best known for its furniture stores, has teamed up with comparison site Big Clean Switch to offer a 12 month fix from Octopus Energy to the first 7,000 people who sign up.

The tariff is open to all, although it can only be found via the Big Clean Switch website.

The deal will cost an average £888/year but this can be beaten by the market's cheapest renewable tariff which costs £807/year.

Check if you can save £100s/yr by switching energy providers, use our to help you compare the best deals on the market.

What is a collective switch?

A collective switch is where energy firms bid to offer you their best tariffs via a trusted go-between (eg, a council or, in this case, a partnership between Ikea and a price comparison site).

The go-between negotiates the best tariff - which is usually an exclusive deal - and then helps eligible customers to switch to the provider.

MoneySavingExpert.com has run nine collective switches to date, with over 500,000 users having switched in this way to collectively save millions of pounds on their annual bills.

How does the deal stack up?

Based on typical use for customers with both gas and electricity, the Octopus Ikea Green 12m Fixed tariff costs an average £888/yr.

The cheapest deal on the market is currently £807/yr, which is £81/yr cheaper, and like the Ikea tariff provides 100% renewable electricity.

The first 2,000 to sign up also received a £25 bill credit per fuel; a customer taking just gas or electricity received £25, those switching both received £50. The Big Clean website says this is no longer available, but for those that did get it, this took the dual fuel price to £838/yr on average, which is £31/yr more than the cheapest tariff.

Here are the key details of the winning Octopus Ikea tariff:

• The tariff will cost an average £888/yr – Based on typical use for a dual fuel customer.

• Rates are fixed for 12 months – The cost of your energy unit rates will be fixed.

• It is limited to 7,000 customers – The tariff will be withdrawn if 7,000 sign up or at midnight on 26 March, whichever is first.

• The first 2,000 who signed up received £25 bill credit per fuel – This is no longer being offered.

• It's an online only tariff - You must be prepared to manage your account online, including billing and providing meter readings.

• There are no exit fees - You can leave penalty-free at any time.

• Octopus has 'great' customer service - Octopus scored 91% 'great' in our recent poll with 160 votes.

If you decide to go ahead you can only sign up via the Big Clean Switch as it's an exclusive deal and won't be available on comparison sites.

What does Ikea say?

Hege Sæbjørnsen, country sustainability manager at Ikea UK said: "By partnering with the Big Clean Switch, we hope to make switching to renewable electricity simple, accessible and affordable to everyone."