Comet offers energy deals with npower tie

Electrical retailer Comet has struck a deal with energy giant npower to offer its customers the chance to sign up for electricity and gas supplies.

Launching in mid-May in Comet’s outlets in the south of England, the offer will be rolled out to its 245 stores across the country in June. Comet customers will be able to obtain savings on npower’s gas and electricity dual-fuel offer.

The move is the latest in a series of partnership deals between energy companies and brand owners or retailers to encourage households to switch electricity and gas suppliers.

Energy companies hope such deals will reduce the cost of acquiring customers. They also see them as an alternative to the pushy door-to-door selling tactics which have given the industry a bad name.

But such partnerships have had a chequered history, with several collapsing acrimoniously. Swalec’s partnership with the NSPCC was criticised in the national press as opportunistic and cynical. Scottish Power linked up with the AA, but the deal was axed after poor sales. Eastern Energy tied with Barclaycard but found the cost of customer acquisition – &£200 a customer – prohibitive. There have been successes, though, such as Tesco’s tie-up with TXU.