In March 2002, it was acquired by RWE of Germany, and was subsequently renamed RWE npower plc. RWE split off its renewable energy, network and retail divisions as Innogy SE in April 2016, and Npower transferred to the new business. It is considered one of the Big Six energy suppliers, which dominate the gas and electricity market in the United Kingdom.
E.ON transferred npower's residential customers to a new brand, E.ON Next, in 2021. Since then, the npower brand has only been active within the commercial energy space, marketed as npower Business Solutions, a brand of Npower Commercial Gas Limited. The npower Business Solutions brand still supplies over 20,000 businesses, including customers previously supplied by E.ON who have been migrated.[2]
Innogy plc then went on to purchase the regional electricity company Yorkshire Electricity in February 2001.[4] It later disposed of the distribution side of Yorkshire Electricity to CE Electric UK in exchange for the supply business of Northern Electric.[5] Innogy plc was taken over by the German energy company RWE in March 2002, and renamed RWE Npower plc with all the supply business adopting the "npower" brand.[6]
On 29 November 2019 it was announced that over 4,500 jobs would be axed at npower and the brand was to be wound down, with customers being migrated to E.ON UK as part of E.On Next.[25] This ultimately meant the complete closure of npower as an energy company for residential customers.
As npower, the company used to supply gas and electricity to residential and business customers in the United Kingdom. Its energy services business provided servicing such as repairing boilers and central heating systems through its Hometeam brand.[27]
About NPowerNPower is a national nonprofit that is committed to advancing race and gender equity in the tech industry through skills training, real-world experience, support, and mentorships. The organization has helped young adults from underserved communities and veterans move from poverty to the middle class by training them with a range of tech skills and placing them in quality jobs. Students who enter the free, six-month training program, earn industry-recognized certifications and graduate with the competencies of an IT professional with one to two years of experience. NPower also places students in paid internships with corporate and nonprofit organizations. Eighty percent of NPower graduates get a full-time job or continue their education. Not only is NPower changing life trajectories for individuals from vulnerable communities, but they are also strengthening the overall competitiveness of U.S. businesses hamstrung by today's limited pool of IT talent. To learn more about NPower, visit www.npower.org
npower also failed to deal with complaints effectively because of failures with its IT system. For several years, npower has recorded a significant number of complaints incorrectly, leading to unresolved complaints being logged as resolved and multiple records created for one issue. This created follow-up problems for customers. The supplier did not refer all customers to its complaint handling procedures and in some cases, failed to advise them that they could take their complaint to the Energy Ombudsman if unresolved after eight weeks.
npower acknowledged to Ofgem in 2013 that it was having problems with its billing system. In December 2013, it agreed a recovery plan with Ofgem that included monthly monitoring of its progress. It also made a goodwill gesture of 1m to vulnerable customers.
NPower is a national nonprofit on a mission to move people from poverty to the middle class by training youth from underserved communities and veterans in a range of tech skills and placing them in quality jobs. Students who enter their free, six-month program, earn industry-recognized certifications and graduate with the competencies of an IT professional with one to two years of experience. NPower also places students in paid internships with corporate and nonprofit organizations. Eighty percent of NPower graduates get a full-time job or continue their education. Not only is NPower changing life trajectories for individuals from vulnerable communities but they are also strengthening the overall competitiveness of U.S. businesses hamstrung by today's limited pool of IT talent. To learn more about NPower, visit www.npower.org.
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