Ovo Energy with just over ten year's experience in the sector, has agreed to purchase SSE'S retail business for £500 million, propelling them in one foul swoop to second largest energy supplier in the UK. British Gas still sits at no 1 but with a share price continuing to plumb the depths, customers voting with their feet and talk of staff redundancies on the table, this might not be the case forever.

The "big six" have supplied some 90 % of the UK's consumer base, captured and abused for many years causing a lot of pent up distrust and little added service value received, other than the energy, gas or electricity and a bill. The pricing of the big six, which in theory was based on the underlying fuel price, never matched the ups and downs of it and had a distinct cartel feeling about their price levels.  A take it or leave it relationship but if you took your business elsewhere, you were probably about to be mugged there also.

These days there is more choice available from smaller energy supplier,s so it's a whole lot easier than in the past to jump ship.The newer suppliers are light on their feet and have.......well more energy! Let's hope that Ovo, now one of the big six, with another 8,000 SSE staff mouths to feed from this deal, haven't bitten off more than they can chew, as they are not the only new energy guys on the block  taking customers by the thousands off the old guard.