French utility ENGIE has announced the launch of its home energy business in the UK.

It is promising to automatically move customers on to its cheapest available tariff when their fixed price deal comes to an end – rather than onto a standard variable tariff which is more expensive.

There will be no exit fees if the customer decides to change their plan.

All its tariffs will offer 100% renewable electricity.

For all customers that sign up to the Green tariff, which guarantees 100% green gas and electricity, ENGIE will make a donation to a community initiative that invests in local sustainability projects.

Its first product ENGIE Control will provide a smart heating control system and installation, with a three-year fixed price energy deal.

It will also launch ENGIE Tracker in the summer, designed to move in line with wholesale energy prices. The tariff will update prices on a monthly basis, which it believes will provide a “high level of price variability whilst protecting customers from day-to-day fluctuations”.

The company has been operating in the UK for more than 30 years, offering electricity and gas to businesses and employing 20,000 people.

Wilfrid Petrie, CEO of ENGIE in the UK & Ireland said: “The launch of ENGIE’s home energy business in the UK is a natural extension of our energy and services activities.

“ENGIE is a well-established business and we believe that our experience and scale, combined with the fresh approach we are taking to customer engagement as a new entrant to the market, means that we can provide something new to energy customers in the UK.”

The utility recently bought the regeneration business of Keepmoat, which specialises in the design, refurbishment and upgrade of buildings and places.

It also sold its UK shale gas assets to INEOS and pulled out of a venture behind a proposed new nuclear power station in Cumbria.