Customers will be able to sign up to the service on The Range's website and the utilities company will trade under the same name.

Details will also be available over the phone and in Range shops.

Mr Dawson said: "It's the obvious thing to do. I have a big retail operation, and this fits with the brand. We've got access to millions of customers."

Mr Dawson said his energy company would be unique because it would update its prices far faster and more often than existing energy suppliers, to exploit changes in the market.

"We buy massive blocks of gas and electricity and can change our prices extremely quickly," he said.

Mr Dawson said his company would not be drilling for gas or actually generating electricity, simply buying the energy on the open market as cheaply as possible and passing on the saving to customers, who would get the cheapest possible price every day.

The businessman said there were enough savings to be made to bring bills down and also make him a profit at the same time.

The system, which relies on sophisticated software to change prices automatically, has been tested using both staff at The Range and members of the public.

Mr Dawson said: "We tested it on 100 people and 100 bills were reduced."

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