The latest Citizens Advice energy ratings show a modest rise in customer service scores across the sector, yet the consumer watchdog is warning suppliers to do considerably more before a winter in which more than 10 million households say they are worried about paying their bills.
Citizens Advice publishes quarterly ratings of energy suppliers based on complaints, call handling and other service measures. The ratings covering April to June 2024 show the median score across the sector rose from 3.26 out of five in the previous quarter to 3.4, and average call wait times fell from 77 seconds to 68 seconds.
Who Is Topping the Citizens Advice Energy Ratings?
Outfox Energy took first place with a score of 4.03, followed by 100Green on 3.90 and E.ON Next on 3.71. E.ON Next’s position made it the highest-ranked of the so-called ‘big six’ suppliers. At the other end of the table, TruEnergy scored 1.38, placing it last, while Utilita came second from bottom with a score of 2.53.
Utilita responded to its ranking, with a spokesman saying the firm welcomes the published data and points to its performance on call wait times and smart metering as ‘important benchmarks of good customer service.’ However, the spokesman argued that ‘categorising affordability concerns as complaints is misleading,’ and said that because Citizens Advice’s extra help unit primarily supports financially vulnerable people at risk of disconnecting themselves from the grid, prepayment meter customers are more likely to appear in the complaint data. For a supplier focused on smart prepayment, the spokesman said, ‘this inevitably skews our complaint score, the most heavily weighted measure, and, in turn, our overall ranking.’
Why the Citizens Advice Energy Ratings Matter More This Winter
The watchdog’s concern is the gap between where service scores currently sit and where they need to be when temperatures fall. Citizens Advice found that 3.5 million households are already in energy debt, either behind on their bills or unable to top up a prepayment meter.
Gillian Cooper, director of energy at Citizens Advice, said: ‘It’s positive to see higher levels of customer service in the energy sector, but companies can’t afford to be complacent. These latest ratings cover a quieter period for energy suppliers, when lower costs mean people are less likely to need support.’ She added: ‘As we face another difficult winter of rising prices, suppliers must ramp up their efforts. For people in debt, unable to afford a meter top-up, or worrying about whether they can afford to heat their homes, customer service isn’t just helpful, it can be a vital lifeline when the temperature drops.’
The backdrop is a price cap set by energy regulator Ofgem that rose by 4% from 1 October, bringing the annual bill for the average household using both gas and electricity to £1,723, an increase of £60 per year or £5 per month. Analysts have forecast a further 9% rise from January.
According to The Northern Echo, for price cap customers gas costs this winter will be almost 27% higher than in the same period last year, with higher wholesale gas prices driven by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and volatile global markets. The cap applies to around 22 million households on default tariffs, according to Switch Pilot.
One partial offset has come from a government decision to scrap VAT on all domestic electricity bills. Small Cap News reported that Ofgem said the move is saving the average household around £45 a year. That saving does not come close to covering the full increase, but it does narrow it.
The Citizens Advice survey was carried out by BMG Research, which questioned 4,556 people across England, Wales and Scotland between 23 and 28 July. Its finding that 37% of Britons are worried about affording their energy bills this winter is the number the watchdog says suppliers must take seriously, arguing that firms ‘must go further’ to support customers before the cold sets in.
