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SSE has redesigned its bills in a bid to increase transparency and help customers understand what they are paying for.
SSE claims it has “radically simplified” bills as a result of a year-long customer-led research project, speaking to more than 8,000 energy consumers across suppliers, alongside consumer groups including Citizens Advice and uSwitch.
The redesign comes following ongoing calls from Ofgem to reform energy billing, which is notoriously complex and follows strict rules on content and format.
SSE’s group managing director of retail Will Morris said: ““The time has come to start again with energy bills. Our research has shown that customers are calling out for simpler bills.
“We’re delighted that Ofgem is looking at how to improve the rules so that they work better for customers and we believe our work can make an important contribution. Across the board we need to become more customer-centric as an industry and we hope this is a step in the right direction.”
Research by SSE has found that seven times as many customers found it easy to locate key information on their newly designed bill as opposed to the old design.
uSwitch energy expert Tom Lyon said: “Energy bills are notoriously difficult to decipher…the time for clearer energy bills is well overdue. To get more engaging with the market, it’s vital that customers are armed with clearer, simpler information about their energy use and spend.”
The Design Council’s chief executive John Mathers, who worked with SSE on its redesign, said that putting the customer at the centre of the programme was key in “understanding what it is customers want from their bills”.
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