Electricity retail

On the Move: Former Npower CEO joins Igloo Energy board

In our latest round-up of industry appointments a former Npower chief takes up a new role on the board of disruptor brand Igloo Energy - his first role with a supplier since 2012. Meanwhile six years since he founded the organisation, Richard Black has stepped down from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.

Ofgem investigates ‘unacceptable’ Symbio Energy

Smart meter rollout to continue in third national lockdown

Retaining utility customers in a recessionary environment

With tech giants like Google entering the utility space, suppliers need to rethink their current business models in order to retain customers. This is the view of Andrew Field, of digital performance specialist, Teleperformance. He believes retailers must integrate competitors’ services alongside their own and harness technology to appeal to the modern consumer – one who is conscious of and takes an active interest in personal energy consumption. But what else can utility companies do to remain relevant?

Ecotricity to power homes with geothermal energy

Green energy retailer Ecotricity has agreed a deal which will enable the production and sale of geothermal electricity in what it claims is a UK first. The company’s partnership with Geothermal Engineering will see a minimum 3MW of base-load electricity produced by generating steam more than three miles beneath the United Downs site in Cornwall, producing enough electricity to power 10,000 homes every year.

Octopus Energy sees value rise to $2bn with Tokyo Gas investment

The smart meter rollout: Where are we now?

Suppliers paid £348m through WHD last year

Hackers steal 400,000 energy customers’ data

Suppliers issued with warning over incorrect backbilling

Energy retailers have been issued a warning after various consumer bodies found a number of suppliers are incorrectly charging customers for unbilled usage beyond the 12-month cut off point.

Electricity switching down 6.5 per cent on 2019

Covid pushes 600,000 more energy customers into debt

There has been a 40 per cent increase in the number of people behind on their energy bills, with 600,000 more currently in debt to their supplier than February. Citizens Advice found that, as of September, 2.1 million energy customers were in arrears, with the average amount owed at £760 for electricity and £605 for gas. A quarter of all energy customers worry they will not be able to pay this winter.

Call waiting times rose following lockdown

Average call waiting times for energy retailers in the period after lockdown increased, with the worst performing supplier coming in at just under 12 minutes. New statistics also show suppliers took more than two working days to responded to a third of emails.

Ofgem backs fixed balancing charges on consumers

Auto-switching proposals could lead to ‘unintended consequences’

Proposals to reform roll-over tariff arrangements could have the unintended consequence of reducing engagement in the energy sector, a fuel poverty expert has warned. The Energy White Paper proposes customers who do not opt-out could be automatically switched to a new, cheaper contract instead of being rolled over onto a default tariff when their deal ends.