Electricity retail

Government extends price cap

Consumers may be more willing to buy locally with multiple energy suppliers

Switching sees sharp year-on-year decrease in September

Switching saw an almost 20 per cent decrease last month compared to September 2019, the latest figures from Energy UK show - the worst performance since the country came out of lockdown.

New energy license conditions to protect struggling customers

Legacy of lockdown for customer experience

There’s no “new normal” yet for customer behaviours or engagement trends following lockdown-induced transformations on both fronts. The limbo is keeping customer experience leaders in the utilities sector on their toes, Jane Gray reports.

Citizens Advice calls for ‘essential services taskforce’

Citizens Advice is pushing for the creation of an ‘essential services taskforce’ to simplify and improve the support received by vulnerable customers. In its ‘Getting support to those who need it’ report the consumer charity outlines a number of challenges faced by vulnerable customers, namely the complicated process of supplying multiple service providers with their relevant data.

Smart meter installs increase year-on-year for first time since lockdown

Relief for local energy suppliers ‘risks distorting market’

Reforming the electricity generation licensing system to make it easier to set up grassroots suppliers could have “unintended consequences” and ultimately end up costing consumers more, energy minister Kwasi Kwarteng has warned.

Consumer trust ‘is essential to energy transition’

Building consumer trust in the energy sector, as well as using technology to drive forward change, will be key components of the energy transition, industry observers have stressed. Speaking during a panel discussion at the annual Energy UK conference, industry leaders discussed the future of energy retail markets following the pandemic.

Closures forecast to tighten power supplies over winter

Are we sleepwalking into a two-tier energy market?

Today’s energy customers have a plethora of choice in energy tariffs and access to green technologies. Yet concerns have been raised about the prospect of some consumers being left behind, and a two-tier market emerging in which tech-savvy prosumers benefit from a smarter system while poorer customers miss out. Adam John reports.

Warm Home Discount to be extended by one year

British Gas Business signs green power deal with Lotus

British Gas Business has signed a green power deal with Lotus which will provide the capability for the car manufacturer to develop its own renewable assets. Centrica agreed an electric vehicle (EV) strategy with Lotus earlier this year, creating a platform which will integrate EVs into home energy services.

Scottish Power takes on Tonik Energy customers

Scottish Power has been appointed by Ofgem to take on the 130,000 domestic customers of failed power supplier Tonik Energy. Utility Week previously revealed that Scottish Power was in contention for Tonik’s customers.

Covid should ‘supercharge’ smart PPM rollout