Consumers have ‘no control’ over energy consumption

Customers don’t feel in control of their energy bills and worry they are spending more than they should, according to new research from First Utility.

The survey of 2,000 UK bill-payers revealed that consumers feel least in control of their energy compared to any other household expenses including insurance, broadband, bank, credit cards, mobile and TV.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of correspondents felt they had little or no control over their energy. Nearly half (46 per cent) worry that they might be spending more than they should on their energy bills due to not receiving the right information from their providers.

First Utility believes that these results reflect a communication issue between customers and big six energy providers. The big six infrequently communicate with their customers on high-priced standard variable tariff (SVT), First Utility said.

 “For the big six, it seems that less is more. Less communication equals more profit” said managing director for First Utility UK Ed Kamm.

He added that with 70 per cent of customers currently on SVTs, infrequent communication appears to be a deliberate tactic to “keep their customers in the dark” on the existence of cheaper deals.

First Utility is calling on Ofgem to consider frequency of communications as a key test area in the implementation of the remedies put forward by the Competition and Markets Authority last year to boost energy customer engagement.