Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
First Utility has met the commitment made by energy suppliers to cut switching times in half.
It will now take customers two and a half weeks to switch to First Utility, compared to the previous five week timeframe.
The announcement comes on the back of the independent supplier’s Fix the Switch campaign, which called on the industry to aim for 24-hour switching. “Today’s announcement is an important milestone on that journey”, it said.
All the energy suppliers committed to deliver faster switching by the end of the year following a call by energy secretary Ed Davey for suppliers to work collaboratively to speed up the process.
Davey said: “My long term ambition is still to get to 24-hour switching, but halving switching times means we are moving in the right direction, and people can start saving sooner.”
Research commissioned by First Utility shows that 70 per cent of UK consumers would be inclined to switch if the process took less time.
The company’s chief executive Ian McCaig said: “By making it easier to switch supplier, more consumers will be encouraged to seek out the best deals and help to significantly reduce their bills.”
Uswitch.com director of consumer policy Ann Robinson agreed: “Faster, easier switching will encourage consumers to go energy shopping and get themselves a better deal.”
The move by First Utility follows confirmation from Eon that they will also meet the end of the year deadline to cut their switching time to two and a half weeks.
The reduction is still short of Davey’s long term goal of achieving 24 hour switching which he hopes to achieve through the implementation of 53 million smart meters by the end of the decade.
Please login or Register to leave a comment.