Just 11% trust energy firms on sustainability

The sector’s trust deficit has been laid bare in a survey by Cadent which shows 42% view energy companies as “the last people” they would go to for objective advice on using power more sustainably.

This is despite 79% admitting these companies have the resources and the expertise to take the lead in creating a more sustainable UK and 77% feeling they have a responsibility to do so.

Just 11% of the 2,000 people responding to the survey thought energy companies could be trusted to help them make sustainable choices against 60% who doubted this because it wouldn’t be in the companies’ interests.

Even when it comes to getting help with energy bills, only one in five have contacted their supplier over the past year despite 61% feeling anxious about paying for power.

The poll results, which are being revealed exclusively by Utility Week, are part of Cadent Energy Diaries consumer insight series.

The gas network’s director of sustainability and social purpose Mark Belmega told Utility Week: “It’s clear from looking at the results that the industry has a lot of work to do to rebuild trust. What we find is that a lot of that is down to a lack of understanding. People don’t understand the bill, they don’t know what a megawatt hour is and that puts them off contacting their energy company.

“We have to work together as an industry to overcome that and we have to identify the different roles that we can all play in that education piece.”

Belmega pointed to the high percentage (74%) of people who think energy companies have a “particular responsibility” for protecting the most vulnerable in society as an area where the industry could coalesce.

Cadent has seen considerable interest in its Centres for Warmth, which offer energy, income and gas safety advice. Speaking to Utility Week last August Belmega predicted the company would have 100 centres open by the end of the current price control in 2026 (up from five at that stage). In fact the company is now operating more than 120 of the sites and expects to have 300 by 2026.

As well as asking about attitudes towards energy companies, the survey gauged what measures people are willing to take to play their part in decarbonisation. A quarter of those polled said they would never change their central heating system to a more energy efficient one, while 34% ruled out ever having an electric vehicle and 41% dismissed solar panels as an option.

Respondents were also asked to imagine they had been given £5,000 to spend in relation to energy usage and a list of options around how they would spend it.

More than two thirds (68%) said they would save the money to pay for future energy bills, while half said they would spend it on an energy efficient appliance and 45% claimed they would improve the insulation of their home. One in five said they would use the funds to buy a heat pump.

“In the past we’ve maybe pointed to the cost of living or the pandemic and said when that’s over people will embrace sustainability. It’s become clearer that’s just not the case. People have got their micro habits and they’re doing their bit – recycling etc – but those macro activities that will get us to net zero – getting an EV, decarbonising heat – aren’t on people’s radars.

“What’s interesting is even when you take away the financial pressures – if we’re literally saying here is the money, issues remain.”

Jennifer Summers, research director at Thinks Insight, which carried out the polling, added: “This study has shown that while being sustainable is a priority for the vast majority of people, doing so is often assumed to be something that costs money, rather than supportive in their quest to cut back in the cost-of-living crisis. This is why it is more important than ever for those trusted brands to help educate and support their customers on any simple and effective changes they can make, to ensure we’re all in a stronger position to meet net zero targets together.”

Cadent’s David Watson is among the speakers at Utility Week Forum on October 5 in London. Find out more here.