Letter from the editor: The connected home offers a way forward

When the energy industry itself called for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) inquiry, as far back as Utility Week’s 2014 Congress, leaders such as Eon chief executive Tony Cocker were ­hoping it would “clear the air” and dispel misperceptions about fat cat energy companies. Seven months after the long-drawn out inquiry made its final report, it has done anything but.

Energy grandee professor Stephen Littlechild and a group of ­former regulators reignited the row over the CMA’s sums this week with their submission to the House of Lords economic affairs committee’s inquiry into the economics of UK energy policy. They have challenged the CMA before; their well-evidenced assault on its financial claims in particular leaves little wriggle room.

The energy companies largely agree that the £1.7 billion by which the CMA has stated the industry is overcharging customers is not robust, although outside the sector it was accepted unquestioningly.

If the authorities themselves are contributing “alternative facts” to the misinformation that mires the energy industry, how are ­companies supposed to regain public trust?

One big beast of the market has come up with an answer. ­Centrica is running down its oil, gas and power portfolios as it places its bets on connected homes. And with good reason: while the once-great British Gas brand languishes behind challengers such as Ovo in the Which? customer satisfaction league – with 56 per cent at the last count – Hive, its connected homes spin-off, enjoys an enviable brand reputation, with 92 per cent of customers saying they would recommend it (according to the company’s own figures). An energy supplier who knocks on your door, reads your meter and sends you an incomprehensible bill once a quarter is your enemy; a funky brand that helps you manage your energy use, and offers handy apps, user-friendly websites and free kit, is your friend.

And that, more than any number of conflicting inquiries, is the energy industry’s best hope of finally fixing its broken relationship with the public.

•    A row has erupted in the water sector this week over the suitability of brokers for the soon-to-be-opened water market for non-domestic customers. Whatever the rights and wrongs of intermediaries muscling in on a market with thin margins, one thing’s for sure: they’re coming. Anecdotal evidence heard by Utility Week suggests that water companies are receiving as many as two-thirds of initial enquiries about the market from intermediaries. For a staid water sector, the advent of brokers could be a startling wake-up call.