Opinion: Richard Lloyd, executive director, Which?

“The CMA must ensure that the energy market works for consumers, not for the big energy firms.”

Consumers consistently tell us that energy bills are one of their biggest financial concerns, so any cut in prices is welcome. But given a slightly warmer winter and reports that wholesale energy costs have hit a five-year low, many will question why our energy suppliers were so slow to cut bills and why the reductions are so little, so late.

Since the launch of our Fair Energy Prices campaign, we’ve received powerful stories of people’s experiences with their energy supplier and this week presented a dossier to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with a snapshot of stories from 30,000 consumers on the need for change.

Many supporters told us that vulnerable people need to be better protected and shouldn’t have to make a choice between heating their home and feeding their family. We’ve heard many stories about how people feel they’re paying over the odds for their energy and that this is unfair.

We’ve heard concerns about the switching process and the difficulties in being able to switch. Some people worry about the older generation not being as internet savvy and therefore paying more than they should for their energy. Others query why it takes so long to switch, saying it should be done in a matter of days rather than weeks. Consumers say information on energy usage needs to be in plain English and bills are still unnecessarily confusing, making it difficult to compare.

These stories from real consumers confirm our belief that the energy market really isn’t working for consumers. In a truly competitive energy market, companies would be fighting much harder to keep their customers.

We have a market dominated by big players with low levels of customer satisfaction, so people lack the confidence to move to a better deal and save money. With seven in ten (71 per cent) gas customers stuck on standard tariffs with the big six, the majority of customers are missing out by not switching.

This is the challenge the competition inquiry has to address. Over two years ago, the CMA was given the task of fixing our broken energy market and making it work for consumers, not for the big energy firms. With millions of people paying more than they should and the number of vulnerable consumers getting a bad deal, a lot rides on the outcome. We hope they seize this opportunity to propose real solutions for consumers struggling with their energy bills.