Retailers agree collaboration on tool to signpost support

Energy suppliers have pledged to work together on a series of measures aimed at supporting customers through this winter.

These include partnering with advice charities to develop a universal tool to help billpayers understand the support they could be due and where to access it.

Suppliers have also agreed to explore opening up data on tariffs only available to existing customers and on how direct debit levels are set.

The recommendations (more of which below) came from a meeting between leading suppliers, charities and Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis. The latter said the aim was to  “cut the crap and get together with the leaders of the big firms, without government or regulators, to work together on the low-hanging fruit”.

One attendee at the two-hour session told Utility Week: “We’re in a situation where Ofgem is not delivering on protecting customers this winter and we currently have no government. Someone has to act and maybe with the profile that Martin has he can help us to push through some changes that actually make a difference to people this winter.”

The future of the price cap was also discussed at the meeting, with a decision to collectively recommend Ofgem “shift the burden in the price cap away from the standing charge – though ensuring protections are in place for vulnerable customers with high usage”. No further details were given on this proposal in response to Utility Week questions, however it is a topic discussed in our recent Energy Reset report.

Other action points from the meeting included work on a priority call line for National Energy Action (NEA) and StepChange advisors so that consumers who need specific support the most can receive it as quickly as possible.

Suppliers will also work with debt charities on a collective set of debt collection principles and explore giving additional financial support to the NEA, Citizens Advice and StepChange.

In relation to the government’s £400 energy bill grant, the suppliers present pledged to sign up to a set of clear guidance, made publicly available.

Companies represented at the meeting included Centrica, Octopus, Eon, EDF, Ovo and Shell. The attendees agreed to reconvene in September to review progress and see what more can be done.

Lewis described the meeting as “a very productive, fast and action-orientated two hours”.

He added: “Yet far more is needed, and that must come from a functioning government. This winter will be catastrophic, the hideous spikes in wholesale energy will translate by October into Ofgem setting a price cap for a typical bill of around £3,000 a year – close to four times what some paid just two years go. It will push millions into poverty.

“The Conservative party must ensure there is a very quick succession process. We need a working and informed administration to tackle this at speed to forestall a very dangerous situation.”

Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of Ovo, said: “In the energy crisis, energy companies need to be fighting for lower costs and finding new ways to help customers. This is going to be a very difficult winter for millions of customers. The problem is so big that we really need more support for vulnerable customers from the government, but we also need to do everything we can to help as much as possible.

“Getting everyone around the table to find ways to help customers through this was a crucial first step. There is a lot of work to do but this meeting was a good start.”

The recommendations were released on the same day as the latest predictions for the level at which the energy price cap could be set from October. Cornwall Insight has revised its estimate for the Q4 update to £3,244 a year for the average domestic customer. It’s previous update in June had given a projected figure of £2,980. Meanwhile, its estimate for the Q1 2023 revision has increased from £3,003 to £3,363.