Meeting our Customers' Needs

We supply almost 6.5 million customer accounts and know that our success depends on responding to our customers’ changing needs and delivering products and services designed to help them use less energy and to budget more.

During 2011, wholesale energy prices increased significantly in reaction to global energy markets. This, coupled with the rising cost of living and ongoing austerity measures, meant that many of our customers and consumer groups highlighted energy prices and affordability as an important issue. Consumer groups and the Government also raised concerns about issues such as complexity and the number of tariffs available to consumers.

In October 2011, our CEO Volker Beckers attended an Energy Summit with the Prime Minister, members of the Government, other energy suppliers and representatives from consumer groups such as Consumer Focus and Age UK. The aim of the summit was to discuss how consumer groups, energy suppliers and Government could work together constructively, and identify measures to improve and highlight information for customers on saving money and energy efficiency.

We welcomed the initiative to take a proactive approach to working collaboratively with consumer organisations and Government to identify ways to support customers. Following the Energy Summit, we sent all of our customers information to help them understand their energy costs, including an explanation of how an energy bill is made up, as well as advice on saving energy and ways to take control of energy costs through different payment methods – including direct debit discounts – and how to manage energy online. We also worked with the Department for Work and Pensions to identify customers eligible for free loft or wall insulation.