Energy Consumer Satisfaction Survey: July 2024
Data
- Publication date
- Industry sector
- Supply and Retail Market
Ofgem and Citizens Advice commissioned BMG Research to explore domestic consumers’ experiences of the energy market.
The latest wave of the Energy Consumer Satisfaction Survey explores consumers' satisfaction with the service they get from suppliers.
Read the interim findings of this research, which we published in October 2024. This is a full report of findings.
Main points
- overall satisfaction has increased again, rising to 78% in July 2024 from 73% in January to February 2024; this corresponds with a decrease in consumers reporting they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (14% compared to 17% in January to February 2024), rather than a decrease in levels of dissatisfaction (8%)
- satisfaction with customer service also improved from 66% in January to February 2024 to 71% in July, returning to levels last seen in 2021
- there has been an improvement in consumers’ experiences of contacting their supplier compared to January to February 2024; more consumers found it 'easy' to contact their supplier, 70% compared to 65% earlier this year, and fewer found it 'difficult,' decreasing from 19% to 17%
- satisfaction with bill accuracy has improved from 74% in January to February 2024 to 77%. Ease of understanding the bill has remained stable at 78%, but both are at the highest level since the tracker began in 2018
- 8% of those surveyed reported making a complaint, the same as from January to February 2024, with satisfaction levels with how the complaint was handled remaining low (47%)
- 18% of those who had run out of credit or fallen behind for affordability reasons reported that their supplier proactively contacted them to discuss this, a return to levels reported in August to September 2023; however, 27% reported that they did not have any contact with their supplier about this
Customer satisfaction with their supplier – supplier level findings
We committed to publishing more and better data in our Forward Work Programme 2024 to 2025 in order to enable more informed consumer choice and drive up customer service standards in the industry.
In line with this commitment, we have published two indicators of customer satisfaction for seven energy supply groups. The two indicators are 'overall satisfaction with their supplier' and 'satisfaction with the customer service they have received from their supplier'. These indicators are based on the current survey wave's data, and can be found in a subsidiary document on this page.
This is the third time supplier-level indicators have been published from the Energy Consumer Survey Satisfaction Survey. You can find the previously published indicators on the webpage for the January to February 2024 wave.
The data reported reflects customers’ perceptions of their supplier and the service they receive based on surveying energy consumers across Great Britain. The survey asked respondents to name their energy supplier, then asked questions about their experiences with that supplier. The satisfaction results are based on all respondents, regardless of whether they had been in contact with their supplier or not. The results do not provide an independent assessment of suppliers’ processes or practices.
Energy suppliers are also required by Ofgem's rules to publish their performance in the Citizens Advice Star Rating. Read more about the rating and its methodology.
Methodology
Fieldwork for the survey was conducted between 10 July to 1 August 2024.
The research reached 3,750 domestic energy bill payers across Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). The survey used a mixed mode data collection, including face-to-face interviewing targeted at digitally excluded respondents. Quotas were set on age, gender, region, Index of Multiple Deprivation, ethnicity and payment type to achieve a sample representative of households in Great Britain.
A sample boost of prepayment and standard credit customers was also included in this wave of the survey. These customers were boosted to increase the sample size and allow for more robust analysis of these groups.