Non-domestic 2024 research report
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In 2024, Ofgem commissioned IFF Research to run the latest wave of the non-domestic consumer survey and follow-up qualitative interviews.
These are the findings on businesses’ perceptions and experiences of the energy market, including views on energy affordability, experiences of switching and energy suppliers and the steps businesses are taking towards Net Zero and decarbonisation.
Main points
- The majority of those surveyed said they were keeping up with energy bills without any difficulties, and while a quarter (27%) said they were struggling to keep up with their energy bills, this has declined from 39% in 2023.
- Roughly three in five (62%) businesses reported that they were satisfied with the overall service they had received from their supplier, consistent with the 2023 survey, although the percentage of businesses who were dissatisfied (17%) was higher than in 2023 (13%).
- 23% of businesses said they had made a complaint to their supplier in the previous 12 months, with notable increases in the proportion of complaints relating to billing and overcharging.
- There has been an improvement in switching metrics, with 33% of businesses surveyed saying they had switched supplier in the last 12 months, an increase from 26% in 2023; a higher proportion claimed they found the switching process easy (78%) compared to 2023 (60%).
- Of those surveyed who used an energy broker to switch (33%), nearly three quarters (73%) reported high levels of satisfaction with the energy broker’s services; however as in 2023, many of these businesses believed they were not charged for the broker’s services (73%).
- While businesses continued to view cost as the main barrier to using low carbon products and services, the proportion of businesses who selected this decreased from 32% in 2023 to 21%; approximately a quarter of businesses (27%) reported that there were no barriers to decarbonising their business.
Methodology
These findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,000 businesses from across Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) between July and September 2024, followed by 30 qualitative interviews carried out between October and November 2024.
This report refers to 'businesses' throughout. The sample specifically only contains businesses that operate out of non-domestic premises, and which have a non-domestic energy contract. This excludes businesses that operate from a home (domestic) property.