Energy UK responds to Ofgem’s latest review on customer service standards

Responded to Ofgem’s latest review on customer service standards, Energy UK’s CEO, Emma Pinchbeck said:

“The scale of the cost of living crisis has seen average household energy bills more than double, resulting in huge challenges for customers. As things stand, the end of Energy Bill Support Scheme payments and the reduction in Energy Price Guarantee support in April 2023 will lead to large increases to most household energy bills. While suppliers continue to provide support to millions of households, they can’t solve the wider affordability problem alone which is why we are urging Government to not let prices rise further in April.

“More people than ever are contacting their supplier for support and advice on their energy bills. Call centres are reporting that call volumes have quadrupled, often including more complex calls which can take longer to resolve.

“Energy companies have both hired and retrained hundreds of staff to be able to cope with the significant increases in enquiries, set up dedicated affordability and vulnerability teams to provide specialist advice and implemented extra training, new technologies and processes to identify, communicate with and assist customers who need additional help.”