Energy companies satisfaction survey 2019

Which? satisfaction survey results 2019

In our energy satisfaction survey, we asked 7,429 energy customers in Great Britain and 499 energy customers in Northern Ireland to rate their gas and electricity suppliers. It’s the biggest public survey of its kind, revealing results for 31 energy suppliers in England, Scotland and Wales, plus six in Northern Ireland.

We asked customers to rate their energy supplier on a range of measures, including customer service online and over the phone, how it deals with complaints, whether it’s value for money, the clarity and accuracy of its bills, and how their supplier helps them understand and reduce their energy use.

Each energy supplier also receives a customer score based on how satisfied customers say they are and how likely they are to recommend their energy company to a friend if asked.

Good news for small energy suppliers

Smaller energy suppliers occupy the top spots in our energy company survey again this year. Only small and medium-sized companies gained five-star ratings from their customers for value for money, complaints handling or bills.

But not all small suppliers excel. Three small energy firms – Economy Energy, Spark Energy, and Solarplicity are the three lowest-scoring energy companies in our survey.

Other small companies, including GB Energy Supply, Good Energy, M&S Energy and PFP Energy did not make it into our table this year because we received too few responses from their customers. Extra Energy did receive a customer score (56%) but has stopped trading since our survey so is not included in the table above.

Read more in-depth analysis of our results in our dedicated smaller energy companies guide.

Bad news for energy giants

Of the Big Six energy suppliers, SSE achieved the highest customer score (58%) this year. Npower and Scottish power scored joint-lowest, with a customer score of 54%. This is an improvement for Npower which has previously finished at the bottom of our energy suppliers’ table.

What about Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland's results are presented in a separate table above. This is because the energy market in Northern Ireland is different to the rest of the UK. The electricity market is regulated and electricity suppliers compete for customers. Gas customers in the Ten Towns area can only be supplied by Firmus Energy but in the Greater Belfast area they can choose between Firmus Energy and SSE Airtricity Gas Supply.

Our survey rates six domestic energy suppliers in Northern Ireland. Click Energy did not get a score or star ratings this year as we received too few responses from its customers. To compare prices in Northern Ireland, see the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland’s gas and electricity comparison tables at www.consumercouncil.org.uk/energy.

Our customer research

In September 2018 we surveyed 8,000 UK adults who are responsible for paying their energy bills about their experience with their gas and electricity suppliers.