Energy companies satisfaction survey 2018

Utility Warehouse comes out top in the 2018 Which? energy satisfaction survey. Flow Energy, Octopus Energy and PFP Energy also made it into the top three energy companies, rated the highest by their customers.

Just one energy company is a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) this year: Octopus Energy. Find out what it takes to become a WRP and why other firms missed out in our energy Which? Recommended Providers guide.

Which? energy survey results also show that many smaller companies are ranked ahead of Britain's Big Six energy suppliers: British Gas, EDF, Eon, Npower, SSE and Scottish Power. Npower came last again this year with a customer score of just 45%, compared with Utility Warehouse’s 79% customer score

Which? satisfaction survey 2018 results

In our energy satisfaction survey, Which? asked 8,761 energy customers 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 all seven 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 understand and reduce their energy use.

Each energy supplier 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.

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England, Wales and Scotland - the results

Supplier Bill accuracy and clarity Customer service phone Customer service online Dealing with complaints Helping you understand and reduce energy consumption Value for money
Which? customer
score
1. Utility Warehouse (100)
79 %
2. Flow Energy (44)

-

-

77 %
3. Octopus Energy (40)

-

-

-

-

76 %
= PFP Energy (39)

-

-

-

-

76 %
5. Utilita (58)
75 %
6. Avro Energy (40)

-

-

-

-

72 %
= Bulb Energy (37)

-

-

-

72 %
= Ovo Energy (198)
72 %
9. Ecotricity (40)

-

-

-

-

71 %
= So Energy (31)

-

-

-

-

71 %
11. Bristol Energy (30)

-

-

-

-

-

70 %
12. Ebico (40)

-

-

-

-

68 %
= First Utility (250)
68 %
14. M&S Energy (60)

-

67 %
15. Robin Hood Energy

-

-

-

-

-

66 %
16. Iresa (39)

-

-

-

64 %
17. GB Energy Supply (34)

-

-

-

-

61 %
= Green Star Energy (58)

-

61 %
19. Co-operative Energy (148)
60 %
= Good Energy (35)

-

-

-

-

60 %
21. iSupply Energy (40)

-

-

-

-

56 %
22. EDF Energy (871)
55 %
= Eon (1,094)
55 %
24. Sainsbury's Energy (149)
54 %
= SSE (690)
54 %
26. British Gas (2,195)
52 %
= Scottish Power (822)
52 %
28. Economy Energy (40)

-

-

-

-

50 %
29. Extra Energy (40)

-

-

-

-

49 %
30. Spark Energy (40)

-

-

47 %
31. Npower (739)
45 %

Northern Ireland - the results

Supplier Bill accuracy and clarity Customer service phone Customer service online Dealing with complaints Helping you understand and reduce energy consumption Value for money
Which? customer
score
1. Click Energy (31)

-

-

-

-

84 %
2. Budget Energy (35)

-

-

-

-

68 %
3. Electric Ireland (40)

-

-

-

-

64 %
= SSE Airtricity Electricity (76)
60 %
5. SSE Airtricity Gas (39)

-

-

-

-

58 %
6. Power NI (99)
54 %
7. Firmus Energy (40)

-

-

-

-

48 %

Notes

Sample size in brackets. This general public survey was carried out in September 2017.

Overall average is 55% for GB and 60% for NI.

A ‘-’ means there were too few responses to give a rating.

blue arrows

Star ratings explained

We provide each company with a star rating for each measure. One star is the worst and five stars the best. The more stars a company has, the better. We looked at four core areas of satisfaction.

 
 

Bill accuracy and clarity:

How customers rate the accuracy of their energy supplier’s bills, and the ease of understanding them.

Customer service (phone and online):

How well customers feel their suppliers deal with their queries. This year we asked customers to rate online and over-the-phone service separately.

Dealing with complaints:

How well customers feel that their complaints have been handled by their energy company.

Helping you understand and reduce energy consumption:

Customers’ opinion on the supplier's efforts to help them know how much gas and electricity they’re using, and how they could be more efficient.

Value for money:

The extent to which customers feel they get value for money from their supplier. This is not price.

The customer score customers’ overall satisfaction and their likelihood to recommend their energy company to a friend. It is not directly linked to the star rating.

 

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 or their bills.

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

Other small companies, including Green Energy UK and LoCO2 Energy did not make it into our table because we received too few responses from their customers.

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, EF Energy and Eon achieved the joint-highest customer scores (55%). Npower scored lowest again, with a customer score of 45%.

What about Northern Ireland?

Northern Ireland's results are presented in a separate table. This is because the energy market is different in Northern Ireland 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 all seven domestic energy suppliers in Northern Ireland. 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 2017 we surveyed 8,761 UK adults who are responsible for paying their energy bills about their experience with their gas and electricity suppliers.

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Energy Customer Satisfaction Results

Tired of poor customer service from your energy supplier? The results o four 2018 Which? energy satisfaciton survey reveal how customers rate 31 gas and electricity suppliers in Great Britain. Use them to help find the best energy company for you.

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