Report on the Quality of Energy Efficiency Advice from Electricity and Gas Suppliers
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Under their licences, electricity and gas suppliers are obliged to provide domestic customers with advice on energy efficiency. Each supplier has to prepare and publish a Code of Practice setting out the services they will provide to customers in this area. Ofgem collects statistics from suppliers on the numbers and types of enquiries they receive from their customers. Details are published quarterly on Ofgems websiteThe study was again done by using a panel of mystery shoppers to make a series of telephone calls to suppliers General Call Centres and Energy Efficiency Advice Helplines seeking advice on a range of problems. In almost all cases the callers were actual customers of the supplier concerned. The results presented in this document therefore provide a detailed, factually based, picture of what is happening on the ground.The results indicate that, overall, there have been real improvements over the last eighteen months in the standards of advice given by suppliers Energy Efficiency Advice Helplines. In particular, it is encouraging that those suppliers which performed poorly in the last survey have shown substantial improvements. Nevertheless, there is still room for further improvement and it remains of concern that many General Call Centres are failing to recognise where expert advice is needed. Ofgem has written individually to each supplier included in this report to seek their comments on the findings, and proposals for ensuring improvements are made where these are needed. Ofgem supports the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes Code of Practice on Energy Advice, and is encouraging suppliers to sign up to this to demonstrate their commitment to providing quality advice. We will report on progress in the Social Action Plan Annual Review to be published in March 2004. Any comments on this research should be sent by 20 February 2004 to:David BarnesHead of Social IssuesSocial & Environmental AffairsOfgem9 MillbankLondon, SW1P 3GEdave.barnes@ofgem.gov.ukOfgem is grateful to Robin Sadler and his team at New Perspectives, and the mystery shopping panel at Taylor Nelson Sofres Mystery Shopping, for their painstaking work on designing and undertaking this research, and preparing this report on the results.The results indicate that, overall, there have been real improvements over the last eighteen months in the standards of advice given by suppliers Energy Efficiency Advice Helplines. In particular, it is encouraging that those suppliers which performed poorly in the last survey have shown substantial improvements. Nevertheless, there is still room for further improvement and it remains of concern that many General Call Centres are failing to recognise where expert advice is needed. Ofgem has written individually to each supplier included in this report to seek their comments on the findings, and proposals for ensuring improvements are made where these are needed. Ofgem supports the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes Code of Practice on Energy Advice, and is encouraging suppliers to sign up to this to demonstrate their commitment to providing quality advice. We will report on progress in the Social Action Plan Annual Review to be published in March 2004. Any comments on this research should be sent by 20 February 2004 to:David BarnesHead of Social IssuesSocial & Environmental AffairsOfgem9 MillbankLondon, SW1P 3GEemail: david.barnes@ofgem.gov.ukOfgem is grateful to Robin Sadler and his team at New Perspectives, and the mystery shopping panel at Taylor Nelson Sofres Mystery Shopping, for their painstaking work on designing and undertaking this research, and preparing this report on the results.
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