Energy Consumer Satisfaction Survey: August to September 2023
Reports, plans and updates
Publication date
Ofgem and Citizens Advice commissioned BMG Research to run the latest Energy Consumer Satisfaction Survey (previously named the Consumer Perceptions of the Energy Market Survey).
This survey explores domestic energy consumers’ experiences of the energy market, including satisfaction with the service provided by their energy supplier and support available for customers facing energy affordability issues.
Main points
- overall satisfaction with energy suppliers (69%) is stable in comparison to the previous wave of this survey (67%), but is well below the peak recorded in April 2020 (78%)
- satisfaction with supplier customer service has declined, dropping from 66% at the end of 2022 to 62% here
- the top reasons customers gave for dissatisfaction with customer service they’ve received were not being able to contact their supplier at the time they needed (37%), not feeling they were being listened to (34%) and the length of time it took to resolve their query (34%)
- one in three (32%) of those who fell behind on their energy bills or ran out of credit on their prepayment meter for affordability reasons did not have any contact with their supplier about this
- the majority (63%) of those who did have contact with their supplier about falling behind on their bills were satisfied with the support they received
- consumer satisfaction with the process for switching supplier shows signs of recovery, with 4 in 5 (82%) of those respondents who switched reporting they were satisfied with the process
Additional data published this wave
Update 22 March 2024
In our Forward Work Programme consultation document, Ofgem has committed to publish more information on supplier customer service standards data to drive up supplier performance. The aim of this is to enable a more informed consumer choice to drive up standards. In line with this, Ofgem has published two supplier-level indicators of energy customers’ satisfaction for eight energy supply groups: overall satisfaction with their supplier, and satisfaction with the customer service they have received from their supplier. These supplier-level indicators can be found in a subsidiary document on this page.
Methodology
Fieldwork for this survey was conducted from 30 August to 18 September 2023.
We reached 3,742 domestic energy bill payers. The survey used a mixed mode method of data collection, including face to face interviewing targeted at digitally excluded respondents. Quotas were set on age, gender, region, Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), ethnicity and payment type to achieve a sample representative of the population of households in England, Wales and Scotland.
In this wave the survey, a sample boost of standard credit and prepayment customers was also included. Given that standard credit and prepayment customers make up a relatively small part of the population, a boost of 150 interviews with each was incorporated to allow for more robust analysis of these customers’ experiences.