The new year in the energy sector started with Ofgem’s announcement that it was enforcing a series of changes to pricing tariffs aimed at making costs simpler to digest for the customer. As the ombudsman for the energy sector, we wholeheartedly welcome the changes.
There is no doubt that action was urgently needed. Complaints about energy companies are on the rise, demonstrated by our latest figures, which show the numbers for December 2013 were up 106 per cent on the same month in 2012. By restricting the number of tariffs customers are faced with and spelling out costs more clearly, the sector will go a long way towards pacifying consumer angst.
Ofgem’s figures show us that there is a yawning trust deficit in the energy sector: nine out of 10 people believed recent energy price rises were about companies trying to boost profits. Greater transparency is the best antidote for this, but there are other actions the energy companies can take to make sure customers get a fair deal.
One of them is to make people more aware of what they can do if they have a problem and want to complain. The same Ofgem figures tell us that only one in 20 (5 per cent) of energy customers who have a problem take it as far as the Energy Ombudsman – a figure that must change if we are to bring a greater sense of fairness the sector.
Lewis Shand Smith is the chief ombudsman. For more information on the Energy Ombudsman, visit www.ombudsman-services.org