Blog
Are we ignoring a £1.8bn debt problem in business energy?
Energy suppliers and small businesses in the UK are at risk of a hidden crisis. A crisis of up to £1.8bn in unpaid energy bills. This huge debt problem is growing silently and secretly due to gaps in visibility compared to domestic debt. And there are no industry-wide answers — yet.
Why aren't complaints falling faster - even with record-high satisfaction?
Ofgem’s latest data shows a drop in complaints - but the improvement is largely down to one supplier. Across the industry, managing complaints remains a challenge, even as customer satisfaction reached an all-time high earlier this year. With annual complaints costs averaging £5m-£9m, what can suppliers do next?
Service demand to rise with water bills – What next for suppliers?
Water bills are set to rise by £10 a month from April, according to this week’s forecast from Water UK - adding further pressure to household budgets. At the same time, service demand is expected to grow, making it crucial for water suppliers to prepare. As we explore below, the success of any servicing operation hinges on people and processes, but their role becomes even more vital when supporting vulnerable customers.
Keeping revenue leakage below 1% to stay competitive, and save ~£100m
Keeping revenue leakage below 1% is no longer just a benchmark for top performers, it’s essential for staying competitive. In this article, we explore what sets high performers apart, showing how the right mix of insight, controls and operational execution can mitigate high-value losses, and deliver significant performance gains. At BFY, we’ve worked with leading suppliers on solving their revenue leakage problems, leading to savings of over £100m per year in some cases.
Tailoring service for prepay is more critical than ever this winter
Demand from prepayment customers is expected to rise by 50% in winter, and with affordability challenges at unprecedented levels, bespoke service is needed more than ever. We look at what's needed to address the immediate impact here, laying the foundations for a sustainable, long-term approach.
Closing the gap between complaint volumes and service ratings to save £m’s
There's generally little correlation between customer service ratings and complaint volumes for energy suppliers. A good Trustpilot score doesn't typically mean less complaints, but as we show here, suppliers can save £m's by closing this gap.
Domestic Energy Debt Reaches Record £3.7 Billion
Energy debt hits a new peak of £3.7 billion as of Q2 2024 as Average debt per customer rises to a record £1,094. Energy debt has continued to increase by 40% since Q2 2023 while average annualised customer bills have levelled out.
Is your operation ready for increased customer switching?
Change of supply - it's been a while. As wholesale energy prices remain high but stable, suppliers should be making sure they're operationally prepared for a material increase in switching, which we're expecting to see from the announcement of the October Price Cap onwards.
Optimising your DCA strategy to mitigate rising debt
Domestic debt keeps rising, and engaging customers through tailored journeys is crucial to take control of the situation. Refining your approach to DCAs can drive these improvements, supporting your internal efforts to better manage customer debt. We've outlined three steps here to help maximise results from your DCA relationships.
Improving settlement performance is a ~£200m opportunity for suppliers
Since the migration of first-generation (SMETS1) smart meters into the DCC network, there’s been a steep decline in settlements accuracy across the energy industry, which could be costing suppliers up to £200m based on our analysis.
Domestic energy debt has reached £3.3bn, up £1.1bn in a year
Ofgem have shared their Q1-24 view of domestic energy debt, reporting a total debt value of £3.3bn in the industry (54% increase since Q1-23).
Preparing third party relationships for more winter debt
Record debt levels mean high volumes of customers are likely to be sat in external collections processes. Suppliers must focus on strengthening third party performance in the build-up to winter, across the five areas covered in our framework.
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