Energy & Utilities Insights
Insights
Actionable insights for the sector's most pressing topics
Challenges like rising debt, sustainability targets, and regulatory reforms are driving suppliers to fundamentally rethink how they operate. At the same time, these shifts present opportunities to differentiate, drive innovation, and enhance customer service. As organisations attempt to balance financial performance with compliance and customer satisfaction, staying ahead of competitors is crucial.
Leveraging the deep expertise of our industry specialists, we help energy and utilities providers to tackle these challenges, and capitalise on opportunities shaping the future of the sector.
INSIGHTS
Energy & Utilities
Energy debt reaches £4.15bn, an increase of £0.84bn in 12 months
Domestic energy debt has reached a new high of £4.15bn in Q1 2025, an increase of £0.84bn compared to Q1 last year. This marks the tenth consecutive quarter of rising domestic debt, growing by ~£300m in the last quarter alone.
Rethinking Fuel Poverty: Targeted Support, Tangible Impact
In March, we published a report with So Energy to better understand the true scale of fuel poverty in Great Britain, and what it’d take to meaningfully reduce it. In this article, we revisit the core insights from that report, look at what’s changed since, and explore what energy suppliers can do now to improve how they identify, engage and support customers who are struggling.
Don't Wait for Tech to Transform - Start with Your Leaders
The utilities landscape is increasingly volatile. Regulatory shifts, customer churn rates hitting record highs, and the relentless march of digitalisation are reshaping how we compete. Add AI disruption to the mix, and it's clear that yesterday's leadership development toolkits simply won't suffice.
£3.85bn of reasons to address fuel poverty - and how
Fuel poverty is a bigger problem than ever before. Over 20% of households are affected, according to our research with So Energy. Historically high energy prices, inflation, distrust and wider financial challenges are confounding the issue. At a recent roundtable, we sat down with energy suppliers, consultants and debt charities to discuss the issue and potential solutions.
Spending Review: What £40bn green investment means for the energy sector
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out the government’s spending plans through to the next election. Despite early doubts, energy emerged as one of the biggest winners. See what it means for the sector here.
July Price Cap to fall by £129 to £1,720 – relief for customers on default tariffs
Ofgem have announced the first reduction in the Price Cap in a year, falling by £129 (7%) in July to £1,720. While this offers some relief, typical households are set to save just £30 over 12 months, and bills remain 50% above pre-crisis levels.
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.
Dynamic Tariff Strategy: Five commercial considerations for energy retailers
A new wave of innovation is sweeping the domestic energy market. As we explored in our previous blog, suppliers are introducing a range of new tariffs designed for EVs, heat pumps, time-of-use patterns and more. Whilst this innovation creates exciting opportunities, it also introduces complexity, and with complexity, comes commercial risk.
Bringing Clarity to Dynamic Tariffs: A framework for energy retailers
Dynamic tariffs present new opportunities for the energy market, but they also bring a growing challenge. How can suppliers offer smarter, more flexible products - without overwhelming customers, confusing internal teams, or diluting commercial performance?
March saw 320k customer switches, with discounts available before April Price Cap
320k domestic customers switched energy supplier in March, seeking savings ahead of the April 2025 Price Cap. This marks a rebound to 70% of pre-crisis switching levels (which averaged 475k per month), as the Price Cap was set to rise, and customers were able to lock in fixed deals £250 below the upcoming cap.
Heat Network Regulation: Action plan for future market leaders
In part two of our Heat Network Regulation article, we turn to the important question of what those in the sector should be doing right now to prepare. This is both an opportunity and a risk for heat network suppliers. Those who can get it right will stand to win from the coming growth in the market. Those who get it wrong will find themselves exposed, and eventually, risk exiting the market.
Video: Achieve 5-10x ROI with Leadership Excellence
In our latest video, Kev Brown and the team explore how immersive coaching has transformed service culture for our clients, delivering 5-10x ROI. We also explore what our Leadership Excellence programme involves day-to-day, with hands-on coaching from experienced operational leaders, and psychometric testing in our Diagnostic and Design phases.
Energy & Utilities
Meet the Team
Ian Barker
Managing Partner
Ian shapes the BFY vision and inspires our team to bring it to life, while remaining central to complex client engagements in Strategy, Commercial, and Operations.
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Rachel Littlewood
Director
Rachel leads our operational and financial turnaround engagements, helping to solve complex operational challenges while maximising commercial performance and customer outcomes.
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Tom Bromwich
Director
Tom leads client engagements with a particular focus on commercial strategy, pricing, customer acquisition and retention.
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Kelly Payne
Director
Kelly helps clients achieve operational excellence to improve customer outcomes, employee engagement, and optimising cost to serve.
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Kevin Scott
Director
Kevin leads client engagements with a laser focus on empowering clients to navigate large-scale events and market challenges.
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Our Impact
Strategic analysis identifies ~£103m in opportunities for energy retailer
We delivered strategic analysis for a large energy retailer, identifying up to ~£103m in incremental revenue opportunities, through a comprehensive Market Scan Analysis and Sales Channel Maturity Assessment.
Cash recovery initiatives deliver ~£275m benefit for large Energy supplier
Our debt team supported a large Energy supplier with recovering their cash position, achieving a total benefit of ~£275m through collaborative initiatives.
£4.5m in Bad Debt benefits for large energy retailer
We helped a large energy retailer to generate immediate in-year debt benefits through tactical interventions. Our programme delivered ~£4.5m in Bad Debt benefit and ~£8.5m in cash collection, all while maintaining customer and productivity measures within the operation.
Large energy supplier avoids ~£7.5m in complaints costs
We supported a large energy supplier with a transformation programme, looking at how they can manage their complaints inflow and address the growing backlog. The programme transformed their complaints capability and resulted in ~£7.5m in cost avoidance.
Collections improvements deliver ~£5m cash for Water retailer
We supported a B2B Water retailer with a series of collections improvements, achieving a cash uplift of ~£5m in five months.
Tactical debt improvements deliver ~£7m cash for large Energy retailer
A large Energy retailer was facing significant challenges with customer debt, requiring improvements to their collections processes to mitigate this. Their total debt was ~£100m at the time of engaging BFY, with communication gaps present across the customer debt journey.
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