Our quarterly customer service ratings for energy suppliers were published today and show a welcome trend — energy supplier performance is improving across the domestic market. This is particularly good news given that the data measured in this blog covers the period between October and December 2024, when the energy price cap rose and colder weather arrived.

This comes after a period in recent years in which average supplier customer service satisfaction declined, and we saw some of the worst scores on record. The current median overall score in our rating is just over 3.3 out of 5 stars, which is the highest median overall rating since Q2 2020, and is the best Q4 performance we’ve seen market-wide.

The current trend is mirrored by survey data we jointly commissioned with Ofgem, the energy regulator, which shows customer service satisfaction has recovered to levels last seen in late 2020. But while it’s good to see progress being made, efforts must continue to keep improving things for customers, particularly for some vulnerable groups. The same survey revealed that energy customers living with a disability and those in receipt of benefits were more likely to be dissatisfied with their energy suppliers' customer service.

What’s driving the changes we’re seeing?

Interestingly, a lot of the improvement isn’t coming from the top performers. Instead, this improvement is coming through the middle and bottom of the table, which means that those lower down are seeing significant improvements. In addition:

• Overall ratings are now significantly compressed: there’s only a 0.7 point difference between the first placed supplier and the 11th, reflecting that service has improved across the market.
• Complaints performance continues to improve, with fewer consumers contacting third parties like Citizens Advice to get help with their energy problems.
• Median call wait times are down to 96 seconds, the best since Q2 2020.

We don’t have all the answers to why supplier performance and service satisfaction have improved over the course of the last year. In December 2023, Ofgem issued a set of customer service standards which reaffirmed the value of good customer service which could be driving some improvement. At the same time, the cost of living is affecting people differently, with some feeling relief, while others are falling deeper into energy debt.

We also know that suppliers have put renewed focus on service, driven in part by reputational tools like our Star Rating, which encourage suppliers to compete on service. This is great news for consumers.

These results also come with important caveats. We know that these results are based on averages so they won’t be true for every customer at every supplier, and underneath the headline results some suppliers are doing much worse than others on specific issues.

What next for the sector — and our rating?

It’s vital that we see these improvements in performance continue — and reach consumers who are at risk of falling behind. While the improvements we’ve seen are good news, the energy sector still lags behind others like banking and retail, and Ofgem has set an ambition for the sector to be among the best performing.

We think this is a key part of the transition to clean power, as good service will help people engage with low carbon products and services offered by their supplier. A more ambitious duty for firms to achieve good consumer outcomes is the best way to drive this forward.

We’re thinking about these issues too, as we carry out one of our regular reviews of the way we calculate our star rating methodology. As the market changes are there key aspects of service which aren’t captured and which we should be measuring? How can we capture distinctions between digital customer services and the offline channels more disadvantaged consumers rely more on? We know that smart meters underpin the low carbon energy products of the future, so can we measure performance in delivering great smart meter services?

We’ve been seeking views from stakeholders and conducting research with consumers to help guide our next steps so we can play our part in driving the sector forward on its journey to great customer service.