2020 Plunges into darkness if energy companies don’t better support customers
A quarter of Britons are worried about paying their fuel bills this winter according to the latest data from business consultancy, Yonder Consulting.
Of the poorest households in England and Wales, 2 in 5 expressed concern they would not be able to afford their gas and electricity bills in the winter months. Meanwhile, just two thirds of those living in London, the North-West of England and the West Midlands believe they’ll be able to afford the fees.
Manfred Abraham, CO-CEO of Yonder said: “It’s not surprising that so many people are concerned about meeting their fuel costs this winter. Between the end of the furlough scheme and the prospect of even more redundancies, wallets are tighter than ever this winter. At the same time, increased remote working means homeowners this year will be shouldering a much bigger share of the bills than in previous years.
Between the wind down of domestic gas, the potential of smart-meters and likely boom in home-based electric vehicle charging the volume and way in which people use electricity is going to massively change within the next decade. So, the extent to which energy companies look after their vulnerable customers now could have far-reaching consequences for them.
It’s one thing to compete on cost, but what people really need right now, is security. Energy companies that provide that – whether by offering payments holidays or reducing tariffs for lower income households for instance – have an opportunity to win over customers for the long-term.
There is an opportunity here for consumer energy companies to take a more emotionally meaningful role in people’s lives – something that could be critical to their long-term survival – but the timeframe in which they can do this is getting shorter by the minute.”
