The best and worst energy companies revealed

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Millions of consumers have been transferred to a new energy resource. Photo: PA/Alamy

With energy prices skyrocketing, most households in the UK have tried to find a better supplier, so here we reveal the best and worst energy companies according to customers.

Octopus Energy is ranked #1 in Whichch’s annual customer survey, with an overall score of 78%.

Octopus was the only provider with a five-star rating in any category—customers gave five stars for the usefulness of information on energy costs. It received a four star rating for every other category.

Octopus customers were most likely to recommend their suppliers – with nine in ten (87%) saying they would and it was the only energy company this year to be named A? Recommended provider.

Read more: UK households are set to pay £500 less on energy bills than expected as gas prices fall

Octopus Energy welcomed an additional 1.5 million Bulb customers in December last year.

Utilita came second with an overall score of 67%. However, it ranked significantly higher in evaluating any of the supplier’s practices (75%) than in a customer survey (59%).

The best and worst energy companies. Table: which?

At the other end of the scale, Scottish Power came in at the bottom of the supplier practices assessment with a score of 53%. I got three points only for complaints performance.

Shell (SHEL.L) Energy and SSE (SSE.L) Energy Services came at the bottom of the customer survey, with aggregate scores of 48% and 46%, respectively.

Shell Energy received only 1 star for value for money in a Which? And her clients were less likely to recommend her to others. Just under half (47%) of Shell customers say they would recommend the company – compared to an average of six in 10 (61%) across all companies.

SSE Energy Services received only one star for three aspects in a customer satisfaction survey conducted by the Who? , including clarity of its communications about the energy market, and two stars for the remaining two aspects. More than half (54%) of SSE Energy Services customers have complained about an issue with their bill.

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“While customers choose to stay put due to a lack of deals in the energy market, our research finds that some companies are not meeting the needs of their customers during a cost-of-living crisis,” Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy.

“Providers must make it as easy as possible for customers to call and ask for support when they need it – or customers will vote with their feet and walk away when that becomes an option,” she added.

Read more: This problem adds £350 to your energy bills

that? It surveyed 10,197 members of the public in October 2022 to gain an in-depth assessment of suppliers’ practices and procedures in three areas – how well they do customer service, how they handle complaints, and how they support customers in need.

The average customer score was 54% this year – lower than it was in January 2022 (59%) and 2021 (64%).

One-fifth (20%) of energy customers in the Who? to their current supplier when their previous provider failed – and Shell Energy’s customers are most likely to have experienced this (45%).

Watch: Martin Lewis warns energy bills ‘will go up before they go down’

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