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
Households spent £110m more on bills this winter, despite lower Price Caps
Households spent £110m more on their energy bills this winter, despite lower Price Caps. Analysis from John de Bono shows that while energy Price Caps were ~10% lower, many households still saw higher heating costs due to colder weather and cuts to government support.
MHHS presents major opportunity to reshape customer energy engagement
As suppliers remain focused on delivering the biggest industry transformation since privatisation, there is a risk that the customer perspective may not receive the attention it deserves. Market-Wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) will reshape every part of the supplier value chain - but what does that mean for customers?
Video: What can you achieve with Leadership Excellence?
Immersive coaching has delivered transformational benefits at scale for our clients. In the video below, our team share their reflections on the impact of our Leadership Excellence programme, including the ‘secret sauce’ that has empowered operational leaders to unlock their true potential.
AI-Powered Leadership: Turning Insights into Customer-Centric Action
The utilities sector ranked lowest in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), reinforcing the urgent need for sustained improvement. Many companies are turning to AI to bridge this gap - but with the risk of dehumanising interactions, how can leaders ensure a more balanced approach?
April Price Cap rises to £1,849 – tariff changes planned, and billing pressure grows
Ofgem have today announced the energy Price Cap for April 2025 will be set at £1,849, reflecting a £111 (6.4%) increase from January’s headline value. This marks the third increase in a row and the highest level since January 2024. The increase has been largely driven by higher forward wholesale costs, which rose by ~20% during the observation window.
~7m customers are now avoiding the Price Cap on incentivised tariffs
The number of customers on fixed and non-standard tariffs has more than doubled following the energy crisis, as suppliers introduced meaningful discounts against the Price Cap in 2024. This aligns with the gradual rise in switching activity observed throughout the year.
Why is energy debt still going up?
Recent media coverage is recycling something that as an industry we’ve understood for a while – energy debt is still going up. But why? Compared to 2 years ago the macro economic picture is positive – prices have fallen significantly and incomes are outpacing inflation. This should all be driving debt down, but it’s growing.
UKCSI shows Utilities must bridge customer satisfaction gap
The latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) reveals a stark picture for Utilities, against a backdrop of political and regulatory pressure. While 31% of customers across all sectors are willing to pay more to receive excellent service, Utilities continues to rank lowest in customer satisfaction. With service failures now costing UK businesses £7.3bn monthly, and Utilities lagging behind in how its customers perceive it, the need for change remains difficult to ignore.
Improving billing accuracy as potential Ofgem changes pose £200m+ risk
Suppliers may need to increase 'billed to actual' performance by 10%, if the back bill window is reduced to 6 months by Ofgem. See how to mitigate the commercial and operational risks in this article, and get tailored guidance from our interactive assessment.
Price Cap set to increase by 5% (~£80) to ~£1,815 in April
We're expecting Ofgem to set the cap at ~£1,815, an increase of £77 based on wholesale prices so far in the current observation window. Current prices also suggest the cap could stay around this level throughout the year.
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.
Suppliers face prepay balancing act as additional support credits hit £150m
Understanding who in the prepayment portfolio needs support - and how much - remains critical for energy suppliers. While ~£9 of the current price cap includes a temporary allowance for bad debt, this relies on suppliers operating at a ‘notionally efficient’ level. Rachel Littlewood and the team outline five steps to help you enhance your approach, and strike the right balance between support, operating costs, and bad debt.
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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