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
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.
Domestic suppliers will need to make up £250m cash shortfall
Domestic energy suppliers faced a £250m cash coverage deficit at end of Q3. For the third consecutive quarter, suppliers had to finance a shortfall in net balances, even as customer credit balances reached their seasonal peak. It marks a shift from previous years, when suppliers had a positive net cash position during this period.
MHHS could trigger ~£200m spike in physical meter read costs for suppliers
With just over half of meters operating in smart mode and many suppliers behind on installation targets, physical meter read costs are set to spike when MHHS goes live. The reform will empower customers to reduce bills, by aligning consumption with cheaper, greener energy - but significant progress is needed to ensure these benefits are widely accessible.
Adapting universal service agents for an evolving energy sector
The universal agent model offers huge potential - but with decarbonisation, digitalisation, and decentralisation reshaping the energy sector, making it work is more complex than ever. By upskilling agents, integrating AI, and streamlining processes, companies can future-proof their approach and gain a competitive edge.
Video: Transforming leadership capability with E.ON Next
In this video, Ramona Vlasiu (COO), Chris Shead (Director of Customer Operations), and Stefan Guy (Director of Debt) highlight how E.ON Next's partnership with BFY Group is helping to drive a high performing culture in customer operations.
Assessing leadership capability to drive excellence in customer operations
Energy and Utilities is undergoing significant change. With system migrations, large-scale restructures, and rapid growth, suppliers face a complex landscape that requires strong leadership to navigate – but how do you measure this strength?
Energy debt hits record £3.8bn, as Ofgem propose initiatives to raise standards
Energy debt has reached a new high of £3.8bn as of Q3-24, up £134m from the previous quarter, and £0.9bn over the past year. Alarmingly, £2.9bn (75%) of this debt remains without any repayment arrangement in place, with 2m customers in this bracket. Total debt has almost tripled since 2020, and the volume of customers without repayment arrangements is up 700k (55%) in the same period.
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.
View Profile
Rachel Littlewood
Director
Rachel leads our operational and financial turnaround engagements, helping to solve complex operational challenges while maximising commercial performance and customer outcomes.
View Profile
Tom Bromwich
Director
Tom leads client engagements with a particular focus on commercial strategy, pricing, customer acquisition and retention.
View Profile
Kelly Payne
Director
Kelly helps clients achieve operational excellence to improve customer outcomes, employee engagement, and optimising cost to serve.
View Profile
Kevin Scott
Director
Kevin leads client engagements with a laser focus on empowering clients to navigate large-scale events and market challenges.
View ProfileEnergy & Utilities
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.
Subscribe today to receive the latest news and updates from BFY
By submitting my personal data, I consent to BFY collecting, processing, and storing my information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.