Consumer votes help EDF Energy to scoop ‘Energy Provider of the Year’ prize

EDF Energy has been named as ‘Energy Provider of the Year’ at the Consumer Moneyfacts Awards 2014, an award scheme that uses feedback from more than 90,000 consumer surveys to select its winners.

The award was announced on January 23 at a ceremony held at the Honourable Artillery Company in London. The energy firm vied for the award against a shortlist of nine large and small providers to win the prize, which included British Gas, E.ON, Scottish Power, Co-operative Energy and First Utility.

The Consumer Moneyfacts Awards showcase companies which provide not only good customer service, demonstrated by feedback from thousands of consumer surveys, but the best products on the market.

EDF Energy’s ‘Blue’ tariffs, which offer customers fixed energy prices and no exit fees, have seen more than two million customer accounts sign up to them since their launch in April 2012.

The shortlist for Energy Provider of the Year was selected by an independent research team, who examined the calibre of products offered by each supplier. The team looked at features such as price, tariff length, exit penalties, customer contact options and available payment methods. The weighting of these criteria were determined by consumers, and the results of the analysis made up 50% of the shortlisted companies’ final scores. The remaining 50% was gained purely from consumer surveys, with scores relating to their customer service experiences.

Jim Poole, EDF Energy’s Director of B2C, said: “We’re incredibly proud to receive this award, as it reflects the views of those who matter to us most – our customers. At EDF Energy we strive to offer our customers competitive prices, innovative products and a positive customer service experience. We’ll continue listening to them to find out how we can improve further in future.”

EDF Energy launched its ‘Customer Commitments’ in March 2012 and laid out its aims to deliver Fair Value, Better Service and Simplicity for EDF Energy customers. The company continues to build on this through a variety of means:
 

• The company has consistently offered its customers some of the most competitive prices within the industry for both its standard variable and fixed price tariffs. EDF Energy’s standard variable prices have on average been the cheapest for 95 weeks out of 104 in 2012 and 2013 compared to other major suppliers.*
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• More than two million customer accounts have signed up to EDF Energy’s fixed price ‘Blue’ tariffs since their launch in April 2012. The tariffs offer customers protection against future price rises and no exit fees. Blue+Price Promise also offers customers an industry-first ‘Price Promise’ where they will be informed if EDF Energy or another supplier launches a tariff which saves them £1 a week (£52 a year) or more at typical consumption.**
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• In autumn 2013 EDF Energy took action to limit its price increases to 3.9%, compared to rises of more than 10% announced by some of its competitors. The company has also outlined a number of proposals to the Government which could help bring costs down further for consumers in future.
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• In 2012 EDF Energy launched a UK-first photo meter-reading smart phone app, which provides a simple and efficient way for customers to provide the company with their meter readings.
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• As part of its commitment to be open and transparent, EDF Energy publishes quarterly statistics on its website regarding its service levels.

ENDS

Footnotes:
*EDF Energy’s standard variable tariff prices have been cheapest of the major suppliers for 95 weeks in 2012 and 2013. This is based on comparisons of standard variable Dual Fuel Direct Debit bills, averaged across all regions, and is based on Ofgem’s 2012 and 2013 typical annual consumption figures of 3,300kWh electricity and 16,500kWh gas and 5,000 kWh of electricity for Economy 7 meters. The major energy suppliers are: EDF Energy, Npower, E.ON, Scottish Power, SSE and British Gas. Typical use from 1st January 2014 as defined by Ofgem is 3,200kWh electricity, 13,500kWh gas and 4,600kWh of electricity for Economy 7 customers.

** Our Price Promise means we’ll let customers know if another product has a projected annual bill that is £52 or more cheaper at typical use, which we treat as being £1 a week or more cheaper. We include Direct Debit, Dual Fuel and online discounts we know of, not cash-back and other benefits. Typical use from 1st January 2014 as defined by Ofgem is 3,200kWh electricity, 13,500kWh gas and 4,600kWh of electricity for Economy 7 customers.

For more information contact Charlotte Mitchell in the EDF Energy press office: charlotte.mitchell@edfenergy.com 07875114872.