EDF announces further support for customers amid worsening cost of living crisis

• Up to £100 of savings made available to smart meter customers via free Energy Hub platform*
• Fresh Start campaign launched to help tackle existing debt
• EDF to contact over 100,000 customers to outline help available
• Call to the Government for further support and solutions for the most vulnerable customers

To help combat rising bills, EDF has today announced new support measures, specifically created to help those most in need.

EDF is contacting over 100,000 of its most vulnerable customers in order to outline the support packages available. These include using smart prepayment meters - that allow customers to top up energy from anywhere and track usage - to help beat the price cap by up to £100, as well as launching a new Fresh Start campaign, designed to support those with existing debt who are not able to repay the costs.

EDF is also helping customers to have more control over their energy usage with its free Energy Hub - a platform that can give real time insights into energy usage and show how customers can create savings. Those with a smart meter will be able to join the nearly half a million customers already using the Hub to save up to £100 on their bills*. Sign-ups for this platform are increasing year on year, showing how customers are using it to help manage costs.

This comes on top of help announced earlier this year that saw the energy provider double customer support to £10 million. In addition to this, £20 million of funding was brought forward to insulate homes across the UK and customers were helped to identify £3.6million of additional financial aid they were entitled to, with the help of partner Income Max.

Philippe Commaret, Managing Director for Customers at EDF, commented:

“As a business we are facing many challenges due to the rise in wholesale energy costs, but our main priority remains our customers. We are aware these new measures won’t solve these issues, but hope that they can provide the vital support needed for the most vulnerable.

This is why we see it as our responsibility to reach out to customers to ensure that those that need help most are aware of all of the options and packages available to them. Our free Energy Hub, for example, could provide a customer with the guidance they need to start their journey towards cutting down their bills.”

However, the problem cannot be solved by energy providers working in isolation - the Government must act now. EDF is calling on the current Government, as well as the two Conservative leadership candidates, to work together with the industry to find solutions that will support the most vulnerable customers as they enter the winter months.

Broader Government-funded energy efficiency programmes will be vital to help reduce household energy bills permanently. Customers need to feel reassured that help is coming, and therefore this must be a top priority for decision makers across the country.

Commaret continued:

“Despite ongoing uncertainty, the Government must step up and play a key role to help combat these challenges. Without this support, things will only worsen for already struggling customers, something we need to avoid at all costs.”

All of this support is being communicated to customers directly via email. A letter from Philippe Commaret, Managing Director, will be shared over the next few weeks so that customers are aware of everything available to them.

For further information on how EDF is helping customers, please visit: https://www.edfenergy.com 

For more information contact:

EDF Press Office: edf@goodrelations.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

*Savings estimated on a sample from April 2020-April 2022 of 1500+ customers who started using Energy Hub and logged in 5+ times between April 2021-April 2022. Costs based on Ofgem typical annual consumption positioned against projected Standard (Variable) consumption costs for October 2022-September 2023.

About EDF

EDF is helping Britain achieve Net Zero by leading the transition to a cleaner, low emission electric future and tackling climate change. It is the UK’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity(1), meeting around one-fifth of the country’s demand and supplying millions of customers with electricity and gas.

It generates low carbon electricity from six nuclear power stations and more than thirty onshore wind farms and two offshore wind farms, and operates one coal power station, EV charge-points, and combined heat and power plants.

EDF is leading the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, and is leading the development of plans for a replica at Sizewell C in Suffolk. Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will provide low carbon electricity to meet 14% of UK demand and power around 12 million homes.

EDF is one of the UK’s largest investors in renewables, with 1GW of renewable generation in operation and over 4GW in construction, planning and development across a range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, solar and battery storage. We are constructing our largest offshore wind farm in Britain – the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe project in Scotland which will be ready in 2023.

EDF is helping its customers, both in business and at home, take their first steps to sustainably powering their lives. Whether it is buying an electric car, generating and storing electricity or selling energy back to the grid. EDF is one of the largest suppliers to British business and a leading supplier of innovative energy solutions that are helping businesses become more energy independent. In addition, the company’s energy services business, Imtech, is one of the largest technical service providers in the UK and Ireland.

EDF is part of EDF Group, the world’s biggest electricity generator. In the UK, the company employs around 13,000 people at locations across England and Scotland.