Edward Langley, Head of Environment Research at Ipsos MORI, presented at npower’s first ‘Energy Explained’ event. This first event, and the accompanying report, is entitled The Changing Cost of UK Energy and looks as the costs drivers behind domestic energy bills and forecasts changes in these costs between now and 2020. Edward spoke about consumers’ relationship with energy companies, the extent to which consumers trust energy companies and how this can be improved.

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Energy consumers and energy companies:
a question of trust?
Edward Langley, Head of Environment Research, Ipsos MORI 16/07/2013

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Base: 982 British adults 18+, 31st May – 11th June 2013 Source: Ipsos MORI Issues Index
Issues facing Britain: June 2013
What do you see as the most/other important issues facing Britain today?
50
35
32
26
19
15
15
14
12
11
Top mentions %
Economy
Race relations/Immigration
Inflation/Prices
NHS
Unemployment
Crime/Law and order
Pensions/benefits
Education/schools
Change since May:
+1
+1
+2
0
+8
+4
+2
+1
+2
+5
% Position
Poverty/Inequality
-3
Defence/international terrorism
+1
-1
+3
+5

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Please tell me the extent to which you trust or distrust energy suppliers to be
open and transparent in their dealings with customers?
More than half disagree the government has the right objectives
and priorities for their sector
Base: All Public Sector Leaders who understand the Government’s objectives and priorities (321) 27 June – 22 July 2011 Source: Ipsos MORI
Over four in five
consumers are
concerned about
their energy bills
Over four in five consumers (84%)*
are concerned about their
household energy bills
Base: GB adults aged 18+ who are at least partly responsible for paying household energy bills: (2,159) 5th and 20th October 2012
Source: Ipsos MORI / DECC

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Consumers views on energy companies are mixed
“Supplier] has been
fantastic … If I‟ve had a
problem with my electricity
key, my card or anything
they‟ve dealt with it
straightaway.”
Sticker, Family, C2DE
“Mine does Argos points. …
suddenly you‟ve got a card
and you think, ooh I‟ve got
some money on there”
Sticker, Family, C2DE
“I like the fact that they‟re trying
really hard to push the solar panels”
Switcher, Family, C2DE
“My bills with [supplier] has gone
up twice in the last few months
and I‟m getting fed up with it
because… What we can‟t
understand is when we see the
prices of the oil going down…”
Switcher, Post Family, C2DE
“... there‟s no real
choice. It might be
between Argos or
Tesco points but
there‟s no real price
difference.”
Sticker, Post Family, C2DE,
“I think there‟s a lack of
transparency in their pricing, their
structure and in their advertising. “
Switcher, Family, ABC1
Source: Ipsos MORI / Energy UK

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5%
25%
27%
26%
18%
2013
29% trust
6%
28%
26%
26%
13%
Please tell me the extent to which you trust or distrust energy suppliers to be
open and transparent in their dealings with customers?
Consumers‟ trust in energy companies has declined recently
Base: All with mains gas or electricity who are responsible for bills; 2-13 March 2012 (1484)
1-14 March 2013 (1433)
Source: Ipsos MORI / Ofgem
2012
34% trust

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MPs‟ trust has also declined across a number of measures
2
1
45
47
37
15
10
3
1
15
25
17
32
57
59
58
4
3
1
4
16
21
28
Trust completely Tend to distrustTend to trust Distrust completely
Q Could you please tell me the extent to which you trust or distrust energy
companies in general to do each of the following:
Base: All MPs (93), Conservative MPs (38), Labour MPs (44)
and Liberal Democrat MPs (8) asked, summer 2012
Keep the lights on in Britain, now and in
the future
Protect the poor and vulnerable from high
energy prices
Move as quickly as possible towards
lower carbon generation methods
To offer genuine competition in energy
supply
To promote energy efficiency and
insulation
To be innovative and forward thinking
To provide clear information so
customers can choose between suppliers
Trust Chg
„09-‟12 +%
Distrust Chg
„09-‟12 +%
-19
-4
-22
-8
-13
-5
-5
+4
+14
+5
-7
+19
+10
+8

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Many consumers have installed energy efficiency measures for a
number of reasons
Half (49%) of those able to make
changes to their property claim to
have installed energy efficiency
measures in the last 10 years
Motivations for undertaking energy efficiency measures include:
Consumers do not necessarily appreciate the challenges which lie ahead in
terms of rising demand for electricity and the investment required
They question why bills should rise to ensure a reliable supply in future;
something which is largely taken for granted
“I fail to see why we
should provide
investment, there‟s no
additional bonus for us.”
“We take it for granted
that electricity always
works for us. If you
compare it to where we
are with the internet
where it often doesn‟t
work and sometimes
runs faster, there is a
difference.”
“We‟re paying enough for
what we‟re using at the
moment, something‟s got
to give. The wages aren‟t
going up are they?”
Source: Ipsos MORI / Ofgem

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Ways in which the energy companies might build trust
 Suppliers to use standardised language
 Greater transparency in pricing
 Positive engagement with consumers to help
them find the best deal
“With the prices I find it
very bamboozling
because they‟ll say, oh
you can go on this tariff
and the first so many
kajoules are this price
per one and then it goes
to this price, but if you
use more than that then
it drops to this price.
And you‟re like, how on
earth am I going to work
this out.”
Sticker, Family, C2DE
“I think when you‟ve used a massive
amount one year and they can see that‟s
what you do and how you use it, they
should give you some advice on which
tariff would be better for you. Like
Vodafone do with the phone, I think that
would be ideal.”
Sticker, Pre-Family, ABC1
Source: Ipsos MORI / Energy UK

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Example of how to build trust: Tariff key facts sheets
 Greater transparency as key pieces of
information (such as what happens at the end
of the term) cannot be hidden from consumers
 Improved understanding of the meaning of a
tariff as it clearly sets out the constituent parts
of a tariff
 Improved comparability across different tariffs
“This will be great, they
won’t only tell their
advantages. ... like they
never tell you what
happens at the end, these
are the things you never
see online.”
“They contain
information I
wouldn’t easily find
at the moment.”
“Seems like hard work
that will make very little
difference to the bank
balance at the end of
the month.”
Source: Ipsos MORI / Energy UK

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Energy consumers and energy companies:
a question of trust?
Edward Langley, Head of Environment Research, Ipsos MORI
020 7347 3154; edward.langley@ipsos.com
16/07/2013