Energy consumers still bamboozled by bills

New research from Which? reveals that three quarters of households are still completely confused by their energy bills.

The consumer group surveyed around 1,600 of its members about their household energy bills only to discover that 18% were not even confident about checking the accuracy of their bills.

Standing charge, kWh, calorific value and unit rate are all terms that consumers might find confusing on their gas and electricity bills. And this is despite new rules introduced a year ago by the energy regulator, Ofgem, to make energy bills clearer.

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: “Despite efforts to make bills simpler to understand, our research shows people are still bamboozled. Consumers can’t tell whether they are getting a fair deal from their energy supplier and are losing out as a result.

“We want the Competition and Markets Authority to force suppliers to make bills clearer by adopting simple pricing, like you see on a petrol forecourt. In a truly competitive energy market people should be able to spot the cheapest deal at a glance, making it easier to switch supplier.”

Separately Which? research has revealed that moving to a fixed deal will save most people money. However, around three-quarters of consumers are on suppliers’ standard tariffs where costs have increased in price on average by 4% (or £44 a year) in the past two years.