Energy suppliers must double down on customer service ahead of challenging winter, says Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice - the official watchdog for energy consumers - warns that while energy supplier customer service is slowly improving, suppliers must go further to support households ahead of a challenging winter - especially companies lagging behind.
The charity’s latest Star Rating, covering April to June 2026, shows a small improvement across the board. The median score sits at 3.4 out of 5 - up from 3.26 in the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile median call wait times dropped from 77 to 68 seconds.
Outfox Energy took the top spot with a score of 4.03, followed by 100Green (3.90) and E.ON Next (3.71) - which was the highest-ranking of the 'Big Six' suppliers. At the other end of the table, TruEnergy performed particularly poorly, coming in last with a score of just 1.38, followed by Utilita at 2.53.
The latest research from Citizens Advice suggests over 10 million households (37% of Brits) are worried about how they’ll afford their energy bills this winter. The charity also found 3.5 million households are currently in energy debt - either behind on their bills or without gas or electricity because they can't afford to top up their prepayment meter.
Gillian Cooper, Director of Energy at Citizens Advice, said:
“It’s positive to see higher levels of customer service in the energy sector, but companies can’t afford to be complacent. These latest ratings cover a quieter period for energy suppliers, when lower costs mean people are less likely to need support.
“As we face another difficult winter of rising prices, suppliers must ramp up their efforts. For people in debt, unable to afford a meter top-up, or worrying about whether they can afford to heat their homes, customer service isn’t just helpful - it can be a vital lifeline when the temperature drops.”
The Star Rating compares suppliers on a number of different categories and ranks their customer service. It’s designed to help people make informed switching decisions and push energy firms to improve. You can view the full table listing energy suppliers via this webpage.
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Notes to editors:
Speak to your supplier if you can’t afford your bills: They are responsible for helping you find a manageable solution, like setting up an affordable repayment plan if you’ve fallen behind. Energy bill debt is classed as a priority debt, so it's important to get advice on how to manage debt from a charity or organisation like Citizens Advice as soon as you can.
Citizens Advice's latest report, Hitting the Rationing Wall, is available online. Citizens Advice commissioned a survey by BMG Research to understand affordability in the energy retail market. The survey ran between 23rd-28th July and reached 4,556 participants across England, Wales and Scotland.
Citizens Advice Star Rating (April-June 2026) compares energy suppliers' customer service in England, Wales and Scotland by looking at information from a number of sources including the Citizens Advice consumer service, the Citizens Advice Scotland Extra Help Unit, Advice Direct Scotland, the Energy Ombudsman, Energy UK and from suppliers directly. Not all categories are weighted equally. Further information on the methodology can be found here.
Suppliers’ performance is rated on whether customers receive accurate bills regularly, have working smart meters and receive effective and timely customer service. Both contact wait times and complaints made by consumers to organisations like Citizens Advice, the Extra Help Unit and the Energy Ombudsman are also measured to give consumers a holistic and objective view of energy suppliers.
Citizens Advice launched the Star Rating in December 2016. Previous methodology changes occurred in Q3 2017, Q4 2020 and Q3 2023. From Q4 2025 the methodology includes billing accuracy and smart meter operation scores, covers more contact channels and uses adjusted thresholds for rating suppliers. The methodology, including all changes, was developed in consultation with suppliers and other stakeholders.
Citizens Advice is the people’s champion - supporting people across England, Wales and the Channel Islands through: the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities; and the Citizens Advice consumer service.
Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
Citizens Advice helped 2.71 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2024-25. And we had 44 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 19,500 trained volunteers, working at over 1,900 locations across England, Wales and the Channel Islands.
Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and postal markets. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.
Citizens Advice consumer service can help with consumer issues like broken or faulty goods, or problems with energy, heat networks or post. You can get advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.