As energy prices tick back up and UK households shop around for the best deals, consumer group Which? has revealed their annual ranking of the best and worst providers.

Octopus Energy came top of the list with combined score of 74% and was named a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) for the eighth year running.

According to the Which? survey, nearly nine out of 10 customers said they were satisfied with Octopus Energy and would recommend it to others. The provider scored mostly five stars across the board in the customer satisfaction survey and in Which?'s assessment of supplier practices, it scored maximum points for customer support.

One part of the combined score came from the consumer group's annual customer satisfaction survey, in which Which? surveyed nearly 12,000 energy customers from September to October.

The other part of the overall score came from a Which? assessment using a supplier questionnaire, as well as publicly available information and other research from the consumer group.

Read more: UK economy returns to growth in November but less than experts predicted

To qualify as a WRP, providers must achieve a 70% customer score, have all star ratings of three stars or higher and score above average in the Which? assessment.

Utility Warehouse (TEP.L) had the second-highest score on the list, at 73%. The provider scored particularly highly on overall customer service, getting five stars in this area and was also named a WRP for the first time.

Another provider named a WRP for the first time was 100Green, which came in fourth place for its overall score of 70%. It scored highly on customer service and was found to perform particularly well for its handling of customer complaints.

At the bottom of list were British Gas, Ovo Energy and So Energy, with an overall score of 58%.

British Gas, which is owned by Centrica (CNA.L) and is one of the UK's biggest suppliers, received a below average customer score of 61%. It was one of only four providers in the list to score just two stars for overall customer service in the survey and two stars on value for money. In the Which? assessment, it performed poorly for the volume of customer complaints it received in the first half of 2024 and for how efficiently it resolved these complaints, as well as for meeting its smart meter targets and for switching.

Ovo Energy, the third-largest provider in the UK, received the lowest customer score of 56% and fared poorly in the Which? assessment for its handling of customer complaints.

While So Energy fared better than some providers in the customer satisfaction survey, it performed poorly in the Which? assessment for meeting its smart meter targets, switching and limited monitoring of phone lines and emails outside of working hours and the weekend.

Story Continues

An Ovo spokesperson said: “We are disappointed with this result and continue to focus on ensuring we provide a great experience for all our customers."According to the Which? survey, nearly nine out of 10 customers said they were satisfied with Octopus Energy and would recommend it to others.·Jonathan Brady - PA Images via Getty Images

Scottish Power, which is part of Spanish company Iberdrola (IBE.MC), had a marginally higher overall score of 59% but received the second-lowest score based on a customer survey score of 58%. The provider got two stars for overall customer service, ease of contact, value for money and customer communications.

Spokespeople for British Gas, So Energy and Scottish Power had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK's request for comment at the time of writing.

Emily Seymour, energy editor at Which?, said while some energy firms were found to be "powering ahead of the competition, others are letting down their customers badly — and that’s unacceptable for such a vital service."

"Any firms falling short urgently need to up their game to ensure they are providing the service and value for money that consumers rightly expect from their energy supplier," she added.

"If people are unhappy with their provider, we’d recommend shopping around to look for a cheaper deal and switching to a supplier with better customer service."

Energy price cap rise

Which? noted that more fixed energy price deals started to return to the market, as prices stabilised over the last year.

Read more: UK inflation dip opens doors for interest rate cuts

The Ofgem energy price cap rose 1.2% earlier this month, an increase of £21 per year for the average household. The energy regulator said that this meant that the bill for the average household, paying for gas and electric by direct debit, would rise to £1,738 a year. That is 10% cheaper than in January to March 2024, when the average bill was estimated to be £1,928 and was 57.2% that the average bill of £2,321 for the same period in 2023, during the energy crisis.

Ofgem's price cap sets a maximum rate per unit and standing charge that can be billed to customers for their energy use.

Energy consultants Cornwall Insight have predicted that the price cap could rise nearly a further 3% in April, to £1,785 a year.

Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight said: "With a Trump presidency on the horizon, and an uncertain geopolitical situation in the Ukraine and the Middle East, wholesale market volatility looks set to remain."

In light of that forecast, Which? said that switching to a fixed deal could well be the best way for consumers to cut costs over the next six months.

Nevertheless, the consumer group said that given many deals hover around a similar price point, customer service will be a major factor for bill payers when seeking a new provider.

Read more:

UK rents surge 9% to £1,330 a month on average How 'Trump trade' stocks are performing ahead of inauguration How to negotiate better maternity leave and pay

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.

View Comments