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UTILITY WEEK | 8TH - 14TH MAY 2015 | 21 Operations & Assets The finished structure was turned on at the end of April and is capable of generating 1kW of electricity. It will be used to provide free phone charge points and wi-fi for the inhabitants of Bristol. If you have an asset or project you would like to see featured in this slot, please send your pictures and details of the project to: paul.newton@fav-house.com or call 01342 332085 Pipe up Tony Stiff T he energy industry is one of the few that rewards its most loyal customers with the highest prices. Recent research by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) has proved something that every- one in the industry already knew: customers who don't switch home energy supplier, and who oen languish on the standard variable tariffs provided by the big six, are overpaying – collectively, by up to £2.7 billion a year. The reforms introduced by the Retail Market Review, which try to make customers aware of the potential for savings from switching tariff or supplier, are some- thing of a blunt instrument. For smaller suppliers with extremely competitive tariffs, the new requirement to tell customers, on every bill, that they might be able to save if they switched is counter-intuitive – the savings wouldn't be worth the effort and the suggestion confuses customers. When it comes to bigger suppliers, this rela- tively low-profile exhortation doesn't seem to be enough to stir customers to action. Decc's recent advertising campaign promoting the ben- efits of switching targets those who have never switched. Is it enough? Time will tell, although the past 20 years of the deregu- lated energy industry might indicate these customers could be beyond the reach of even a high-profile TV campaign. The question of why many customers continue to overpay for their energy is both simple and complex. Some are disengaged and don't monitor the market, or even their bill. Others believe that the big six represent the only sensible option when it comes to something as important as home energy. There's lassitude and fear in the mix. But the question of overpaying is actually more important than whether or not consumers are spending more than they need to. There is a mass of customers who have never switched and may never switch, who are hold- ing back the market from becoming truly competitive. With a reduced pool of customers to play for, smaller suppliers may ultimately swap customers between them rather than attract them from the big six. Some predic- tions suggest the market share of the big six may decline from 98 per cent in 2013 to 70 per cent by 2020. But that 70 per cent is still a huge number of customers paying generally higher prices and receiving generally poorer ser- vice – a combination that continues to taint our industry. While Decc's ad campaign is a start, much more must be done to educate customers about other providers and the benefits they can bring, so that old habits can be bro- ken, both of consumers and the industry that serves them. Tony Stiff, chief executive, Flowgroup "Customers who have never switched and may never do so are stopping the market from becoming truly competitive." "While Decc's advertising campaign is a start, much more must be done to educate customers"