Customer service across Britain’s energy supply market improved during the second quarter of 2026, but wide differences between providers remain as households prepare for another winter of affordability pressure.
The latest supplier Star Rating from Citizens Advice, the statutory consumer advocate for the energy market, put the median customer-service score at 3.4 out of five for April to June, compared with 3.26 during the first quarter.
Median call waiting times also fell, from 77 seconds to 68 seconds, suggesting a modest improvement in accessibility across the market.
Performance varied substantially between individual suppliers. Outfox Energy achieved the highest overall rating at 4.03, followed by 100Green at 3.90. E.ON Next scored 3.71, making it the strongest performer among the largest suppliers.
At the lower end of the table, TruEnergy received a rating of 1.38, while Utilita scored 2.53.
The ranking assesses more than the speed with which customers can reach a call centre. Citizens Advice draws on billing accuracy, smart meter performance, complaints data, response times across different contact channels, and information from bodies including the Energy Ombudsman and Citizens Advice Scotland’s Extra Help Unit.
The methodology was expanded from the fourth quarter of 2025 to include billing accuracy and smart-meter operation alongside a wider range of contact channels. The measures are intended to provide a broader view of whether customers receive accurate and timely service rather than focusing solely on complaints.
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.”
The period measured — April to June — is generally less demanding for customer-service teams than winter, when consumption, bills, payment difficulties, and contact volumes rise.
Citizens Advice estimates that more than 10 million households, equivalent to 37% of people in Britain, are worried about how they will afford energy bills this winter. Its separate affordability research also estimates that 3.5 million households are already in energy debt, defined as being behind on bills or unable to top up a prepayment meter.
Those conditions increase the operational importance of service quality. Energy suppliers are required to support customers experiencing payment difficulties, and interactions can involve affordability assessments, repayment plans, prepayment arrangements, smart meter problems, billing corrections, and referrals for additional support.
A supplier with weak customer-service infrastructure can face pressure in several places at once when bills rise. Longer waits can increase repeat contacts, complaints, and escalation to external dispute-resolution services, while inaccurate bills or unresolved meter problems create additional demand that has to be processed later.
Customer experience is therefore closely connected with operating efficiency rather than being isolated to frontline service. Resolving a problem correctly at the first interaction can reduce future contact volumes, whereas weak service creates additional work and can raise regulatory, reputational, and complaint-handling costs.
The sector has spent several years adapting to the consequences of the energy-price shock that followed disruption to wholesale markets earlier in the decade. Suppliers have had to rebuild financial resilience while improving treatment of vulnerable customers and addressing service failures exposed during periods of unusually high bills.
Smart meters add another operational dimension. When installations work properly, they can reduce estimated billing and improve visibility over consumption. Problems with connectivity, configuration, or data can create the opposite effect, generating inaccurate bills and increasing the need for customer intervention.
Including smart-meter operation and billing accuracy in the Citizens Advice ratings consequently puts more emphasis on systems sitting behind frontline service. Contact-centre performance alone cannot compensate for repeated errors produced elsewhere in a supplier’s billing or metering infrastructure.
The spread between the highest and lowest scores also shows that market-wide improvement does not produce a consistent customer experience. Consumers with similar problems can encounter substantially different levels of service depending on their supplier.
Regulators and consumer bodies have increasingly focused on outcomes, particularly where customers are financially vulnerable. Evidence of effective support, reasonable waiting times, accurate information, and appropriate treatment therefore becomes more important as suppliers prepare for higher seasonal demand.
The latest quarter establishes a stronger starting point than the first three months of 2026, but the operational test comes during winter. Suppliers will have to maintain those improvements as more households seek support and errors or delays become more consequential for customers with limited ability to absorb unexpected costs.
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