Customer Experience Award
Celebrating the utilities that have gone above and beyond in providing outstanding customer experience and engagement over the past year.
Customer Experience Award
Celebrating the utilities that have gone above and beyond in providing outstanding customer experience and engagement over the past year.
Cadent
Cadent manages the UK’s National Gas Emergency Service, governed by strict standards of service to keep customers safe and warm.
In December 2022, due to severe cold weather, the number of calls into the service broke records, critically affecting our service levels. However, not all calls were true emergency situations.
In response, we created an awareness campaign, Make the Right Call’ to educate the public about the correct service for their domestic gas issues, as well as what a gas emergency is. This resulted in a 12% average reduction in winter calls, positively impacting our customer service and response times.
E.ON Next
E.ON Next launched in 2020 with a bold mission to put customers at the heart of the energy transition. Despite industry challenges, it has redefined customer experience through innovation, empathy and insight. From co-creating a seamless app to launching BILLIE – the UK’s first interactive billing assistant – E.ON Next empowers customers with smarter self-service, clearer communication and tailored support. Its agile, customer-led approach has boosted satisfaction, reduced complaints and improved outcomes for vulnerable groups, all backed by governance that ensures accountability at every level.
Northumbrian Water Group
Northumbrian Water Group (NWG), in partnership with Experientia Consulting Ltd, is revolutionising smart water metering by placing diverse customer needs at the heart of our strategy.
Through an innovative, experiential training programme, we have empowered our teams to exceed expectations, championing empathy, personalisation, and trust in every interaction. Over the past year, we have seen measurable improvements in customer engagement, satisfaction, and understanding of smart metering’s value. With ambitious plans to reach over 700,000 customers by 2030 and continuous enhancement over the next 12 months, our initiative sets the standard for excellence in customer experience in the utilities sector.
Octopus Energy
During times of unprecedented challenge, Octopus Energy is transforming customer experience by tackling ever-evolving and complex customer needs with empathy and innovation. Responding to a 275% surge in smart tech users and a 20% rise in vulnerable customers, we’ve empowered our frontline teams and developed pioneering solutions.
Our Smart Product Masters expertly handle advanced queries for our smart customers, while our industry-first Social Worker team provides crucial support in tandem with our upskilled 2100+ customer-facing teams. Delivering enhanced experiences for all our customers has achieved a massive 70% reduction in complaints, top rankings for customer satisfaction, and higher employee engagement
SGN
At SGN, delivering outstanding customer service is at the heart of everything we do. We keep customers informed, supported and safe, earning their trust as we work in and around their homes and businesses.
We achieve industry-leading satisfaction scores above 9/10, have supported over 900,000 vulnerable households since 2021 and invest in innovative solutions to make interactions easier and more accessible.
From reducing the need for customer contact through digital ease-of-use, to improving right-first-time service and reducing handoffs, we are proud to deliver a consistent, reliable and inclusive service that sets the benchmark for our industry.
UK Power Networks
UK Power Networks has revolutionised customer experience by combining real-time data insights, cutting-edge technology and employee engagement to deliver exceptional service to 20 million people across London, the South East and East of England.
Achieving a record 94% customer satisfaction score and a 5-star Trustpilot rating, their approach redefines service excellence in the utility sector. Through innovations like AI-driven sentiment analysis, Smart Voltage technology and proactive engagement strategies, they’ve cut resolution times, reduced complaints and empowered employees. This customer-first approach ensures reliable service while enabling the Net Zero transition.