Volker Beckers, Chief Executive Officer for RWE npower has admitted firms need to do “much more” on the issue of trust.
The Big Six suppliers have faced a barrage of criticism over the last week after a swathe of price rises.
Even Prime Minister David Cameron became caught up in the debate on prices last week: his pledge that suppliers would offer the lowest tariffs went down like a lead balloon and helped the future of energy hit the front pages.
With just weeks to go before the Energy Bill comes out, one of the big questions facing the Big Six energy companies is trust – when prices go up, how can suppliers square that with their customers?
Volker Beckers says: “We believe we are doing everything we can on the trust agenda. Is it sufficient? No it’s not. We need to do much more on this.”
He adds: “I’m very passionate about the way we are dealing with and serving our customers, why is it important? It’s effectively the endorsement to provide customers not only 24 hours, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year electricity, sometimes we even need to get into their homes helping them with energy efficiency measures, reading their meters. If they don’t trust us how can I possibly get access to their homes?
“So trust is a much wider issue. It’s not just about the relationship we have with our customers being open and transparent, it’s how we price our products how we deliver our products it’s also important for my people.”
Is the criticism against suppliers fair? Volker Beckers adds: “Do we deserve the bad press? Well my personal view is we don’t. Equally I feel criticism is important to keep you on your toes and improve the service we provide.”
Volker Beckers will speaking at Energy Live 2012 - with the conference due to take place just days before the Energy Bill is announced this will be the ideal opportunity for business and domestic consumers to have a voice.
Visit energylive2012.tv for full details of the conference.