Household Bills
npower to cut number of tariffs and simplify bills
Energy giant npower has announced it will cut the number of tariffs it offers to four by October in a bid to ‘cut out the clutter’ and tackle consumer confusion.
The company will also redesign its bills in an attempt to make it easier for households to manage their energy costs.
npower research found that people find energy bills more confusing and complicated than any other household bill.
It identified two main groups of customer: ‘skimmers’, who only glance at bills to see how much they owe and when the payment is due; and ‘checkers’, who want more information and detail around energy usage.
npower said its new bills will cater for both sets of customers.
Tom Lyon, energy expert at comparison uSwitch.com, said: “Today’s announcement will be met with a sigh of relief from consumers, who have struggled with over-complicated bills and tariffs for years. Confusion has dogged the energy industry, so it’s great to see npower, along with other suppliers, showing a clear determination to tackle these issues once and for all.
“And it can’t come soon enough – 86% of consumers find energy bills too complicated while almost three quarters (73%) are unable to work out whether there has been a mistake on their bill.”
Four new npower tariffs available today will allow customers to choose from a range of ‘fixed’ tariffs for one year, two years or three years and a new standard variable tariff.
In addition, npower is introducing a daily direct debit discount to replace its current annual one.
Lyon said: “This is great news as the discount you can earn will remain the same, but now you don’t have to be locked in for 12 months before getting it. This means that consumers will be freer to shop around and to move to a better deal without being penalised.”
