Are you one of the 1.2 million Australians ready to switch energy plans in 2018?
It turns out that rising energy prices and issues of reliability are not only causing friction in the nation’s parliament - they are also raising the ire of an increasing number of Australian households who are unsatisfied with their providers according to a survey of over 15,000 electricity customers.
New figures from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey have revealed a steady decline in customer satisfaction towards Australia’s 11 largest electricity providers, with the average level of customer satisfaction dropping from 61.8% to 57.6% in the 12 months to November 2017.
Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director at Roy Morgan, suggested that a combination of factors including pricing and reliability were responsible for the significant customer satisfaction drop in recent years.
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“The decline in satisfaction with electricity providers over the last year, down to only 57.6% is of major concern because it is well below the level of 73.5% when this survey began in 2009,” said Morris.
“It is likely that the most recent decline is a result of the continual negative news regarding energy shortages, blackouts, reliability, price increases and general lack of confidence in the long term direction the government is taking to tackle these issues.”
Alternative providers lead the way
Roy Morgan’s recent findings make grim reading for the vast majority of electricity providers with declines across the board, besides Tasmanian-based Aurora Energy which recorded a 7.3% improvement in customer satisfaction since November 2016.
The survey revealed smaller providers to be some of the most popular with their customers - Red Energy (68.2% very or fairly satisfied) beating out Lumo Energy (67.4%) and Simply Energy (65.6%) for the top spot.
Major providers Energy Australia (63.1%) and AGL (62.5%) also fared well overall despite respective declines in satisfaction, while regional Queensland provider Ergon Energy (48.4%) proved to be the lowest performer.
Millions making the switch
According to Mozo research released in October, Australian households paid up to 29% more for their electricity than they did at same time in 2016, with Victorians shelling out the largest increase (up to $457 extra on their annual bills) followed by customers in New South Wales and South Australia.
It’s perhaps little surprise then, given the increases, that Roy Morgan found disgruntled households were increasingly looking to ditch their current electricity providers in search of a better deal.
The survey revealed that around 1.2 million dissatisfied households are considering making the switch to a different provider in the next 12 months - up from around a million at the start of 2017.
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“The decline in satisfaction appears to be increasing the switching intentions and so undermining customer loyalty and trust in the major providers,” said Morris.
If you’re one of the millions looking to make the switch in 2018, one of the best places you can start is by getting an instant quote for your area by plugging in your details to the Mozo Energy Cost Cruncher. Otherwise compare offers to find a better deal in your state by heading over to our electricity comparison hub today.
