Ofgem/Citizens Advice Energy Best Deal & Energy Best Deal Extra

• Description of the programme
• The study
• Key findings
• Points to consider
• Full report

Description of the programme

Energy Best Deal

The Energy Best Deal programme aims to support energy consumers to reduce their energy costs. It is delivered to consumers directly, as well as to front-line workers, in order to improve the assistance they provide their clients with energy-related matters.

The programme was developed by Ofgem as a pilot in 2008 and subsequently rolled-out across England and Wales. It is still being delivered by Citizens Advice and a range of partner organisations through the Citizens Advice Regional Financial Capability Forums.

The programme also runs in Scotland where it was first delivered in 2010/2011 to front-line workers only, following which it was extended to both consumers and front-line workers. This is delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland.

During 2013/2014 the programme reached 10,349 consumers and 5,408 front-line workers.

Energy Best Deal Extra

Energy Best Deal Extra was developed from Energy Best Deal and was delivered through 99 Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). It involved one-to-one advice appointments, delivered directly to consumers.

It ran between October 2013 and April 2014, with 4,318 appointments taking place in this period. Appointments were offered to attendees of Energy Best Deal Sessions, as well as to individuals referred by a CAB case worker, or following attendance at a Financial Capability session.

The study

An independent impact evaluation of the 2013/2014 Energy Best Deal programme was undertaken by the Centre for Sustainable Energy (following evaluations of the programme’s performance in preceding years), with the same report also containing a small-scale qualitative evaluation of Energy Best Deal Extra.

The study involved:

• a post-session survey completed by both consumers and front line workers (6,086 and 3,337 surveys respectively);
• follow-up interviews conducted with consumers and front-line workers, undertaken on average three months after the sessions (150 consumers and 150 front-line workers were interviewed); and
• 25 interviews with both consumers and front-line workers involved in the 2012/2013 programme, to test for ongoing effects.

The small-scale Energy Best Deal Extra evaluation involved 52 interviews with programme participants.

Key findings

Energy Best Deal

The evaluation of Energy Best Deal found positive impacts in relation to the following outcomes:

For consumers:

• Financial behaviour:
  • 75% of consumers who completed the post-session questionnaire stated an intention to probably or definitely do something as a result of the session. o 75% of consumers who took part in the follow-up interviews around three months later said they had taken at least one action following the sessions (e.g. looking for a better energy tariff).
  • 63% of participants had told friends and family about something they had learnt at the session.
  • Some evidence of the ongoing impact of the programme on consumers’ behaviour is provided through the 25 interviews conducted with consumers who took part in the 2012/2013 programme. When first interviewed, ten of this group had investigated getting an improved deal (with five switching tariffs and five investigating but not switching). Of the fifteen people who had notinvestigated getting an improved deal, four had contacted their existing supplier and checked prices from other suppliers.

For front-line workers:

• Confidence to support clients:
  • The majority (97%) of interviewees thought participation had increased their confidence in dealing with energy-related topics and helped them to provide more accurate or detailed advice.
  • 61% of front-line staff interviewed stated they would not have provided as much information to clients without attending the session.
  • 81% of front-line workers who completed the post-session questionnaire stated that it had changed their opinion of the importance of fuel poverty, as an issue for their clients.

Energy Best Deal Extra

The qualitative evaluation of Energy Best Deal Extra found positive impacts in relation to the following outcomes:

For consumers:

• Financial wellbeing: Six participants received the Warm Home Discount as a result of their appointment.
• Financial behaviour: Twelve participants switched supplier or tariff as a result of their Energy Best Deal Extra appointment. Two participants switched from prepayment meters to credit meters.

Points to consider

All the findings of this study should be interpreted with care, due to the size of the sample and the lack of a comparison group.

Full report

Full research report