Scottish energy giant named as best performing supplier by Citizens Advice

SSE has been named the best performing energy firm by Citizens Advice – with a complaint score 20 times less than the worst performing supplier.

The Perth-based utility giant keeps top spot in the charity’s quarterly Energy Supplier Performance report, a position it has held every quarter since records began in 2009.

The latest figures, for the period April to June 2015, give SSE a complaints score of 47.7 per 100,000 customers – out-performing not only the larger suppliers but also independents like Ovo, First Utility and Good Energy.

This is the first time the league table has been updated to include complaints performance for all of the 18 largest energy suppliers operating in the UK market, challenging assumptions that switching to a smaller supplier will lead to better customer service.

Will Morris, Managing Director, SSE Retail, said:  “This report scotches the myth that smaller is always better when it comes to getting great service from your energy supplier. We have proved time and again that we are the best in the business when it comes to resolving issues for customers swiftly and this reflects the passion and hard work of our UK-based customer service team.”

Meanwhile, the total number of complaints accepted by the Ombudsman from SSE customers was the lowest of all the UK’s 10 largest suppliers for the first six month of 2015.

SSE – and its fellow ‘Big Six’ integrated energy suppliers – have been haemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of customers over the past 12 months over the issue of public trust, where consumers see their gas and electricity bills rocket skywards, while prices fall ‘like leaves’.