Suppliers face growing pressure from consumers over price and transparency. From monthly bills to political independence, we ask what people really want from the companies they rely on
Billy Ahmed, 20, hospitality worker: ‘Allow us to roll on bills’
I live in a shared house with four other housemates, and sometimes deciding who pays the bills or who’s responsible for the direct debit can cause a lot of problems. We just switched our gas and electricity bill from pay as you go to a standing order; on reflection it was much easier before, because at least you didn’t have to chase people for money they owe. I haven’t noticed the rise in energy prices, but what would be good is if energy companies would allow you to roll on unpaid bills, which might make getting cash out of housemates a bit less stressful.
Eleanor May, 23, service industry manager: ‘Let’s pay monthly’
I live in a house with one other person, and it’s a nightmare to heat and the bills are enormous. At the moment we’re paying our bills quarterly, which isn’t something we wanted. We’ve tried changing it to a monthly, but the energy company won’t let us – they said we have to pay either quarterly or every four months. I don’t know how much of a difference that makes in terms of price, but it would make things a lot easier for us to budget if we were allowed pay monthly, because it’s simpler to work out what we need to save.
David Saunders, 64, technology consultant: ‘Stop cosying up to power’
The way politicians have framed this issue doesn’t help. The problem is that despite supposedly having a free market, energy bosses and MPs still like to cosy up to one another. Also, energy prices are going to be the last thing people worry about when we inevitably reach the stage when water is becoming scarce.
Regardless, this talk about nationalisation of energy doesn’t help – it comes from all over the world. One novel solution to the political issue would be to start counting spoilt votes, to see just how disenfranchised we are with our elites. But with regards to the energy issue? We’re at the mercy of large corporations, and they’re even more impenetrable than small governments.
Marie Bridges, 40, educationalist: ‘Pick up the telephone’
My main issue is that when you have a problem with your gas or electricity service or have a query about your bill, you can never speak to someone directly about it. I know call centres are part and parcel of the modern age, but I don’t find it reassuring that when I need to speak to someone, often you end up discussing it with someone who has no expertise.
Also it would be good if more was done to utilise green energy, such as wind farms or solar energy – anything to keep the cost of the bills down.
Michelle Kirana Oh, 26, designer: ‘Keep offering a cheap fixed price’
I rent my own business premises with other people and the gas bill is always pretty cheap. It’s never more than £30 a month, so that’s fine. And the bill for my flat that I share with my boyfriend is usually about £44 a month, so again, that’s fairly affordable. Our home is relatively new and has few rooms, so this could be why it’s so inexpensive.
Nonetheless, we haven’t really felt the pinch of rising energy costs. When they went up last year, we changed to a lower fixed tariff, which we’re tied to for 12 months. But it’s cheaper than what we were paying before, so we’re happy.
Rasha Kahil, 34, magazine editor: ‘Don’t underestimate estimates’
I share a flat with two friends, and last winter it was so cold and we were so fed up of splitting bills that we switched to an estimated flat rate for that quarter, and just left it at that. When the actual bill arrived, it was considerably more than what we’d paid as an estimate, leaving me with a shortfall in cash.
It’s annoying. Our flat is in London and these expensive energy prices feel like just another punitive tax for living in the capital alongside rent prices, travel cards and living costs.
Phil Johnstone, 27, researcher: ‘Keep investing in gas’
The plan to solve the energy crisis with new nuclear power stations seems misguided. It doesn’t look like they’re going to go online until 2023, and similar models being built in Europe have gone vastly over budget. Moreover, they haven’t generated the energy they were expected to so, inevitably, we’re going to need more gas anyway.
Paul McGuinness, 30, legal aide: ‘Set out a Scottish offer’
Our energy bills just keep getting more and more expensive. Our last quarterly bill for gas and electricity was £250. I’m from Ireland but I live in Glasgow, and all the houses I’ve lived in here seem to have had huge, single-pane windows and been poorly insulated.
Energy prices would therefore be something that might encourage me to vote in the Scottish independence referendum, if one of the parties were to begin explicitly addressing this issue. At the moment I don’t intend to vote because I don’t consider it’s my place, but this issue might sway me – and other voters who are unsure.
This article is part of the Guardian’s #bigenergydebate series. Click here to find out more about this project and our partners.