How we’re helping our most vulnerable customers

Colleagues across E.ON are committed to helping our customers every day. One such colleague is Paul Dear who is part of a team of energy experts specialising in helping our most vulnerable E.ON Next customers.

We spoke to Paul about his role and what helping those most-in-need means to him.

Tell us a bit about your role and the work you do.

“I’m proud to have worked in teams supporting our most vulnerable customers for more than a decade, responsible for delivering direct support like the Warm Home Discount scheme.

“I’ve been in the energy industry for over 20 years and have worked in a variety of roles focused on delivering socially minded products and solutions for our customers. So I feel really honoured to now be part of a team – and indeed an organisation – that genuinely wants to do right by our customers and to be in a role where I feel I can make a real and lasting difference every day.

“At E.ON, we don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach to tackling people’s energy affordability issues and the wider cost of living pressures people across the country are facing right now. Instead, we take the time to treat each customer as an individual. We take on board every aspect of their circumstances and explore a range of solutions tailored to meet their needs. We aim to help customers not only afford their energy today, but also give them the right support, guidance and signposting to help them be in control of their energy use and bills in the longer term.”

What sort of support do you and the team provide for customers?

“Our support includes the E.ON Next Energy Fund which offers direct financial aid and replacement of inefficient appliances to customers who are struggling, and schemes like the Warm Home Discount which gives eligible customers £150 off their winter energy bills. I’m responsible for managing these schemes as well as exploring partnerships that can help our customers further such as Kidney Care UK and National DebtLine.

“We’ve recently announced a £92 million package of support to help our most-in-need customers, including up to £60 million through our new, targeted Winter Support Scheme which is providing financially vulnerable customers with direct financial aid in the form of a credit on their energy accounts, as well as writing off debt for some of our customers who are struggling this winter.

“This support demonstrates E.ON’s unwavering and continued commitment to helping its customers, and I’m proud to be of the team delivering that support. It’s really important we help customers identify all the help they’re entitled to whether that’s from us, or from another organisation. It’s essential that people get the support they need, and which they’re entitled to.”

What is your favourite part of your role?

“There are two main things I love about my role: supporting our customers and being supported by my amazing team, as well as the wider business and our fantastic partners.

“The key thing our team focuses on is getting support to customers who need it quickly and efficiently. That means staying on our toes and working with other departments and external bodies such as Ofgem and DESNZ to ensure we can identify and meet any and all opportunities to deliver the support our customers need. So as well as providing financial support here and now when people are struggling to afford their energy bills, we’re also helping customers unlock other support such as funded energy efficiency measures, helping with advice on managing debt and maximising household incomes, and wider industry initiatives.

“And the feedback we get from our customers means a lot – we get lots of 5 star TrustPilot reviews from people thanking us for not only the payment, but for the service and care we’ve provided as well.

How do you think schemes like these could better support our customers, and the wider public?

“We supported over half a million customers through the Warm Home Discount scheme last year, which is an amazing number of customers receiving support.

“I’d like to see an even bigger Warm Home Discount scheme going forwards. This will mean more customers can receive support through the already really efficient scheme we now have in place between ourselves and the Government. Increasing the size of the scheme could help avoid confusion around who is eligible for the scheme and mean a consistent scheme across the country, rather than it working differently in Scotland which is hard to explain to customers.

“In addition, it would be good if the Warm Home Discount payment level was increased further – having previously been increased slightly from £140 in 2015 to £150 in 2022 – to help ensure customers get even more support towards their winter energy bills.

“By coupling the payment with the support available through schemes like our new Winter Support Scheme and E.ON Next Energy Fund, we can help tackle customers’ immediate affordability issues while working with the regulator and industry to deliver longer term solutions as well.

“But this needs to be alongside making homes more energy efficient across the nation, as better insulated and more energy efficient homes are one of the key ways to reduce people’s energy use.”

To find out more about the range of support available to E.ON Next customers, click here.