Global survey reveals public trust in the UK energy industry is continuing to plumb the depths, but could popular renewables help deliver a step-change?
Public trust in the energy industry has inched up in the past year thanks to increased investment in consumer engagement, but the industry remains one of the least trusted sectors in the British economy.
That is the stark conclusion of a major new survey undertaken by communications firm Edelman, which suggests low levels of public confidence in energy companies could continue to hamper ambitious long term plans to overhaul the UK's energy infrastructure.
The report, a copy of which has been seen by BusinessGreen, is based on a global online survey of over 31,000 people, a national survey of 1,000 adults, and in-depth interviews with a further 200 UK energy bill-payers.
Asked to rate the degree to which they trust a range of companies to do the right thing, respondents gave energy companies a score of 38 per cent, putting them fractionally ahead of the media and banking industries, but behind virtually every other sector, including food and drink, pharmaceuticals, and telco companies.
The performance represents an improvement on a year ago, when respondents gave the energy industry a score of 31 per cent.
Jessica Lennard, head of energy public affairs at Edelman, put the gains down to an increased focus on customer engagement at a number of leading energy companies. "We are seeing more consumer-facing initiatives," she said. "There has been an end to doorstep selling and more focus on making bills clearer."
However, the poll also revealed that internationally only Irish, German, and Russian consumers have less trust in their national energy industries. The UK's trust rating of 38 per cent stands well below the global average of 57 per cent and is dwarfed by Chinese and Indian trust in utilities, which stands at over 75 per cent.
Lennard acknowledged there was "still a long way to go" for British energy companies if they wanted to restore public trust, adding that building confidence in the energy sector would help bolster the industry's efforts to justify both rising energy bills and necessary new infrastructure investment.
The report reveals a number of routes to enhancing public confidence, including continued investment in consumer engagement efforts, deploying trusted spokespeople such as academics and technical experts rather than relatively untrusted spokespeople such as CEO's or government spokespeople, and building on strong public support for renewables.
A series of surveys have revealed a clear majority of people are more favourable towards renewables than other forms of energy, and the Edelman survey reveals a similar story with trust in renewables standing at 60 per cent.
This support for renewables still lags behind a global average of 68 per cent, but it remains well ahead of UK consumers trust in gas, oil, and utilities, which hovers between 39 and 47 per cent.
"The technology industry always ranks as the having the highest level of public trust because it is associated with innovation and science, which is regarded as highly credible," explained Lennard. "It is likely that renewables' association with new technology brings it up in terms of public trust.
"Energy companies need to be aware there are parts of their business that are more trusted than others and if you are smart company you should be looking to leverage the things you do that people like."
The results of the survey mirror a similar online YouGov poll of over 5,000 people released late last week by the uSwitch price comparison site. It also revealed just 40 per cent of people claim to trust their energy supplier.
Amongst those who distrust their energy supplier almost half blamed poor value for money, while 37 per cent blamed a lack of transparency. In contrast, those who said they trusted their energy supplier cited easy to understand bills and access to information as the reason behind their favourable outlook.
By Le My
