Blog Post

Understanding Energy Jargon – Download your FREE A-Z of Energy Terms

Richard Simmonds • May 14, 2021

According to recently released report from the National Literacy Trust and Octopus Energy a quarter of 18-24 year olds do not understand their energy bills. To that end we’ve created an A-Z glossary of terms to help understand some that complicated energy jargon.

The survey’s findings

The survey questioned 2,500 energy bill payers and explored how well they understand their energy bills with the aim of identifying ways in how they can be made easier to read.

It highlights an issues that widely goes undiscussed and that is support for young people new to the energy market. Education doesn’t teach the basics such as managing money or paying bills, and this is clear in the survey results.

22% of 18-24 year olds said they avoid reading their energy bills as they don’t understand the jargon used by industry. In comparison just 3% of over-65s said the same.

It also found that just 9% of young energy bill payers can identify all six key energy billing terms such as tariff and dual fuel.

Greg Jackson, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Octopus Energy, said: “In a world where we are used to hearing that older people can struggle with heating their homes or reading their bills, it’s worrying to see this research which shows that young people are struggling too.

“They are more likely to find energy bills hard to engage with and even avoid reading them entirely, which could mean they run up large amounts of debt early on in life.”

Also read: Energy Billing – How does it work?

Why easier to understand energy bills benefits energy suppliers

Another key take from the survey is that the majority of those surveyed said they would prefer energy bills to be clearer to understand by changing the language used and by shifting away from the often complicated terms and acronyms favoured by those in the industry.

Such a move to making customer bills easier to understand would also benefit the suppliers. If the language used on the bills makes energy usage and what a customer owes clearer, it can avoid many of the most common energy billing complaints. Misunderstandings between supplier and customer are a major cause of confusion and energy billing issues.

To help with this Dyball Associates CRM and Energy Billing software can help. The system is easily modified and can be customised to your specific needs and allows the automation of customer correspondence via email, SMS, or letter. Telephone and email solutions can also be mixed to create seamless back-office work and in turn provide improved customer experiences.

The CRM also gives suppliers greater control and automation over their energy billing and collection processes saving them both time and money.

Also read: Dyball’s Energy Industry Software – What do we offer?

Download your FREE A-Z Glossary of Energy Terms

The terminology used in the energy sector can be confusing at the best of times, but when the professionals start using the ‘lingo’ that confusion can increase massively.

That’s why Dyball Associates has put together this A-Z Glossary eBook to help you navigate the minefield of terms as you progress to set up a new energy supply business.

Download your FREE copy via the button below.

Get your free A-Z Glossary