Heat is rising: Energy companies are struggling to cope with calls

Energy companies are struggling to respond to customer inquiries after gas and electricity price caps were introduced on January 1. Reported Ad on Wednesday.

According to the paper, customers are complaining of long wait times to get answers to their questions and IT issues that prevent them from monitoring energy usage or reporting meter readings at the beginning of the year.

The problem is particularly acute for customers who do not have smart meters or who have not given permission to automatically share their details, the paper said.

Energy companies must obtain accurate meter readings from 1 January to be able to enforce applicable energy price caps through 2023.

Energy price caps are not the same for everyone

Eneco says the number of people using its app has increased 2.5 times since the beginning of the year. A spokesperson told the paper, “We have put in place an online queue for access as our system is not able to accommodate it.”

Essent ended up waiting 3 minutes for a phone call due to a problem. “But customers can chat with us online,” the spokesperson said.

Customers also asked about VAT changes on energy, which is back at 21% since the beginning of the year. RTL News said earlier this week.