Octopus has been named the best energy company in an annual customer survey, despite warnings that when the competition returns to the market, consumers will vote with their feet.

The energy crisis, which has forced dozens of suppliers out of business, has left consumers largely unable to switch between providers because lower tariffs have vanished.

A fifth (20%) of energy customers in Which?’s survey were transferred to their current supplier after their previous one failed, with Shell Energy customers being the most likely to have done so (45%).

Octopus was the only provider to receive a five-star rating in any category, for the usefulness of its energy cost information.

In December, the company added 1.5 million customers from Bulb, and Which? said it would be watching to see if it could maintain its performance.

• Utilita finished second with a combined score of 67%.
• Scottish Power received the lowest score of 53% in the watchdog’s assessment of supplier practices.
• Customers rated Shell Energy and SSE Energy Services the worst, with ratings of 48% and 46%, respectively.

An Ofgem spokesperson said: “Energy is an essential service and customers need to have confidence in their energy suppliers. It concerns us that only one supplier got a five-star rating from Which? in any category.

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