Just knowing that someone can listen and support. I was getting very close to sinking into a depression but your support helped me through.

I just want to thank them. As someone who is young and new to dealing with utilities, Extra Help Unit made me feel less hopeless.

The EHU plays an active role in identifying energy suppliers’ service and policy failures through casework. We address these issues directly with suppliers, colleagues across the Citizens Advice network and Ofgem as well as other key stakeholders.

Analysis of our casework feeds into Citizens Advice responses to industry consultations and good practice guides.  We are active in attending industry events with key stakeholders highlighting the issues we see that impact upon vulnerable energy consumers. For more details please see our ‘Latest work'

The EHU and Citizens Advice Consumer Service also host a quarterly supplier liaison meeting with representatives from energy companies and key stakeholders including Advice Direct Scotland, the Energy Ombudsman, Ofgem and Citizens Advice energy policy research teams. This provides industry with an opportunity to share trends and best practice with one another on supporting vulnerable consumers and explore themes for example mental health.

EHU data is used as part of the regulator’s assessment criteria when considering enforcement action against an energy supplier.

Our performance

The EHU’s performance is measured on the beneficial outcomes we get for consumers, KPIs and the results of our customer satisfaction research. More than 30,000 people every year benefit from our free service.

In 2023/2024, 95% of domestic consumers surveyed said they were either ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the service we offered. Take a look at our KPIs and measures overview for 2022/2023.