Scottish Power

Scottish Power supplies gas and electricity to more than five million homes and businesses. Here's what customers think of it.
Sarah IngramsPrincipal researcher & writer
Scottish Power logo

As well as suppling energy to homes, Scottish Power is an energy generator and contributes renewable electricity into the National Grid. 

It is owned by Spanish energy firm Iberdrola, which operates more than 40 wind farms across the UK. 

Scottish Power is a member of a partnership to produce 'green' hydrogen for Scottish businesses by using energy from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels. 

As well as gas and electricity, it sells green technology including solar panels, heat pumps and EV chargers. 

Use our free tool to compare energy prices and look for cheaper gas and electricity deals.

Scottish Power score

We combine the results of our customer survey with an in-depth assessment of companies’ behind-the-scenes practices and policies to give you an overall view.

Take a look at our table below to see our score breakdown for Scottish Power:

Total score58%
Customer survey score53%
Which? assessment score62%

Here's how Scottish Power's customer and policy assessments break down:

Customer survey score53%
Customer service overall
Accessibility (being able to engage with your firm how you want or need to)
Quality of communications about energy costs
Accuracy of payments
Clarity of statements
Value for money
Which? assessment score62%

Based on a survey of 667 Scottish Power customers carried out in October 2023, and a Which? energy company request for information and desk research in October 2023.

Find out how Scottish Power compares with other energy companies – click to see our full results of the best and worst energy companies.

Scottish Power customer review

Scottish Power came joint 15th out of 16 energy companies, as rated by 9,025 members of the public in the annual Which? customer survey. Its customer score was identical to that of Boost.

Its customers rated it poorly for most aspects of service, giving it just one star for value for money and two stars for all other measures.

One frustrated customer said: 'I think the bills are too expensive, despite me querying them I am still not sure they’re accurate'. Another told us: 'It took months to sort out a payment problem that I had. Every time I thought it was sorted, the next person told me that they had no idea about it'.

Which? verdict on Scottish Power

  • Pros: Scored reasonably well in our behind-the-scenes look at its customer service setup
  • Cons: Customers consider it very poor value for money and it scored few marks for meeting its 2022 smart meter targets.

Our Scottish Power supplier assessment

In October 2023 we looked at four aspects of suppliers' business practices and procedures: 

  • customer service - including how and when you can get in touch, and the quality of self-service help online
  • how well they deal with complaints - how many complaints suppliers get and how quickly they resolve them
  • supporting customers who need it - including web accessibility, those in vulnerable situations, in financial difficulty, who use prepayment meters,  and those who need materials in languages besides English 
  • smart meter targets performance in 2022 (the most recent).

We did this using a combination of the responses to a survey we sent to suppliers and our own assessments.

Scottish Power received one of the lower scores in our assessment, although it's not at the very of the bottom of the table (where it was last year). 

It was among the lowest scorers when we looked at the number of complaints it received, and how quickly (or not) it resolved them. It also scored poorly for not meeting its smart meter targets. Scottish Power, along with other big firms, had to pay into Ofgem's redress fund as a result.

On the plus side, Scottish Power's scores for customer service setup and supporting customers who need it were better.

Scottish Power customer service

customer service agent on the phone

In our assessment, Scottish Power's customer service setup scored better than average. For example, it has real people, not bots or automated replies, responding to its live chat from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week, although its phone line is only open for all customers 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Its score for customer service was level with the scores of Ovo Energy, Utilita and 100Green

However, Scottish Power's overall customer service was rated just two stars, based on feedback from its customers in our survey. Two stars was the lowest rating for customer service in our survey. Boost and EDF Energy also received this score.

Scottish Power Hardship Fund

The Scottish Power Hardship Fund helps people on lower incomes who are struggling to pay their energy bills by reducing or clearing their arrears. 

You can apply after contacting a debt advice charity, such as StepChange. You'll need to be able to commit to ongoing repayments.

Scottish Power also has a prepayment voucher scheme that can give £60 non-repayable credit to help customers who might otherwise go off supply.

Scottish Power common complaints

In our survey, 5% of Scottish Power customers said they had made a formal complaint in the past 12 months.

The most common complaint was estimated meter readings, made by 25% of those who made a complaint, followed by incorrect bill/statement and smart meter not working (both 19%).

Does Scottish Power support prepayment meters?

Yes, you can join it with a smart or traditional prepayment meter. Here's what you need to know:

  • Traditional prepayment meter customers can top up at Payzone outlets or the Post Office.
  • Smart prepayment customers can top up on the phone, via Scottish Power's app and, from early 2024, at PayPoint outlets.
  • Scottish Power's phone lines are open later (until 8pm Monday to Friday) for prepayment customers.
  • You can activate £10 emergency credit per meter when you have less than £1 left. If you have a traditional gas meter, you can get up to £30 emergency credit during winter (from 1 October) as the company's meters don't have friendly credit options.
  • Friendly credit hours run from 6pm to 11am Monday to Friday, and 6pm Friday to 11am Monday (one hour later from April to October). It's the same whether you have a smart or traditional payg meter. You need to be in credit to access this.

Not sure if you should prepay? Find out: is prepayment energy is right for you?

Does Scottish Power sell renewable energy?

Yes. Overall, Scottish Power says that just over two fifths of the electricity it sells to customers is renewable. But domestic customers on its green tariffs get 100% renewable electricity generated by its wind farms in the UK.

Proportion of renewable electricity sold to customersGenerates renewable electricity?Buys renewable electricity directly from generators?
(with subsidies)?
Buys renewable electricity directly from generators?
without subsidies?
Generates or buys power directly from fossil fuels?Sells green gas?
29%Yes YesNoNoNo

Proportion of renewable electricity according to Scottish Power’s 2022/23 fuel mix. At the time of assessment, Scottish Power's fuel mix for 2021/22 stated that 43% of its electricity came from renewable sources. 

Other responses based on information provided by suppliers in August 2023.

In August 2023, we asked energy companies for information on a range of sustainability criteria. We awarded them points based on their responses as well as information published on their websites, including the annual Fuel Mix Disclosure (FMD). Aspects we scored included how much of the electricity they supply is renewable and whether they generate renewable energy or buy it directly from generators.

Scottish Power's electricity fuel mix in 2022/23 was 29% renewable.

Scottish Power does buy renewable electricity directly from renewable generators, but says the needs of its customer base are met from energy generated from its own renewables business.

Scottish Power were the first integrated utility to offer all new domestic customers a 100% renewable power tariff, backed by its own windfarms.

When we compared energy companies on their green credentials in November 2023, Scottish Power scored 60%. This places it in the top half of our table of the 17 companies we rated.

Find out more about the differences between energy companies’ renewable electricity and how Scottish Power compares to others.