Customer Care Annual Report 2025
Energy complaints fall but still driven mainly by energy cost pressures Regulator secures €178,000 for consumers as affordability remains central concern Majority of complaints received related to customer billing issues
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has today published its Customer Care Annual Report 2025, showing a drop in complaints and customer contacts received last year, but warning that energy costs continue to drive the main issues experienced by energy customers.
The CRU, Ireland’s independent regulator for energy and water, provides a free dispute resolution and consumer information service, helping customers resolve issues with suppliers and network operators and ensuring consumer protections are upheld.
Customer contacts fell to 21,427 in 2025, down 13% on the previous year, with complaint volumes also declining from the heightened levels seen during the energy crisis.
However, the CRU says the nature of complaints continues to reflect ongoing financial pressure on households, particularly in relation to energy bills. Most complaints were about high and unexpected bills, catch-up charges, estimated readings and billing accuracy.
These issues underline the ongoing impact of wider cost‑of‑living pressures, with energy costs remaining a significant challenge for many households.
The report highlights significant improvements in how the CRU is handling complaints with 735 complaints closed, up 57% year on year.
Over a third of cases were upheld in favour of consumers, with over €178,000 in refunds, compensation and settlements secured by the CRU for consumers in 2025.
CRU chairperson Fergal Mulligan said: “While complaint numbers have fallen, what we are hearing from customers is still very clearly shaped by the cost‑of‑living pressures facing households.
“Energy bills remain a major concern for many customers, and that is reflected in the volume and type of complaints we are seeing, particularly around billing.
“Our role is to ensure customers are protected and treated fairly, and that suppliers continue to engage with customers who are experiencing difficulties. These insights are also vital for the CRU to inform wider customer protection policy across the sector.”
The CRU’s customer care work is part of a broader response to affordability challenges across the energy sector.
This includes ongoing engagement with the National Energy Affordability Taskforce (NEAT), strengthening consumer protections and supplier obligations and using customer insights to inform policy and regulatory decisions.
The report also cites that severe storms, including Storm Éowyn, caused widespread outages and increased contacts from consumers.
It also found that the continued rollout of smart meters (over 2.08 million installed) is transforming how customers are billed and engage with energy services.
The CRU has committed to further improvements in 2026, including faster complaint resolution, stronger engagement between suppliers and customers and continuing its work to address affordability pressures.
The full CRU Customer Care Annual report can be found here.
ENDS