Scottish Power

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

Scottish Power is a member of a partnership that produces '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:

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

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 received one of the lowest scores when rated in our annual customer survey of 11,984 members of the public. Its customer score put it in the bottom two of the overall rankings, alongside Ovo Energy. 

Its customers rated it poorly for most aspects of its service, giving it just two stars for overall customer service, ease of contact and customer communications. It only scored three stars for all other measures.

One frustrated customer said: 'I had to go back and forth over a problem/issue that I had raised via chat; it wasn't straightforward and left me very frustrated.’ 

Another told us: 'Their website makes it very difficult to find out how to actually speak to someone. The chatbot takes you round and round the houses. It is impossible to understand unit costs and do a comparison of overall usage with other providers.'

Which? verdict on Scottish Power

• Pros: Good support for those who need it; does well regarding switching.
• Cons: Customers consider it very poor value for money and it scored few marks for meeting its 2023 smart meter targets and for handling complaints.

Our Scottish Power supplier assessment

In September-November 2024, we looked at five aspects of suppliers' business practices and procedures: 

• Contacting your supplier – 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 
• Switching – how easy it is for customers to switch
• Smart meter targets performance in 2023 –the most recent figures available.

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; this puts it at the bottom of the table, along with Ovo Energy. 

It was among the lowest scorers when we looked at how quickly it resolved complaints. It also scored poorly for not meeting its smart meter targets. 

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

Scottish Power customer service

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 7 am to 11 pm, seven days a week, although its phone line is only open for all customers, 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. 

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. British Gas, Outfox the Market, and Ovo 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, 6% of Scottish Power customers said they had made a formal complaint in the past 12 months.

The most common complaint was about incorrect bill/statements, made by 26% of those who made a complaint, followed by estimated meter readings (15%). 

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?

How sustainable is Scottish Power?

Sustainability credentials are important when choosing an energy supplier for two thirds of those responsible for choosing their provider. That’s according to our online survey of 3,000 UK adults in August 2024.

So we factor in a range of sustainability criteria in our annual Eco Provider assessment.

Here’s how Scottish Power fared:

• Proportion of renewable electricity sold to customers: 11%
• Generates the largest amount of renewable electricity among suppliers in our assessment from solar, onshore wind and offshore wind.
• Scottish Power's parent company, Iberdrola, generates electricity from burning fossil fuels in gas turbines, boilers and other thermal generation facilities, according to its Greenhouse Gas report.
• Offers time-of-use tariffs including discounted overnight rates for EV drivers.
• Offers installation of solar PV, battery storage, heat pumps and EV chargers.

Find out more about the differences between energy companies renewable electricity, and find out how we assessed energy suppliers for sustainability.

Based on information supplied by companies in August 2024 and their most recent published fuel mixes, where available.

Making your home more energy efficient will save money on your bills in the long term and lower your carbon footprint. Get started with our guides to home energy efficiency.