Early in 2023, a change was made so that customer service representatives in the shared service center of Reykjavík Energy were directly transferred to the subsidiaries, where they are in closer contact with the needs of each of their customers. As in previous years, the majority of inquiries to the service centers were related to meter readings for moves or other reasons. However, such inquiries are expected to decrease as the roll-out of smart meters progresses, as these meters automatically send information about energy consumption.

The total number of registered inquiries to the service centers in 2023 was nearly 240,000, which represents about a doubling from the previous year. A caveat must be made when comparing between years due to the aforementioned changes. Similarly, the companies have developed their own classification of inquiries, so comparisons between years are also made with a caveat.

Gentle debt collection yields results

Improvements in the collection of trade receivables have resulted in a significant reduction in disconnections due to arrears. The focus is on assisting people who fall into arrears to get out of them. The range of solutions available to service representatives for resolving issues has been expanded, and the entire collection process has been refined. This has contributed to a decrease in arrears and a reduction in disconnections due to arrears.

However, a third of all disconnections in 2022 and a fifth in 2023 were due to a change in procedure regarding supplier changes. Electric utilities are now required to use disconnections to press customers to choose an electricity supplier. This number is not included in the figures in the graph below, and the total number of disconnections for 2022 has been adjusted accordingly. In the 2022 Annual Report, these disconnections were included with the arrears disconnections.