E.On, one of the “Big Six” energy suppliers in the UK, has announced it will be setting up the industry’s first “Independent Customer Council,” which will include business leaders, politicians and consumer groups.

E.On is the world’s largest investor-owned energy company, supplying approximately 9,000,000 homes with gas and electricity in the UK alone.

Tony Cocker, CEO of E.On UK, says that as an energy company, it needs to acknowledge that it has “allowed a situation of mistrust” with complexity and confusion—particularly in regards to pricing. He points out that “we have not been transparent about our costs and how much money we make, so it’s no wonder that as prices rise worldwide, customers have felt we were to blame.”

It’s great to see E.On taking measures to address the issue of transparency. However, I think that communicating more with customers, which is what it seems E.On is trying to do, is not necessarily what customers want. As a consumer, I wouldn’t want to bother with forums and reading boring reports about how E.On spends its money. Giving people a voice where they don’t have much scope for influence doesn’t seem like a helpful idea anyway. Personally, I would want simpler information as a part of an overall simpler customer experience.

This is precisely what Ofgem, the electricity and gas market regulator in the UK, is trying to achieve. Its goal is to ensure there is complete transparency in tariffs across energy providers to enable easy comparisons for consumers.

British Gas announced last week it would simplify its bills to address the same issue. What people really want is to understand what they are paying for, why they are paying that amount and how and when to pay for it. An overall simplified customer experience, and more specifically a beautifully simple bill, can do this.

SSE is another one of the Big Six that is simplifying the experience. It has a service called the “iplan” that helps you save money on your bills. Iplan comes with a free smart energy kit, as well as smart apps and tools, to help you save 6% on your energy rates. Iplan draws up a personalised online profile that displays your energy usage in real time and gives you recommendations for saving. It’s no wonder it has been voted by uSwitch, one of the first price comparison sites, as the ‘Best Overall Energy Supplier, ‘Best for Customer Service,’ and ‘Best Value for Money’ for the past 5 years. If only it were easier to switch, I’d do it right now!

The opportunity lies where energy companies can give the most value to customers. Customisation of bills presents such an example. Customers want to know how they can be smarter about their usage and save in the future. It’s as simple as that.

Maria Jalasvirta is an associate strategist for the Siegel+Gale London office.