It comes as residents on the island, including one elderly couple, were left without power for days on end.
Na h-Eileanan an Iar, MSP Alasdair Allan has called for OVO Energy to urgently improve its customer service.
Since 2020, the islands’ MSP has helped more than 180 constituents in getting meters replaced or faults repaired, as they continue to hit a brick wall with energy companies.
‘Energy companies must do better’
One constituent said that after negotiating with endless call centres, the company even refused to believe the Western Isles postcode area even existed.
The quality of service experienced by many is “completely unacceptable”, Mr Allan said.
“Energy companies must do better and demonstrate a shift in attitude going forward.”
He called OVO Energy’s service “woeful” and said the company needs “to work out what customer service actually looks like”.
“People in the Western Isles should not be left waiting for an appointment for months on end – that wouldn’t be the case for customers in cities, and island or rural properties shouldn’t be pushed to the bottom of the pile.
“Elderly or vulnerable customers, in particular, should be prioritised, especially in emergency situations like a total loss of power.”
One household was told by an OVO representative that they will have to wait until 2025 to get their meter replaced due to the “rural” location.
OVO has since apologised and said the information the household was given was incorrect.
Lack of engineers
Despite the firm working closely with the Western Isles MSP, there is still a number of issues, mostly due to a lack of engineers employed locally.
Mr Allan added: “While I am pleased to have been able to help so many people resolve meter appointment issues, it is not right that it should take an MSP’s intervention for island customers to be afforded an adequate level of service from their energy providers.
“While energy prices have thankfully begun to fall, the UK Government is refusing to provide the same energy bill support as last year, so it will, unfortunately, be a more difficult winter for many.
“Meanwhile, companies like OVO need to work out what customer service actually looks like.”
An OVO spokeswoman said: “We’re very sorry and can confirm that they’re back on supply and we’ve apologised for the issues they have experienced.
“We are continuing to work on all Scottish Islands by request for smart meters and attending maintenance work through our engineers and partners.”
