Research

Energy Providers Aren't on the EAA's List. Here's Why That's a Problem.

Banking, transport and e-commerce all made the European Accessibility Act's list of covered sectors. Energy didn't, even though it's a service almost nobody can opt out of.

Published October 1, 2026

Scroll through the European Accessibility Act’s list of covered products and services and you’ll find banking, e-commerce, e-books, computers, smartphones, TV equipment, transport services, and ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines, according to AbilityNet’s summary of the EAA. You won’t find energy. There’s no line for the company that bills you monthly for electricity or gas, manages your smart meter data, or runs the app you use to report an outage, even though it’s one of the few services on that entire list that almost nobody can simply opt out of.

A list that stops just short of your power company

None of this means energy providers face zero accessibility obligation of any kind. Where a grid or network operator remains wholly or partially state-owned, which is common across the EU even after retail energy markets were liberalized, its public-facing digital services may already fall under the separate EU Web Accessibility Directive covering public sector bodies. But that coverage is inconsistent and depends on corporate structure, not on what the service actually is. A private retail energy supplier serving millions of households currently sits outside both frameworks in a way a much smaller e-commerce shop, by definition covered by the EAA, does not.

Why that gap matters more here than almost anywhere else

The general state of web accessibility gives no reason to assume energy company websites are quietly doing better than everyone else. The WebAIM Million 2026 study found 95.9% of home pages across one million tested sites carried at least one detectable WCAG failure, averaging 56.1 errors per page. Nothing about running a utility makes a company immune to the same causes: legacy systems, infrequent redesigns, and accessibility simply not being part of the standard QA checklist. What’s different about energy is what happens when a customer hits one of those barriers. A shopper blocked by an inaccessible checkout can, in principle, buy from a competitor. An energy customer usually can’t. Grid and network operators are regional monopolies across most of Europe, and even in markets with retail supplier competition, there’s no guarantee that switching gets you a more usable website, only a different bill.

The customers who need this most are already paying more

The stakes are higher for exactly the population most likely to be locked out by a poorly built site. Scope’s research on disability and energy costs found UK disabled households spent 8% of their budget on energy in 2023, against 6% for non-disabled households, an extra £634 a year on average, rising to a 12% share against 10% among the poorest fifth of households. The same research found that of everyone who contacted Scope’s Disability Energy Service between August 2022 and September 2023, 47% were already in bill arrears, with average debt climbing to £1,794 by September 2023. That’s a customer base disproportionately likely to need to check a balance, set up a payment plan, or apply for a hardship scheme online, which is precisely the kind of task an inaccessible account portal makes harder, not easier.

The industry already accepts a duty of care, just not online yet

Energy regulators have, in other channels, already accepted that disabled and vulnerable customers need extra accommodation. In the UK, Ofgem requires suppliers and network operators to maintain a Priority Services Register, entitling customers with disabilities, chronic illness, or other vulnerabilities to things like accessible bill formats and priority support during outages. That obligation exists because regulators and the industry itself recognized, outside of any web accessibility law, that this customer base needs accommodation to use an essential service. What’s missing is the same logic applied consistently to the website and app layer, which is now how most customers, disabled or not, actually manage these accounts day to day.

What this means for energy providers

The absence of a line item in the EAA’s Annex I isn’t a finding that accessibility doesn’t matter here. If anything, the combination of near-universal dependence on the service, limited or no real ability to switch providers, and a customer base statistically more exposed to cost pressure and debt makes the business case for accessible self-service tools stronger than it is for many sectors that are already regulated. Our guide to what the European Accessibility Act actually requires covers the sectors that are explicitly in scope today, and our look at accessibility solutions built for public-sector and regulated organizations covers the kind of ongoing monitoring and human-reviewed auditing, the approach platforms like Wawsome and Level Access both take, that fits an organization serving a captive, essential-service customer base rather than one trying to win a sale.

Frequently asked questions

Does the European Accessibility Act (EAA) apply to energy and utility companies?

Not directly. The EAA's Annex I lists specific covered products and services: computers and operating systems, smartphones, TV equipment and broadcasting services, banking, e-books, e-commerce, transport services, and ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines. Energy and utility providers aren't named among them, though a provider that remains wholly or partially state-owned may still fall under the separate EU Web Accessibility Directive covering public sector bodies.

Why does accessibility matter more for a utility than for a typical business?

Because switching often isn't a real option. Grid and network operators are regional monopolies in most of Europe, and even where retail energy supply is competitive, there's no guarantee a different supplier's website or app is meaningfully more accessible. A shopper who hits a barrier can buy from a competitor; an energy customer frequently cannot.

Are disabled customers more affected by energy costs than non-disabled customers?

Scope's research found UK disabled households spent 8% of their budget on energy in 2023 versus 6% for non-disabled households, an extra £634 a year on average, and that 47% of contacts to its Disability Energy Service between August 2022 and September 2023 were already in bill arrears. A customer base already more exposed to energy costs and debt has more reason, not less, to need working online access to usage data, payment plans and support schemes.