Judges today thrashed over the shortlist for The Energy Live Consultancy Awards (TELCA) – meaning there’s only a week until winners are revealed.

With 14 hotly contested awards up for grabs, judges had to pick from a list honed down from more than a hundred to just 30-odd by experienced business energy users.

In the second and final round of judging, a second set of impartial energy experts came together to pick from the wide range of energy consultancies.

A touch of the futuristic to proceedings came from Chair of the Judges Mervyn Bowden who chipped into discussions remotely via a Skype connection.

As well as the coveted Large and Small Consultancies of the Year gongs, there are awards for Consumer Champion, Most Trusted and new ones for Sales Professional of the Year and Unsung Hero.

Judges noted much improved entries and some shining examples of the good work done for customers – and Angela Knight noted there were only one or two “howlers” on the grammar front.

Unafraid to mince her words during the judging session, the Chief Executive of Energy UK also encouraged more consultants to enter the awards and shout about their achievements.

Sharing a few tips on making a good impression with the judges, she added: “I’d love to see a broader range because there are even more [consultancies] coming through”.

Despite the “big challenges” for energy brokers and TPIs, winning entries showed clarity when dealing customers, explained judge Brian Weston of the Institute for Customer Service.

With many consultants growing their business in a thriving energy market, Louise Kingham was impressed by several who kept up their strong performance.

The Chief Executive of the Energy Institute said: “You can see through the applications this year the bars have been raised.”

For David Porter, former boss of the Association of Electricity Producers which became Energy UK two years ago, there were signs of companies learning from each other, “which can only be good for consumers”.

The full list of winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony next Thursday (19 June).