Two million customers switch in 2016
Over 350,000 customers switched energy supplier last month which is a striking 47 per cent increase from May last year. This brings the total number of switches to nearly two million so far in 2016.
May’s figures show a net gain to small and mid-tier suppliers of 98,866 which is almost 30% of all switches.
The Energy Switch Guarantee - launched on Tuesday - is an industry-led initiative which aims to increase customers’ confidence in the switching process.
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy UK, said:
“It’s fantastic news to see that nearly two million people have switched supplier since the beginning of the year. The new Energy Switch Guarantee will give customers the extra boost of confidence to engage in the market. Industry has been working hard to put customers at the heart of what we do, and with the CMA set to give its final recommendations, the Guarantee is certainly a step in the right direction. The aim is to reach out to those customers who have never switched before, so hopefully we’ll get millions more households engaging in the market.”
Notes for editors
- Further information about the Guarantee can be found on the Energy Switch Guarantee website.
- Around 70 per cent of the market are signatories of the Guarantee. This includes: British Gas, E.ON, EDF Energy, First Utility, Flow Energy, npower, Octopus Energy, Sainsbury’s Energy and So Energy.
- To see the latest monthly switching stats, please visit Energy UK’s website.
- In a recent BIS Consultation on switching, the Energy Switch Guarantee is referenced.
- The switching data is supplied by Electralink who provides a secure service to transfer data between the electricity market participants. The company operates the Data Transfer Network (DTN) which underpins customer switching, meter interoperability and other business processes critical to a competitive electricity market.