Monday 18 February 2019

Electricity switching figures hit nearly 400k in January

Nearly 400,000 households and businesses switched electricity suppliers in January, latest figures reveal.

The 382,665-figure is an increase of 5% compared to the same period in 2018, according to Energy UK.

More than 100,000 customers moved to small and medium sized suppliers out of the total switches.

The number of customers shopping around and switching has increased over the last five years, from 3.19 million in 2014 to 5.87 million – or one in five – in 2018, a record year so far.

[caption id="attachment_179670" align="aligncenter" width="881"] Image: Energy UK[/caption]

Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive of Energy UK said: “It is positive to see that consumers continue to engage in the energy market, with nearly 400,000 customers switching last month. While it is too soon to tell the impact the price cap and the recent increase from Ofgem reflecting increasing costs, there are still savings to be made. My advice to customers would be to get in touch with your supplier to see if you could be on a better deal.

“Crucially, the best way for consumers to keep their energy bills down in the long run is by making sure their homes are energy efficient – for example, checking that they are well insulated. Using energy more efficiently has saved households £290 a year since 2008 according to the Committee on Climate Change.”