Customers looking to switch energy supplier have never been scarcer after months of price increases and squeezed bottom lines for providers of energy to households and small businesses.
Just 110,000 changes of supplier (CoS) were started in April 2022 – 37 percent less than the month before and the fewest in a single month since ElectraLink records began in 2012.
April typically shows relatively high numbers of CoS started as many customers look to move to a cheaper tariff when contracts end in Spring each year. However, with Ofgem’s default tariff price cap now over 50 percent higher in April than March, and most other tariffs sitting above the price cap, the appetite to change supplier has flatlined.
Based on our typical calculations, ElectraLink analysts forecast fewer than 100,000 switches to complete in May.
CoS completed in April saw an uptick compared to earlier in the year, as was the trend in previous years. 129,000 switches were successful last month – 19 percent more than March 2022 and the highest result since December 2021. We forecasted that approximately 130,000 switches would complete by the end of April.
According to our analysts, this increase is largely thanks to steady levels of SME switching compared to the sizeable drop in households trying to switch. Although fewer domestic CoS completed in April compared to March this year, non-domestic CoS increased in April compared to March, from 17,000 switches to around 53,000.
A new record was set last month for the highest proportion of monthly CoS completed on a single day ever. 35 percent of April’s completed CoS crossed the line on 1 April, likely due to non-domestic energy contracts ending and leading to customers taking up contracts with a new supplier.
In terms of switching types, switches between Other suppliers and from Large to Other suppliers jumped as small and medium suppliers appeared to benefit from the tranche of new contracts. Large legacy brands saw a net loss of customers in April, according to our analysts. Switches between Large suppliers remain the most common, but this was the only category of switch to decrease compared to March.
- Large to Large switches reached 47,000 – 24 percent less than March 2022 and 36 percent of April 2022’s total CoS completed,
- Large to Other switches reached 38,000 – 73 percent more than March 2022 and 29 percent of April 2022’s total CoS completed,
- Other to Large switches landed at 19,000 – 16 percent more than March 2022 and 15 percent of April 2022’s total CoS completed,
- And Other to Other switches hit 25,000 – 224 percent more than March 2022 and 19 percent of April 2022’s total CoS completed.
For more information on CoS figures, or to find out how your organisation can access the CoS data we hold and provide for the energy market, contact [email protected].
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NOTES:
The above figures relate to electricity CoS in Great Britain only.
We do not include CoS from SoLR processes or trade sales in our monthly CoS reporting. We account for only voluntary switches, or instances where the customer made an active decision and took action to change supplier.
CoS started refers to the number of valid switches started, also known as CoS raised.
All data is provided by ElectraLink’s switching data solution, SwitchTrack.
ElectraLink has been granted the governance protections to hold, transfer and analyse CoS and other data.