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An expected boost of SME energy supply contract changeovers resulted in a spike in switching in October 2023.

269,000 changes of supplier (CoS) were completed last month – 79 percent more than October last year, 21 percent more than September 2023, and the highest monthly total since switching crashed in late 2021.

Every October, an increased number of businesses switch energy supplier as their energy supply contracts come to an end and they negotiate new deals with their existing or another supplier. In October last year, ElectraLink found that CoS had increased 59 percent in one month because of this trend.

ElectraLink analysts further identified that domestic CoS decreased slightly between September and October 2023, potentially due to standard variable tariffs decreasing with the latest Ofgem price cap change.

Chart showing switches completed until October 2023 with a large drop in line graph at Nov 2021 but slight pickup in July 2023 due to price cap change

All switching types increased compared to the previous month. Other to Other CoS was the runaway winning category in terms of month-on-month increase rates, almost tripling between September and October.

  • Large to Large switches reached 132,000 – seven percent more than September 2023 and 49 percent of October 2023’s total CoS completed,
  • Large to Other switches totalled 54,000 – eight percent more than September 2023 and 20 percent of October 2023’s total CoS completed,
  • Other to Large switches reached 44,000 – 26 percent more than September 2023 and 17 percent of October 2023’s total CoS completed,
  • And Other to Other switches landed at 38,000 – 187 percent more than September 2023 and 14 percent of October 2023’s total CoS completed.

Chart showing switches completed by type until October 2023 with a large drop in line graphs at Nov 2021

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, including after a contract expired.

All data is provided by EMPRIS.

ElectraLink has been granted the governance protections to hold, transfer and analyse CoS and other data.