The number of households switching energy supplier plummeted in 2011, according to government figures. Switching levels, which have been in decline since 2008, are now lower than in 2003.
Levels dropped sharply from the middle of 2011, according to statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc). That coincided with the big six suppliers, with the exception of Eon, halting doorstep sales.
SSE declined to disclose how customer acquisitions had been affected since ceasing doorstep sales in July 2011, but a spokesman said that “45 per cent of customer gains were derived from doorstep sales in 2010/11”.
Overall, the numbers published by Decc show that 61 per cent of customers have switched electricity supplier least once, while 58 per cent have switched gas supplier.
Two-thirds of gas and electricity customers who pay by direct debit have switched.
Standard credit customers are the “stickiest”, with 58 per cent of gas and 46 per cent of electricity customers still with their former local monopoly.
This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 6 July 2012.
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