Almost half a million (497,050) customers switched electricity supplier in November alone, the latest figures from Energy UK have revealed.
This brought the total number of switches to more than 5.4 million, putting 2018 on track to break 2017’s total of 5.5 million.
The latest figures showed that in November 17 per cent of customers moved from large suppliers to small and mid-tier providers (as a percentage share of all switches).
In total, 33 per cent of switches were from larger to small and mid-tier suppliers, 15 per cent from small and mid-tier to larger suppliers, 31 per cent switched between larger suppliers and 21 per cent switched between small and mid-tier suppliers.
The Energy Switch Guarantee – a voluntary commitment energy suppliers can sign up to that the switch will be simple and easy – has been received positively with nine out of ten customers saying they were happy with the process.
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of Energy UK, said: “It is great news that consumers continue to switch supplier whether in search of a better deal, a green tariff or better customer service and that switching is on track to break last year’s 5.5 million record.”
Further figures were released by the government on 20 December 2018. According to its quarterly domestic energy switching statistics, the number of electricity transfers increased by 11.8 per cent between 2017 and 2018, with an estimated 1,435,000 transfers in quarter three of 2018, compared with 1,284,000 in the same quarter of 2017.
The quarterly statistics revealed that for both gas and electricity, despite the increased numbers of people switching provider, in 2018 the proportion of consumers who reported they have never switched or have only switched once was 61 per cent.
With such a high proportion of consumers still stuck on more expensive, fixed price tariffs, it is not surprising that according to Ofgem’s annual State of the Energy Market report, many customers are still worse off.
A spokesperson for Ofgem said: “Although switching levels are increasing, millions of customers who don’t switch are still paying over the odds for their energy, paying hundreds of pounds more than those who do switch.”
The regulator also said: “We will continue to facilitate the transformation of the energy market to ensure that benefits are captured for all consumers and ensure no-one is left behind.”