Large suppliers enjoyed their best month for electricity switches in eight years in September as market uncertainty pushed consumers towards established players.
Electralink has finally published its statistics for September after soaring wholesale prices resulted in price comparison websites halting their services, causing a delay in assessing the impact on switches.
In total, there were 465,000 changes of electricity supplier completed during the month. Three quarters of these were between large suppliers and to them from other, smaller retailers.
The company counts large suppliers as the former big six members – British Gas, Eon, EDF and Scottish Power – as well as Ovo, which took on the customer book of SSE, Octopus Energy and Bulb.
There were 246,000 switches between large suppliers – 26% more than September 2020 and 53% of this September’s total switches – and 100,000 from other suppliers to large suppliers – 46% more than the same month last year and 22% of total completed switches.
Switches to other suppliers from large suppliers numbered 79,000 – 55% less than September last year and 17% of the total – while switches from other to other stood at 40,000 – 45% less than September 2020 and 9% of total switches.
A spokesperson for the organisation told Utility Week the figures for October would be released later this month and that the same trend can be seen for the larger players.
Overall switching in September saw a 7% year-on-year decrease and was the lowest total for the month since 2016.
Electralink said the majority of the switches completed were begun a month earlier following the announcement the price cap was to increase to record levels and before the widespread disruption began.
There were 723,000 switches started in September which is 4% less year-on-year despite being a large improvement on August when 482,000 were begun. September tends to be the month which sees the most switches started before the decline leading up to Christmas.
So far this year there have been 4.3 million switches completed, 3% less than by the same point last year.