Monthly Energy Supplier Switching fell unexpectedly in May
The latest Energy Supplier switching data from Electralink has shown that the number of customers switching their supplier was unusually low in May despite several major companies announcing energy bill price rises.
Month on Month decline
The switching figure was down 4% on 2020s figure and marked the lowest monthly switching figures outside of the annual January dip since July 2017.
The number of switches started in May was also low with 508,000 recorded and just 1% higher than 2020s figure. This figure is unexpectedly low due to May 2020 being smack bang in the middle of the first Covid-19 lockdown that saw switching plummet.
Other than April and May 2020 (and January this year which was the start of the second Covid lockdown), May 2021 was the lowest non-December month for new supplier switching events since February 2017.
May saw a slight decline in switches to smaller suppliers
Smaller energy suppliers continue to slowly snap up market share from the larger companies, however May’s data was a bit of an anomaly as it showed the most common type of switching for that month was large to large.
Meanwhile, large to smaller suppliers declined by 7% on a year on year basis.
- Large to Large switches numbered 199,000 a 4% rise on May 2020s figure and comprised 48% of May 2021s total switches.
- Large to smaller suppliers numbered 122,000 a 7% decline on May 2020s figure and totalled 29% of May 2021s total switches.
Despite the slight dip recorded in May, Electralink’s Insights experts are predicting that the number of switches will jump higher in June with the number completed expected to number around 450,000. This is most likely down to larger suppliers announcing energy bill price rises with some suppliers already announcing two price hikes already this year as they struggle with rising wholesale costs.
Smaller suppliers have an opportunity to snap up new customers as they continue to offer cheaper tariffs and are capable of being much more flexible than the bigger companies.
Currently the large suppliers have 55% of the overall market share but that is forecast to decline to 50% by next year.
Also read: Why are Challenger Energy Suppliers growing in popularity and how can they stay competitive?
Dyball offers a range of software and services to help energy suppliers. These include:
- Energy Supplier & Energy Billing System
- Customer Self-service Portal
- Customer Switching Portal
- DCC Adapter
- Energy Managed Services
Looking to enter the UK energy market? Dyball Associates team of energy market consultants can guide you through the steps to get qualified and attain your gas or electricity licence.
Whether you’re looking for electricity and gas systems or support on starting an energy supply company, Dyball Associates can help.
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