April switching figures revealed

April’s electricity switching figures, published today by Energy UK, show a small rise compared to the previous month – although numbers remain low compared to the same time last year.

Last month 130,585 customers switched to a new supplier, a small rise compared to March (108,164) but still an 81% decrease compared to April 2021. The rise is partially explained by a 33% increase in non-domestic switches compared to last month – with the end of the financial year signalling the expiry of current deals for many businesses.

Overall, switching numbers have been much reduced since last autumn after record wholesale prices reduced the amount of competitive deals available to customers, resulting in a large number of customers remaining on price capped ‘default’ tariffs as the cheapest option at present.

Matt Cole, the Independent Chair of Energy UK’s Energy Switch Guarantee said:
“Although there’s been a small rise in switching this month – which could result from businesses coming to the end of existing contracts with suppliers – unsurprisingly overall numbers remain low in comparison to previous years.

“Even with fewer customers switching, it’s important that they can still do so quickly and easily.  Switching – either to another provider or to another deal with your existing supplier – will also play an important role when the market recovers, which is why we are looking at how the Energy Switch Guarantee can best continue to support customers in future.”