This week I switched supplier, something that not many people have been doing recently. I changed to get a tariff that gave me a better rate for charging my car overnight.
There are few reasons for switching as under the UK energy price cap all suppliers charge the same. Most switches over the past 2 years are due to suppliers going out of business, or suppliers consolidating their customer bases under a single market identifier.
Switching used to take around a month, now most people can switch supplier in just a few days thanks to the Central Switching Service, with the intention of moving to 24 hour switching soon.
This process is a lot better than it used to be: Smart Meters have done away with the need to provide opening / closing meter reads, something called the Address Management Service results in fewer issues where your address is ‘Flat 1, 30 Green Road’ in one system and ’30 Green Road, Flat 1’ in another. The process called erroneous transfers has also improved, and suppliers use a system called SDEP to address any issues with transfers.
I expect that we will see more switching in 2024. People will switch for better and innovative services. Fixed price deals are starting to be offered. New suppliers will enter the now more stable market. Switching websites, which are now covered by code of practice, will also refresh their offers.
There are still issues with this market. You might not be able to access a better deal if you are in debt as it is harder to switch if you owe your supplier more than £500. You need to tell your new supplier that you are a vulnerable customer and are on the Priority Services Register, there is no automated process.
Schemes to address other market issues have been introduced: The Market Stabilisation Charge addresses the impact on suppliers of seasonal price variations, this runs to April next year. A Prepayment Meter Levelisation scheme will be introduced next year to ensure that customers on prepayment meters don’t pay more for their energy.
A future market could be one of near continuous switching with an automated broker always looking for the best deal. I’m not so sure that this is a good idea.
My view is that the next big step in this market is the introduction of more behind the meter services, where you can have different providers servicing your needs – one for EV charging, one for heat, one that uses your battery to participate in grid balancing services.
