More families are switching their energy suppliers as high prices continue to bite, official figures show.
Surging electricity and gas costs over the last year have added almost 30 per cent to household energy bills.
A new survey by industry watchdog, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU), shows that last year the number of people who switched electricity supplier increased by 3 percentage points.
The survey of 2,000 homes and small businesses shows that the number of gas customers who switched grew 4 percentage points.
“Saving money” was the main reason people switched supplier, the CRU says.
Typically, electricity and gas customers tend to continue with their supplier once their initial one-year contract is up.
However, the CRU notes that more people contact their supplier once their contract term expires to renew or renegotiate their price.
“Across electricity and gas there has been an uplift in the proportion of customers initiating the switch, predominantly through the use of supplier websites and phone contact,” says the CRU.
