Fewer than one in five domestic energy customers changed provider in 2023 despite potential savings amounting to hundreds of euro for those who moved companies, the latest report from the energy regulator suggests.
Switching levels are a key indicator of competition and supplier activity within the retail market and an opportunity for customers to make savings the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) said in its latest Energy Monitoring Report.
It found that 12 per cent of domestic electricity customers and 14 per cent of domestic gas customers switched supplier during 2023 and said active customers who switched or renegotiated every year for the last four years could have saved €946 on electricity, €775 on gas, or €2,018 on their dual fuel costs.
The report also noted that the wholesale price of gas in 2023 was 53 per cent lower compared to the average price in 2022, which saw historically high increases due to global demand and the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The wholesale price of gas was 16 per cent lower compared to 2021.
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Wholesale electricity prices were 44 per cent lower in 2023 compared to 2022 and 7 per cent higher than the average price in 2021.
It also noted that estimated annual bills decreased by a weighted average of 10.5 per cent in electricity and 12.5 per cent in gas, as a result of the fall in the cost of wholesale gas and electricity during that period.
At the end of 2023, 11.3 per cent electricity and 22.6 per cent of gas customers were in arrears while fewer than 1 per cent of domestic energy customers were on payment plans.
Customer disconnections due to non-payment of account were 1,487 for electricity and 1,643 for gas compared to 2,498 electricity and 990 gas disconnections in 2022.
“The Annual Energy Monitoring Report is part of the CRU’s market monitoring role to monitor levels of competition and choice for consumers,” said the CRU’s spokeswoman Karen Tran adding that the data show consumers “should switch or renegotiate with their supplier to receive the best value”.
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