Yorkshire and Humberside named energy switching heartland of Britain

Yorkshire and Humberside has been named the energy switching heartland of Britain, while Chorley has been named the UK capital of switching for 2018, according to new figures released today.

The figures have been released by Citizens Advice to mark the beginning of Big Energy Saving Week 2019.

The data reveals that over 1 in 5 (21.1%) of households in Yorkshire and Humberside, and that nearly a quarter (24.3%) of households in the Chorley area switched supplier in 2018. Greater London lagged a long way behind, with just 16.3% of households switching last year.

Switching savings and people leaving the Big Six

Despite the introduction of a price cap on energy bills at the start of the year, additional analysis by Citizens Advice shows that people could still save more than £150 by switching their supplier or tariff.

The figures also show a significant proportion of households are dropping the Big Six - 41.6% of all switches in 2018 were away from Big Six suppliers to other suppliers.

Big Energy Saving Week

Big Energy Saving Week (21-27 January 2019) is a national campaign run by Citizens Advice and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to help people cut their energy bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to.

To support customers to save money on their energy bills, Citizens Advice also provides an independent price comparison site and a customer service star rating which ranks suppliers’ customer service.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“These figures show that there are still large numbers of people paying over the odds on their energy bills. While the price cap will mean people paying a fairer price, there are still substantial savings to be made.

“This week is a great opportunity for people to make sure they’re getting the best deal. There’s also additional support to help people take some pressure off their bills.”

Claire Perry, Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, said:

“This Big Energy Saving Week is the perfect opportunity to check your bills, use the price comparison tool by Citizens Advice to see if you can get a better deal and switch suppliers and save money, following in the footsteps of Chorley. And of course, even if you don’t switch, you will now be protected from rip-off tariffs thanks to this Government’s energy price cap.

“This week will also highlight where consumers can get advice and help if they need it through their local Citizens Advice. This winter, we’re also ensuring two million households receive a £140 discount off their energy bills and our flagship energy efficiency scheme will see £6 billion driven into upgrading the homes of lower income and vulnerable households over the next ten years.”

Chorley named UK capital of switching

Chorley and a number of other areas in the north of England led the way in switching in 2018.

Top 10 Switching Local Authority Areas

Lowest levels of switching in the UK

A number of areas in London, Scotland and Wales were among those where switching was the lowest across Britain in 2018.

Notes to editors

1. Number of households switching data provided by Electralink and refers to the number of electricity meter points that switched supplier in 2018. Proportion of households switching is based on the number of meter points switching when compared against number of households within nations/regions/local authority areas.

2. £150 figure based on analysis conducted by Citizens Advice (16 January 2019) using Energylinx data. The analysis modelled the price of a capped default tariff against the lowest tariff on the market for a consumer across all payment methods consuming 12,000 kWh of gas and 3,100 kWh of electricity per annum, averaged across all regions.

3. The Big Six are defined as the largest 6 energy suppliers - British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON UK, npower, ScottishPower and SSE.

4. Citizens Advice includes the national charity; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

5. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and post. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.

6. The Citizens Advice Witness Service provides free, independent support for prosecution and defence witnesses in every criminal court in England and Wales.

7. Citizens Advice offers Pension Wise services at 500 locations in England and Wales.

8. Citizens Advice’s services are free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to all regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.

9. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice, visit citizensadvice.org.uk

10. For consumer advice, call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 to talk in Welsh.

11. We helped 2.6 million people face to face, by phone, email and webchat in 2017-18. For service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

12. Citizens Advice staff are supported by over 23,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 locations in England and Wales.