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E.ON loses most customers in January

daniellelevy
Written By:
daniellelevy
Posted:
Updated:
15/02/2019

E.ON continued to lose customers to other providers in January – in what proved to be another challenging month for the Big Six energy firms.

Consumers continued to take control of their energy bills in January and were not afraid to switch their accounts to smaller providers.

During the month, there was a 22% switching rate away from the Big Six, representing a decrease compared to the 35% rate that was recorded in December, according to comparison site comparethemarket.

For the fifth month running, E.ON saw the largest number of customers switch to other suppliers. Nevertheless, it was able to stem this outflow somewhat by attracting a significant number of new customers, recording 19.6% of switches amongst the Big Six.

EDF Energy was the most popular provider amongst the Big Six in January, attracting 27.4% of switches, according to comparethemarket’s latest Energy Snapshot. Its ‘Simply Fixed Feb20’ tariff was the most popular tariff during January, attracting 17.2% of switches.

It was followed by British Gas’s ‘Energy Plus Protection Jan 20’ tariff, with 13.2% of switches.

During the month Northumbria Energy’s ‘NE Smart 2.1 Paperless Billing’ represented the highest saving tariff, with an average saving of £183.32.

Don’t be afraid to switch

“Overall, the Big Six lost more customers than it gained, a trend that we expect to continue following the recent spate of Big Six standard variable tariff (SVT) price hikes which trailed closely in the wake of the latest Ofgem price cap level rise,” said Peter Earl, head of energy at comparethemarket.

“Despite this, the top five tariffs were dominated by the Big Six suppliers. EDF Energy’s Simply Fixed Feb20 alone captured 17.22% of all switches. Interestingly, better deals could have been found elsewhere – Northumbria Energy NE Smart 2.1 Paperless Billing offered an average saving of £183.32,” he added.

Earl urges individuals who are considering switching not to be put off from moving to a more competitive tariff or a smaller provider if it meets their needs.

“People who fall onto SVTs from April will be hammered by the price cap rise, so it is vital that households ensure they switch onto a competitive fixed rate to avoid this. There are still hundreds of pounds to be saved by switching supplier,” he added.