Retail market indicators

There were 21 active suppliers in the domestic gas and electricity retail markets as of September 2024. This consisted of 18 suppliers active in both gas and electricity, 1 in gas and 2 in electricity.

In Q3 2024 the combined gas market share of the large legacy suppliers remained the same 68%, and the market share held by other large, medium and small suppliers was 32%.  

In Q3 2024 the combined electricity market share of the large legacy suppliers decreased by 1% to 68%. The market share held by other large, medium and small suppliers increased at 32%.

For our classification of suppliers by size see the ‘information tab’ of the market share indicators either for electricity or gas. 

In January 2025, wholesale market prices varied throughout the month. The highlight of the month was the exceptional volatility of day-ahead power prices on the weeks commencing on 6 January and 20 January 2025, due to high variability in wind generation necessitating higher gas-fired generation and interconnector imports. Power prices across all contracts also remained elevated on the week commencing on 20 January, with front-month contract 54% higher than the same period last year, driven largely by rising gas prices. Day-ahead power prices decreased by 25% in the last week of January. This is likely due to the more stable nature of last week’s weather with limited weather warnings, paired with consistent renewables generation.  

For more detailed updates on wholesale prices, visit our wholesale market indicators page.

In January 2025, the number of new fixed tariffs on offer stayed consistent compared to December 2024. Around 87% of these offers were available to the whole market, rather than exclusive to specific customers, with prices generally lower than the price cap for 1 January to 31 March 2025. The average fixed tariff was priced at £1,695 in January 2025, £31 higher than in the previous month.  

In January 2025, the average price of SVTs with large legacy suppliers for a typical dual fuel customer paying with direct debit increased from £1,717 to £1,738 which is aligned with the price cap for the period 1 January to 31 March 2025. The market cheapest tariff increased from £1,565 in December 2024 to £1,628 in January 2025 and the cheapest tariff basket increased from £1,623 in December 2024 to £1,653 in January 2025. See the methodology for information on how the cheapest tariff basket is calculated.  

The update of all profit and average bill indicators based on Consolidated Segmental Statements (CSS) has been paused. Only three large domestic legacy suppliers (British Gas, EDF and Scottish Power) and one non-domestic supplier (SSE) had submitted a CSS under existing regulation. This information is insufficient to generate market representative statistics. A review of the CSS obligation is now completed and will expand CSS reporting to most of the domestic and non-domestic market. This will apply to supplier financial accounts for 2023 onwards with publication 10 months after the company’s financial year end. We intend to resume the publication of these indicators as soon as new data becomes available. Read our Reviewing the Consolidated Segmental Statements decision for more information.

The Market Stabilisation Charge was a temporary measure in place from 14 April 2022 to 31 March 2024 which required all domestic suppliers acquiring a domestic customer to pay a charge to the losing supplier when wholesale prices fell considerably below the relevant wholesale price cap index. Read about the MSC on the Market Stabilisation Charge dashboard. 

In December 2024, the total number of switches saw a 12% decrease compared to November 2024 but is still 17% higher than levels observed in December 2023. However, the total number of switches remains below levels seen before the gas crisis started and is 51% below if it is compared to September 2021. The number of switches decreased in both fuels; the number of electricity switches went from 230,824 in November 2024 to 202,855 in December 2024. Gas switches went from 178,539 in November 2024 to 155,902 in December 2024.  

The proportion of net gains switching away from the large legacy supplier was around 21% in December 2024, continuing to reflect mainly customers moving towards other large and medium suppliers. 

Suppliers’ Customer Credit Balances (CCBs) are an important aspect of the retail energy market, and this is reflected in licence obligations in relation to both consumer standards and supplier financial resilience.

The data below reflects Ofgem's chosen policy measure. This is for Fixed Direct Debit domestic customers.  This focuses the analysis on how households are impacted by CCBs. We have ‘netted off unbilled consumption’ meaning that energy you have paid for but not used does not feature. Finally, as Customer credit balances are seasonal (they rise in summer months and are then spent in colder winter months) we have included the yearly average to disaggregate the seasonal variation from its underlying trend.

These figures reflect households that are in credit, the values are true as of the last day of each calendar quarter (31^st March, 30^th June, 30^th September 31^st December).

Finally, the use of quartiles may be impacted as usage changes in the future, which would need to be reviewed and recognised.

This data is published by the end of March, June, September and December each year.  For further information see customer credit balances explanatory note.

We have selected this range of indicators to support general understanding of the market, including how they contribute to the key priorities outlined in our strategic narrative. We also aim to provide a picture of the market where it is not produced elsewhere, or where there is scope for us to set a clear methodology for the data.

Our data comes from sources that are either publicly available, provided by third parties or from responses to Ofgem information requests. Specific sources and relevant dates are listed with each indicator. We are grateful to third parties for allowing us to reproduce their data. 

Most of these indicators will be updated quarterly while still allowing access to historic information. Updates will depend on the availability of data for an indicator. 

We will review the indicators periodically to ensure they continue to help promote transparency and understanding of the retail energy market and as additional sources of information become available.