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 December, wholesale market prices varied throughout the month. Little changed in the first week, before gas prices fell in the central two weeks of the month due to increased wind generation, above average temperatures, and ability to secure sufficient LNG. Day-ahead wholesale power prices increased significantly in the second week of December, before falling the following week due to higher wind generation and imports from the continent, combined with a return for interconnectors, nuclear, and CCGTs that had previously been offline. Wholesale gas prices rose from the 30th of December as the Russia-Ukraine Transit Agreement expired on 1 January. Despite prior awareness that it was coming to an end, the market reacted strongly to the loss of the last remaining Russian pipeline gas to Europe. For more detailed updates on wholesale prices visit Wholesale market indicators | Ofgem.

In December 2024, the number of new fixed tariffs on offer decreased compared to November 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 October 2024 to 31 December 2024. The average fixed tariff was priced at £1,656 in December 2024, £7 higher than in the previous month. 

In December 2024, the average price of SVTs with large legacy suppliers for a typical dual fuel customer paying with direct debit was constant at £1,717, which is aligned with the price cap for the period 1 October to 31 December 2024. The market cheapest tariff remained constant at £1,565 and the cheapest tariff basket increased from £1,599 in November 2024 to £1,623 in December 2024. 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 Reviewing the Consolidated Segmental Statements – our 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. For more information about the MSC read - Market Stabilisation Charge dashboard | Ofgem. 

In November 2024, the total number of switches saw a 35% decrease compared to October 2024 but is still 13% higher than levels observed in November 2023. However, the total number of switches remains below levels seen before the gas crisis started and is 44% below if it is compared to September 2021. The number of switches decreased in both fuels; the number of electricity switches went from 349,182 in October 2024 to 230,824 in November 2024. Gas switches went from 276,317 in October 2024 to 178,539 in November 2024. 

The proportion of net gains switching away from the large legacy supplier was around 21% in November 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.