Uswitch comments on Ofgem State of the Energy Market Report 2018: Price cap threatens to undermine record switching levels and won’t help vulnerable households

Commenting on Ofgem’s annual state of the market report, which has revealed that while competition is now benefiting an unprecedented number of energy consumers, many others, especially the vulnerable, are still getting a poor deal, Richard Neudegg, Head of Regulation at Uswitch.com says:

“With more and more households choosing small and medium suppliers over the Big Six, consumers have woken up and smelt the savings that can be made by switching energy supplier.

“We’re now tantalisingly close to a tipping point where the majority of customers will have moved away from poor-value standard tariffs, a major win for consumer-power. However, at a moment of record competition, the Government and Ofgem are in danger of cutting off their nose to spite their face with the introduction of a widespread price cap that will lull consumers into a false sense of security through a cap trap which could actually push prices up and discourage people from shopping around.

“Ofgem’s report shows that more must be done to reach out to vulnerable groups to help them get a better deal. A ‘one size fits all’ price cap is not the answer because it does nothing to solve the underlying issues faced by vulnerable households, where deeper help is required.

“As these new figures show, the most effective way to save money on your energy bill is to switch supplier, with potential savings of up to £482 to be made in just minutes. Consumers who have unlocked the benefits of competition will not want it snatched away from them by Government intervention.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Tim Dunford

Phone: 020 3872 5612

Mobile: 07785 552666

Email: tim.dunford@uswitch.com

Twitter: @uswitchPR

Notes to editors

1. Between 1 Jan 2018 and 30 Jun 2018, at least 10% of people who switched energy supplier for both gas and electricity with Uswitch saved £482 or more

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