One million families switch energy supplier in just two months after fury over the Big Six price hikes

By JON REES, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY

Updated: 05:21 EST, 19 January 2014

The number of households switching energy supplier more than doubled to one million in the last two months of 2013 amid public fury over price rises.

A quarter of the households that switched opted for smaller firms over the heavily criticised Big Six.

The wave of switching came after leading suppliers announced price rises, which led to a political storm over the cost of electricity and gas.

Public fury: Households have been hit by rising energy billls

The switching surge in November and December compares with a total of 3.5million customers who switched in the whole of 2013. Energy UK, the energy industry’s association, estimates that in 2012 2.5million households switched.

Some 230,000 of recent switchers went to small firms, which are often free of green levies meaning they can undercut bigger rivals.

The figures will come as a boost to the Government, which is urging customers to shop around for an energy provider in the face of rising bills.

It has also criticised the Big Six – British Gas, Scottish Power, SSE, EDF Energy, npower and Eon – for being too powerful and charging too much. It pledged to review the energy market to ensure competition is working.

Angela Knight, head of Energy UK, said: ‘Increased switching is a welcome sign that the industry is becoming more competitive, clearer and working for consumers.

‘Competition is alive and well with people choosing new entrants and smaller suppliers rather than sticking with established firms.’

The debate on the energy market was started by Labour leader Ed Miliband, who pledged to freeze energy bills for 20 months if elected in 2015. The pledge led the Chancellor to promise to slash energy bills by £50 a year, partly by cutting ‘the green crap’, as David Cameron was alleged to have described eco-taxes.