Retail market indicators

In our monitoring of the retail energy market for gas and electricity, we collect and analyse a vast range of data. Our retail market indicators give a snapshot of this monitoring. They draw from a comprehensive framework which underpins our ongoing monitoring, including our annual update on the retail energy markets in Great Britain. You can view these updates in the related publications section below. 

These market indicators and data are not intended for use or to be relied on for any commercial purposes. View copyright and disclaimer.

If you have feedback on the indicators, please contact us.

There were 17 active suppliers in the domestic gas and electricity retail markets as of September 2025. This consisted of 16 suppliers active in both gas and electricity and 1 in electricity, with one exit during the fourth quarter of 2025. 

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

Gas prices in forward markets increased throughout most of May as uncertainty with the Middle East continued. Optimism regarding ceasefires, particularly with the extension, meant that prices fell back again at the end of the month. There was ongoing maintenance to Norwegian pipeline supply throughout May that also put upward pressure on gas prices, including in prompt markets. Prices in Asian markets hit a seven-week high in the third week of May as supply was affected both by LNG delivery disruptions and industrial strike action in Australia. This increased competition in international markets and put additional upwards pressure on European gas prices. Temperatures were colder than seasonal norms earlier in the month but a heatwave towards the end contributed to the price fall at the end of May, particularly in the day-ahead market. Wind and solar output was volatile meaning that day-ahead power prices fluctuated week-to-week, whilst forward prices tended to track forward prices in gas markets. Additionally, carbon prices increased towards the end of the month as expectations of explicit linking with the EU’s carbon market continue. EU carbon prices increased with optimism of a lasting ceasefire, which also has implications for the UK market as the two tend to correlate. Carbon prices increase the cost of marginal gas-fired generation, pushing up power prices.

For more detailed updates on wholesale prices visit Wholesale market indicators | Ofgem.

In May 2026, the number of fixed tariffs on offer decreased compared with April 2026. Around 70% of these offers were available to the whole market rather than exclusive to specific customers with about 22% of these prices being lower than the price cap for 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.

The average fixed tariff was priced at £1,782, £57 greater than the previous month.

The average price of SVTs with large legacy suppliers for a typical dual fuel customer paying with direct debit remained the same at £1,641 which is aligned with the current price cap for the period 1 April to 30 June. The market cheapest tariff also remained the same this month at £1,476. The cheapest tariff basket increased from £1,558 in April 2026 to £1,572 in May 2026. See methodology for information on how the cheapest tariff basket is calculated.

The differential between the average price of SVTs and the market cheapest tariff remained the same April and May 2026 with a figure of £165. The differential between the average price of SVTs for the large legacy suppliers and the cheapest tariff basket decreased from £83 in April 2026 to £69 in May 2026.

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 the regulation before consultation in 2023. This information was 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. 

Read Energy companies’ Consolidated Segmental Statements (CSS) for more details. 

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 April 2026, total number of switches decreased by an average of 4.5% across both fuels compared with March 2026. Electricity switches decreased by 4% from 253,748 in March 2026 to 243,754 in April 2026 with gas switches also decreasing by nearly 5% from 193,656 to 183,180.

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 March, 30 June, 30 September 31 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.