Faster energy switching
Press release
Publication date
Industry sector
Supply and Retail Market
Switching energy supplier is set to become much quicker, after we today approved proposals committing energy companies to cut the time it takes to switch to just three days by the end of 2014.
This means customers will be able to switch electricity and gas suppliers in just two and a half weeks. This incorporates a statutory two week cooling-off period, where a customer can change their mind, terminate their contract or return to their original supplier.
Until now changing suppliers could take up to five weeks, including the cooling-off period.
Our chief executive, Dermot Nolan, said: “Consumers can change their bank in seven days, their mobile phone in just a couple, but have to wait significantly longer to switch their energy supplier.
"We know that consumers want a reliable and efficient switching process, and that concerns about it going wrong can put them off shopping around for a better deal.
"So now that we have taken steps to make the market simpler, clearer, fairer, we are leading a programme which will deliver faster, more reliable switching."
We have also published new proposals to make the switching process more reliable and to see next-day switching in place by the end of 2018.
Find out more in our press release.