Move to speed up power supplier switching

The proposals, agreed by the energy industry and due to come into force on December 31, will see switching times come down to three days plus a 14-day cooling off period.

The watchdog has also published additional plans to introduce next day switching by 2018 at the latest.

Around 62 per cent of people have never switched energy supplier, Ofgem revealed in a March survey. The watchdog added these people were often on old, uncompetitive deals and could save up to £200 a year if they switched.

Ofgem 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.”

He added: “We hope this will give consumers more confidence to get out there and start shopping around.”

Currently switching takes around five weeks, which includes a statutory two-week cooling off period that came into force in June.

The regulator has been working with energy suppliers and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to speed up switching times.

Gas and electricity supplier lobby group Energy UK said it welcomed Ofgem’s proposals.

Ofgem’s additional proposals to introduce next day switching by 2018 at the latest will still include the 14-day cooling off 
period, but this will begin after a customer has changed 
supplier.

Next day switching will be made possible by the upgrading of old IT systems first developed in the 1990s, said Ofgem.

Some 1.3 million electricity customers and 866,000 gas customers changed supplier in the final quarter of 2013.