Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of competition in the retail energy market.

The Government does hold this information.

Ofgem monitors the retail energy market for gas and electricity and these data are published regularly on the Ofgem website: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/retail-market-indicators.

The number of consumers switching contracts is a key metric indicating the level of competition. Ofgem’s data show that switching remains significantly below that seen before the gas price crisis started. However, the most recent figures for February 2023 show that the total number of switches was up 41% relative to January 2023, and 58% above the level observed in February 2022.