suppliers

  • Commercial and market outlook

    CP19 of the RO sees record shortfall

    The perfect storm of challenging market conditions has persisted across the duration of the 2020-21 compliance period (CP) of the Renewables Obligation (RO), driving a large volume of supplier exits, particularly over recent months. As the dust settles on the compliance process relating to CP19 (2020-21) of the RO, this...

  • Home supply and services

    Supplier exits predicted to trigger Renewable Obligation mutualisation

    Over the past few weeks, the energy market has been under the microscope as high wholesale prices and a wave of suppliers exiting the market has hit the headlines. Amid challenging wholesale market conditions for suppliers, they are now also facing the compliance deadlines for 2020-21 of the Renewables Obligation...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Green hair, green branches, green skin, green tariffs?

    In this 'Chart of the week', we look at how prevalent green supply has become, unpick some of the drivers behind this, and look at the challenges now facing consumers, suppliers and policy makers confronted by a sea of green.  Over recent years, we estimate the percentage of households with...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | SoLR process sees largest supplier exit

    This January saw the largest supplier exit through Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process. Green Network Energy ceased to trade on 27 January, with Ofgem appointing EDF Energy as SoLR for its 360,000 domestic customers shortly after. On the same day, the regulator announced the exit of Simplicity Energy,...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Chart of the week | Nearly 6mn customers switched electricity supplier in 2020

    This article was originally published as part of a larger piece in Energy Spectrum, published on 25 January 2021. To find out more about a subscription to Energy Spectrum, contact Nick on n.palmer@cornwall-insight.com. This week's 'Chart of the week' discusses the latest electricity switching figures from Energy UK, published on 21...

  • Business supply and services

    Chart of the week | Large suppliers’ business market share reduces

    The publication of our Business Gas and Electricity Market Share Surveys for Q420 (with a reporting date of 31 October) has highlighted the changing dynamic of the business supply market as competitive pressure has reduced the market share of the traditional six large suppliers. In this 'Chart of the week',...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Takes time to make time: When will we have time-of-use tariffs?

    Time-of-use (ToU) tariffs could be a key tool in supporting system decarbonisation and ensuring consumers see the benefits of the energy transition. Research for our latest edition of the Connected Homes Insight Service has found suppliers and consumers both taking tentative steps in exploring ToU pricing, with ambitious innovation and...

  • Business supply and services

    Chart of the week | COVID-19 costs energy suppliers over £1bn

    The impact of COVID-19 is starting to be reported by listed energy companies. Centrica, Iberdrola, E.ON Group, Drax Group and ENGIE Group have all commented on the impact of COVID-19, including the costs of selling back overhedged volumes caused by the pandemic. These suppliers collectively are important competitors in the...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Challenger suppliers: started from the bottom, now we here

    We recently published our Domestic Market Share Survey for Q1 2020 (reporting date of 31 January 2020). This week's Chart of the week shows a shake-up of the rankings, unprecedented in the survey to date. Challenger brands now sit among the largest suppliers in the domestic energy market. This is due to...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Suppliers struggle for profitability

    This week many suppliers have agreed to a series of measures to ameliorate the effects of the Coronavirus on vulnerable consumers. This is no doubt the right thing to do but will come at a cost. In what position are they to take this cost? This Chart of the Week...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Spook-tacular changes in the Domestic Energy Market

    In this week’s Chart of the Week, we explore how the domestic energy market share has changed so far, and what the future may bring for large suppliers and challenger brands. The Chart follows our latest publication Domestic Market Share Survey, which calculates the national account holdings and respective market share for all suppliers...

  • Business supply and services

    Australian Chart of the week | I think I can, I think I can: Can new retailers make it in the NEM?

    Electricity retail registrations have exploded since 2016. In this time, the Australian Energy Regulator awarded 30 new electricity retail licenses. This represents an increase of 70% since 2016. In this week's Chart of the week, we look at the annual market entrants from 2012. We also explore the benefits of...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | SVT and fixed tariff gap widens

    Prior to the increase of the default price cap on 1 April 2019 to £1,254/year, we reported on 14 March that some suppliers were already positioning their default variable tariffs against the increased cap. We also reported that the gap between default and market-based fixed tariffs was increasing as wholesale...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Realising retention: churn risks for small suppliers

    Our latest domestic market share data shows a trend of rising customer churn for energy suppliers across the market. This is due to consumers choosing tariffs or suppliers that offer them a better price, service or added value product. Our chart shows an average churn rate for different supplier segmentations....

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | A tariff cap is not a price freeze

    The final confirmation of the default tariff cap on 6 November has caused a good deal of commotion. Most notably the announcement from SSE and npower that the cap is a key factor in renegotiating their merger. But, the price cap that will apply from 1 January is just over...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Higher, Broader, Faster, Longer

    Wholesale price movements and pending regulatory changes are causing suppliers to amend the prices and types of domestic contracts they offer. Under a rising wholesale market, suppliers will adjust their tariffs more regularly and upwards. This is to ensure that suppliers recoup enough money to cover the additional costs. Our...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | In-out, in-out, shaken all about

    With news of the SSE and npower merger receiving final CMA approval to proceed on 10 October, it is a fitting time to reflect on the domestic energy supply industry. The industry is entering a phase of consolidation as a result of tougher market conditions and squeezed margins. Our chart...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Quartermaster – One in four customers outside incumbents

    Collectively, the small and medium suppliers (SaMS) now hold over 25% of the energy accounts in the domestic retail market. This means that, when combined, the group represents the largest entity in the market. The chart this week shows the collective growth of the SaMS has come at an increasingly...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Scarcer snakes and longer ladders: the tariff game

    With the wholesale market surging by 11% over the last three months, as well as the prospect of a default tariff cap by the end of the year, suppliers of all shapes and sizes have been taking stock and adjusting prices. Between the end of June and the end of...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Tariff limbo: how low can domestic supplier margins go?

    Recently we have seen the emergence of several domestic fixed dual fuel tariffs near £800/year in April. This week's Chart of the Week looks at whether these market-leading deals provide suppliers with sustainable supplier margins. The chart takes the cheapest fixed tariff on the market over time and strips it of relevant...

  • Business supply and services

    Chart of the week | Business TPIs need to evolve to maintain pre-eminence

    Third-party intermediaries (TPIs) are now firmly established as the primary route to market in the business energy markets. This week's Chart of the week looks at the results of the TPIs in the Business and Industrial Energy Supply Markets survey. The survey found that two-thirds of suppliers (67%) ranked TPIs as...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Score! Gas retail market “competitive”

    Our Domestic market share survey highlighted for the first time that the gas retail market had dipped below the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). This index indicates a competitive market and used by the US Department of Justice. Two decades after the gas retail market was opened to competition it has now...