Energy Monitoring Report for 2022
The CRU publishes 2022 Energy Monitoring Report and reminds consumers to switch or renegotiate with their energy suppliers to get best value.
Read the Energy Monitoring Report 2022 and infographic here.
Active customers who switched to the best available discount tariff or renegotiated every year for the last 4 years could have saved €1,607 on electricity, €1,266 on gas or €1,733 on their dual fuel costs.
- The average price increase for domestic customers was 76% for electricity and 100% for gas for a standard pricing plan between 2021 and 2022.
- Consumer switching rates were robust in 2022, with 16% of electricity customers and 17% of gas customers switching supplier during the year.
- 21% of electricity and gas customers renegotiated their contracts with their current supplier, a 49.8% and 20.3% increase from 2021 in electricity and gas, respectively.
- At the end of 2022, 10.8% of total electricity and 20.6% of total gas customers were in arrears.
Switching
Switching is a key indicator of competition and supplier activity within the retail market and an opportunity for customers to make savings. Switching rates were robust in 2022, with 16.85% of domestic electricity customers and 17.82% of domestic gas customers switching supplier during the year. This represents an increase of 16.83% in electricity and an increase of 4.7% in gas switches from 2021 and represents the highest proportion of customers in the domestic electricity market switching supplier since 2010, and in the domestic and domestic gas market since 2018.
In 2022, active customers who switched or renegotiated every year for the last 4 years could have saved €1,677 on electricity, €1,266 on gas, or €1,733 on their dual fuel costs.
Price Increases
2022 was another challenging period for energy customers in terms of price rises, the wholesale price of gas was 80% higher in 2022 compared to the average price in 2021 and 774% compared to 2020. Wholesale electricity prices were 68% higher in 2022 compared to 2021 and 507% higher than the average price in 2020.
Estimated Annual Bills (EABs) published by suppliers increased by a weighted average of 76.1% in electricity and 100.4% in gas, driven by the increase in the cost of wholesale gas and electricity during that period.
All suppliers announced price increases in electricity in 2022, due to increased wholesale electricity costs. The first price increases were announced in March and continued throughout 2022.
Arrears and Disconnections
At the end of 2022, 10.8% of total electricity and 20.6% of total gas customers were in arrears. 0.5% of domestic electricity customers and 0.3% of domestic gas customers were on payment plans in 2022, roughly the same percentage as in 2021.
Customer disconnections due to non-payment of account increased by 173% in electricity and by 97% in gas in 2022 compared to 2021. The total number of disconnections in 2022 was 2,498 for electricity and 990 for gas compared to 912 electricity and 503 gas disconnections in 2021, representing 0.1% of all electricity and a 0.14% of all gas customers being disconnected.
The significant increase in numbers of disconnections in 2022, compared to 2021, can largely be attributed to the disconnection moratorium that was in place from January to June 2022. Note that the 2022 disconnection figures are still at a much lower level than pre-Covid, as shown below.
Total (domestic and non-domestic) NPA disconnections
