Almost half of household electricity customers in Northern Ireland have never switched from the largest supplier, Power NI.
Only 28% have switched in the last three years and 49% have never switched.
That's according to the Utility Regulator, which has published data on so-called "sticky customers" for the first time.
It has previously urged customers to shop around for the best deal, but last year there was a drop in the number of people switching suppliers across both electricity and gas.
The Utility Regulator's annual monitoring report provides an insight into the local energy market.
Of the 848,983 domestic connections in Northern Ireland, 49% have never switched from Power NI.
The supplier is the only one in Northern Ireland that is regulated, meaning its prices are directly controlled by the Utility Regulator.
It announced last week that it would be putting prices up by 4%.
More than 93,000 households switched electricity supplier in 2024, which is down from the previous year.
However, the overall reduction in switching is a sign that the markets are stabilising after a number of volatile years.
The regulator has said that is supported in the pricing data, which shows that, for most customers, prices have reduced.
The Utility Regulator also said the number of complaints made by electricity customers remained the same at more than 30,000.
Complaints from gas customers rose in 2024, with the most common complaints relating to bills, payments, and customer service.
by Kagedeah
2 comments
Power NI has always offered me the best pricing so haven’t needed to switch
I did and regretted it. Switched few times as it’ll be cheaper only to be taught hard way they have their tricks to get that difference back.
Can’t mind which provider was it but it worked like that. At the start after first visit they estimated I use little energy and it went on for maybe 7 months. Since we work all the time we always missed readings and to post reading to the website I couldn’t log in as my password (which I had written down in the notebook) was wrong, then faffy way of getting it back or simply error. In October they raised prices and said that estimating was for too long and they have to see the meter after which of course it turned out I had been under paying for last 6-7 months and need to catch up BUT under new higher price. My annual savings with new supplier was wiped out.
Tried phoning and spent lots of time waiting to speak to somebody. Overall not worth the hassle and powerni are regulated so if the wholesale price do fall down they’re obliged to drop prices. The rest are just capitalist companies with shareholders trying to put a spin that their unit is somehow better.
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