Switching surged last month as thousands of business energy contracts expired, sparking a wave of non-domestic customers hunting for better deals.
Fresh data from ElectraLink shows 58,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and 17,000 industrial and commercial (I&C) sites switched suppliers in April.
That’s a 162% rise for SMEs and a massive 346% leap for I&C firms compared to March.
These sharp increases reflect the bi-annual cycle, with many fixed energy deals ending in April and October.
In total, 360,000 changes of supplier (CoS) were completed across the energy market last month – a 26% rise on April 2024 and 2% up from March 2025.
While domestic switches dominated the March stats, activity cooled in April.
The 285,000 household switches marked a 13% drop on the previous month, making up 79% of April’s total.
Analysts say this is a normal dip following the March rush, when many consumers moved fast to beat the April price cap rise.
ElectraLink’s insight team noted that the jump in domestic CoS in March 2025 bucked historical patterns.
Usually, April sees a peak in switching but this year households moved early to lock in better fixed-rate deals before costs went up.
With April’s uptick in commercial switches, attention now turns to October – the next flashpoint when non-domestic contracts expire in large numbers.
Analysts expect similar switching trends as businesses assess tariffs and seek price certainty heading into winter.
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