UK Energy Industry
 
The UK Energy Industry is segmented into three areas:
 
Suppliers - the companies who supply and sell electricity and gas to consumers and businesses alike. 
 
Distributors - the distribution companies are responsible move the energy around their network to people's homes. Distributors are responsible for the pipes or cables underground and the meters within your home. Suppliers contract with distributors to offer these services and the cost of distribution is included in the price the supplier charges you for your energy.
 
Generators - energy generators are responsible for the energy we use in our properties. Previously the major generators burnt huge amounts of coal to generate electricity but over time this gave way to more environmentally methods of generating energy. 
 
Since May 1999, all domestic and commercial energy customers have been able to switch their gas and electricity supplier.  Over the years around 19 million customers have changed energy supplier and many domestic users have seen a saving of around £150 on their energy bills. Competition in the energy market has seen energy prices decrease by around 13 percent since 1999. 
 
Competition on the electricity market was introduced slightly later than gas but around 165,000 home electricity users switch electricity suppliers or gas suppliers each week.  Even those customers with prepayment meters are switching at incredibly high rates, comparable to those paying by cash or cheque.
 
In September 2001 a MORI survey commissioned by OFGEM found that around 44 percent of those customers paying by direct debit have switched energy supplier, 32 percent of quarterly bill customers and 31 percent of prepayment meter customers. 
 
The competition in the energy market was introduced over eight years to ensure that technical changes and customers left infrastructure unaffected. In April 1990 around 5,000 large size customers were opened up to competition. After ten years over 80 percent of customers in this batch had switched to a new supplier. In 1991 British Gas opened up their market to competition. In April 1994 around 50,000 medium sized customers were opened up to competition and today more than 50% of those custoemrs have moved to a non-local supplier.
 
Between September 1998 and May 1999 the remaining 26 million electricity customers, including homes and small businesses were opened up for competition.  In May 1998 the 18 million strong gas customer market was also opened up for competition.
   
The main reason for not changing supplier is that customers are generally satisfied with their current supplier but many miss out on the substantial savings available to them if they change energy suppliers. Consumers who change their gas or energy supplier through Energy Monster could save up to £276 on their energy bills each year.