Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
Octopus Energy has surpassed British Gas as the largest electricity supplier in the UK, just eight years after entering the market.
The company now supplies electricity to just under a quarter (22%) of all UK households, with a 1.9 million increase in its customer-base recorded in the past 12 months.
It means Octopus now has the largest share of the UK electricity market, with British Gas supplying 20.3% of customers.
British Gas still holds the title of the UK’s largest gas supplier, with 27.8% of the market share compared with Octopus’ 22.2%. (See supplier breakdown below.)
In total, Octopus supplies 6.8 million households with electricity. Over the past year Octopus was the only large energy supplier to increase its market share, data from Ofgem reveals.
Some 1.3 million new customers were transferred over from Shell Energy Retail following Octopus’ takeover of the business in late 2023.
Octopus also led the switching market in 2023, with more than 800,000 customers choosing to join from other suppliers.
Last year also saw the competition of the Bulb migration, with 1.5 million customers transferred following the firm’s collapse
Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: “We’ve invested relentlessly in outstanding people and technology to deliver better customer service and lower costs – and today’s news shows that this works.
“I hope that we can inspire both entrepreneurs and existing companies that by investing for the long-term, and truly focusing on customers, they can deliver success for themselves and for those they serve.”
Growth across 2023 (Electricity Market):
| British Gas | EDF | E.ON | Scottish Power | Shell Energy | OVO | Octopus Energy | |
| 2023 Q1 | 20.4% | 11.3% | 17.2% | 8.9% | 4.4% | 13.35 | 16.6% |
| 2023 Q2 | 20.4% | 11.2% | 17.1% | 8.8% | 4.4% | 13.2% | 16.9% |
| 2023 Q3 | 20.4% | 11.1% | 16.9% | 8.7% | 4.2% | 13.1% | 17.4% |
| 2023 Q4 | 20.3% | 10.9% | 16.8% | 8.6% | 0% | 13% | 22% |
| Change in year | -0.1% | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.3% | -4.4% | -0.3% | 5.4% |
Growth across 2023 (Gas Market):
| British Gas | EDF | EON | Scottish Power | OVO | Shell Energy | Octopus Energy | |
| 2023 Q1 | 28.2% | 9.4% | 14.4% | 7.7% | 11.1% | 4.8% | 16.3% |
| 2023 Q2 | 28.1% | 9.3% | 14.4% | 7.6% | 11.1% | 4.7% | 16.7% |
| 2023 Q3 | 28% | 9.2% | 14.2% | 7.5% | 11% | 4.6% | 17.2% |
| 2023 Q4 | 27.8% | 9% | 14.1% | 7.4% | 10.9% | 0% | 22.2% |
| Change in year | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.3% | -0.3% | -0.2% | -4.8% | 5.9% |
*Data source: Ofgem
Please login or Register to leave a comment.