The Quarterly Retail Energy Market Monitoring (QREMM) Report for Q2 2024 is the latest in a series of Utility Regulator reports that provide a range of information about the retail energy market in Northern Ireland.
The QREMM report presents data that we collect as part of the Retail Energy Market Monitoring (REMM) framework. REMM requires network companies and suppliers to submit data on a range of indicators to enhance our transparency around market behaviours and regulatory compliance. We use the information outlined in the report to review the progress and impact of supply competition; build knowledge for regulatory decisions; allow other interested stakeholders to understand more readily the activity within our energy markets; and to help promote the interests of consumers.
Highlights from the Q2 2024 report include:
- Overall electricity switching activity in Q2 2024 decreased from the previous quarter. Domestic customers continue to engage in the market with almost 21,800 domestic switches completed during Q2 2024, a switching rate of 2.6% (a decrease from 3.0% in Q1 2024). Similarly, the I&C sector saw no change in the electricity switching rate, both being 1.8% in Q1 2024 and in Q2 2024.
- In the gas sector, domestic switching in the Greater Belfast area saw c490 switches completed during Q2 2024 (an increase from c419 in Q1 2024). I&C switching saw a decrease in switching activity from 1.2% in Q1 2024 to 1.0% in Q2 2024.
- For semester 2 (July to December) 2023 the domestic electricity prices for NI (32.9 p/kWh) ranked above the EU median (22.7 p/kWh) but lower than Ireland (33.3 p/kWh) and the UK (36.1 p/kWh). The NI I&C electricity price for the Very Small connections (which represent c72% of I&C connections) was 30.4 p/kWh, which was higher than the EU median (24.1 p/kWh), the same as Ireland (30.4 p/kWh), but below the UK (33.0 p/kWh). For Large and Very Large I&C customers (c0.02% of connections) NI prices (17.4 p/kWh) were higher than the EU median (12.3 p/kWh), slightly below Ireland (18.0 p/kWh) and below the UK (26.5 p/kWh).
- In the gas sector, for semester 2 (July – December) 2023, the domestic prices for NI were slightly above the EU Median (10.5 p/kWh) at 11.0 p/kWh. This was higher than the UK (7.7 p/kWh) but lower than Ireland (14.4 p/kWh). The NI I&C gas price for the Very Small connections was 9.0 p/kWh, which was below the EU median (9.3 p/kWh), the UK (9.5 p/kWh) and Ireland (11.4 p/kWh). For Medium and Large I&C connections NI prices (5.7 p/kWh) were higher than the EU median (5.3 p/kWh) and Ireland (5.5 p/kWh) and below the UK (6.0 p/kWh).
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