Electricity and Gas Retail Markets Report Q2 2016
Information Paper
Reference:
CER/16306
Date Published:
27/10/2016
Public/ Customer Impact Statement
The purpose of this report is to provide industry, consumers and interested stakeholders
with relevant information1 on the developments of competition in the electricity and gas retail
markets in the second quarter of 2016.
Market monitoring forms an important part of the CER’s activities. This information helps to
inform new policy and in the assessment of existing regulations.
This report is part of a suite of other reports including monthly switching reports,
disconnections reports, annual reports and emerging reports based on new market
monitoring data which the CER began publishing in 2016. The information on the retail
markets as provided in this report gives an insight into how the retail market is functioning
and any specific issues that need to be addressed.
This report details changes in market shares in the electricity and gas retail markets up to
Q2 2016 and presents information about customer switching, renegotiations, prices and
levels of discounts available. The report also provides up to date information on trends in
disconnections, PAYG installs and debt flagging.
1
The primary sources of data in this report are: Electricity: MRSO (Meter Registration System Operator), ESBN
(ESB Networks) and Gas: GPRO (Gas Point Registration Operator), Gaslink, GNI (Gas Networks Ireland).
1
Table of Contents
PUBLIC/ CUSTOMER IMPACT STATEMENT................................................................................................... 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. 2
1.
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................................. 4
2
1.1.1
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 4
1.1.2
Related Documents......................................................................................................... 4
1.1.3
Summary......................................................................................................................... 5
ELECTRICITY AND GAS RETAIL PRICES ................................................................................... 8
2.1 DOMESTIC ELECTRICITY PRICES ........................................................................................................... 9
2.2 DOMESTIC GAS PRICES .................................................................................................................... 10
2.3 DOMESTIC DUAL FUEL PRICES .......................................................................................................... 11
2.4 CHANGES IN STANDING CHARGES AND UNIT CHARGES OVER TIME ........................................................... 12
2.5 NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS ON STANDARD VS DISCOUNTED PLANS – ELECTRICITY....................................... 14
2.6 NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS ON STANDARD VS DISCOUNTED PLANS - GAS .................................................. 17
2.7 NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS DEFAULTING TO STANDARD TARIFFS .............................................................. 18
2.8 FEATURES OF PLANS ........................................................................................................................ 19
3
MARKET SHARE – DOMESTIC ELECTRICITY .......................................................................... 21
3.1 DOMESTIC ELECTRICITY MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND MWHS ....................................... 21
4
MARKET SHARE – DOMESTIC GAS ...................................................................................... 23
4.1 DOMESTIC GAS MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND GWHS ................................................... 23
5
CUSTOMER SWITCHING AND RENEGOTIATIONS ................................................................. 25
5.1 ELECTRICITY, GAS AND DUAL FUEL SWITCHING IN Q2 2016.................................................................. 25
5.2 RENEGOTIATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 27
6
FINANCIAL HARDSHIP PAYG............................................................................................... 29
7
DEBT FLAGGING ................................................................................................................ 32
8
DISCONNECTIONS.............................................................................................................. 33
2
8.1 DISCONNECTIONS – TOTAL .............................................................................................................. 33
8.2 DISCONNECTIONS-ELECTRICITY MARKET ............................................................................................ 34
8.3 DISCONNECTIONS- GAS MARKET ...................................................................................................... 36
9
NON-DOMESTIC ELECTRICITY MARKET SHARE .................................................................... 38
9.1 SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESS ELECTRICITY MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND MWHS........... 38
9.2 MEDIUM BUSINESS ELECTRICITY MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND MWHS ........................... 39
9.3 LARGE ENERGY USERS ELECTRICITY MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND MWHS ........................ 41
10
NON-DOMESTIC GAS MARKET SHARE ............................................................................. 42
10.1 INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL GAS MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND GWHS ..................... 42
10.2 FUEL VARIATION TARIFF MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND GWHS ..................................... 44
10.3 REGULATED TARIFF FORMULA MARKET SHARE BY CUSTOMER NUMBERS AND GWHS ............................. 46
11
NON-DOMESTIC DISCONNECTIONS ................................................................................ 48
12
NEXT STEPS.................................................................................................................... 49
3
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
1.1.1 Introduction
The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is Ireland’s independent energy and water
regulator. The CER was established in 1999 and now has a wide range of economic,
customer protection and safety responsibilities in energy. The CER is also the regulator of
Ireland’s public water and wastewater system.
The CER’s primary economic responsibilities in energy cover electricity generation,
electricity and gas networks, and electricity and gas supply activities. As part of its role, the
CER jointly regulates the all-island wholesale Single Electricity Market (SEM) with the Utility
Regulator in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The SEM is governed by a decision-making body
known as the SEM Committee, consisting of the CER, the Utility Regulator (Northern
Ireland) and an independent member. The overall aim of the CER’s economic role is to
protect the interests of energy customers. The CER has an important related function in
customer protection by resolving complaints that customers have with energy companies.
The CER’s core focus in safety is to protect lives and property across a range of areas in
the energy sector. This includes safety regulation of electrical contractors, gas installers and
gas pipelines. In addition the CER is the safety regulator of upstream petroleum safety
extraction and exploration activities, including on-shore and off-shore gas and oil.
In 2014 the CER was appointed as Ireland's economic regulator of the Irish public water
and wastewater sector.
Further information on the CER’s role and relevant legislation can be found on the CER’s
website at www.cer.ie
1.1.2 Related Documents
Information on the CER’s role and relevant legislation can be found on the CER’s website at
www.cer.ie
4
1.1.3 Summary
Electricity and Gas Prices

A range of price reductions have occurred in electricity and gas in 2016. Price reductions in
electricity were announced by Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy, SSE Airtricity and
PrePayPower. The largest price reduction of a 6% decrease in the standard unit price was
announced by Electric Ireland in April 2016. For domestic gas, Bord Gáis Energy announced a
2.5% decrease in its gas unit rate in August 2016.

The best available standard electricity plan in Q2 2016 of €1,123.92 was offered by Electric
Ireland, while the best available discounted plan of €967.36 was offered by Energia. However,
Energia had one of the most expensive standard plans and Electric Ireland had one of the most
expensive discount plans.

The best available standard gas plan in Q2 2016 of €938.32 was offered by Electric Ireland,
while the best available discount plan of €781.9 was offered by Flogas.

Most customers continue to be on standard plans or on plans with low levels of discounts.
Market Share – Domestic Electricity

In Q2 2016, the market share of suppliers in terms of consumption was as follows: Electric
Ireland - 52.7%, SSE Airtricity -17.27%, Bord Gáis Energy-17.22%,
Energia - 5.38% and PrePayPower- 5.19%.

Bord Gáis Energy had the largest increase in market share between Q1 and Q2 2016, with an
increase of 0.79% in terms of consumption.

Electric Ireland had the largest decrease of market share, losing 1.56% in terms of consumption.
Between Q2 2016 and Q2 2015 it lost 3% of the domestic market in terms of consumption.
Market Share – Domestic Gas

In Q2 2016, the market share of suppliers in terms of customers was as follows: Bord Gáis
Energy- 51.72%, Electric Ireland- 22.95%, SSE- Airtricity 14.02%, Energia- 5.72% and Flogas5.59%.

Energia had the largest increase in market share between Q2 2015 and Q2 2016 with an
increase of 0.94% in terms of customer numbers. SSE Airtricity lost 0.31% of its market share
between Q1 and Q2 2016 in terms of customer numbers, and has lost 1.93% overall since Q2
2015.
5
Switching & Renegotiations

The total number of customers switching in electricity was 81,918 in Q2 2016. This
represented an increase in switching of 9.14% from Q2 2015.The total number of customers
switching in gas was 22,926 in Q2 2016. This represented a decrease in switching of 13%
from Q2 2015.

The level of renegotiations between customers and their suppliers in 2016 demonstrates that
there is additional customer engagement in the market to that measured through switching
numbers.
Disconnections

In Q2 2016, there were 1,631 electricity disconnections and 715 gas disconnections.

Overall, this presented a decline in electricity disconnections in from Q2 2015 of 11% and a
decline of gas disconnections from Q2 2015 to Q2 2016 of 13%.
.
Financial Hardship PAYG and Debt Flagging

1,641 Electricity PAYG financial hardship devices were installed in Q2 2016, compared to
3,570 in Q2 2015.

1,276 Gas PAYG devices were installed in Q2 2016, compared to 2,022 in Q2 2015.

SSE Airtricity and Electric Ireland had the highest electricity and gas PAYG installation rate in
Q2 2016.
6
Key Findings – Non-Domestic Market
Market Share - Electricity
The market share in the small business market in terms of consumption was as follows: Electric
Ireland - 37.13%, Energia - 28.09%, SSE Airtricity - 20.55% and Bord Gáis Energy - 12.09%.
The market share in the medium business market in terms of consumption was as follows: Electric
Ireland - 39.14%, Energia - 30.66%, SSE Airtricity - 16.5% and Bord Gáis Energy - 8.16%.
The market share in the LEU market was as follows: Electric Ireland- 45.14%, SSE Airtricity- 21.71%,
Energia - 13.21%, Bord Gáis Energy - 8.92% and Vayu - 3.10%.
Market Share – Gas

In Q2 2016, the market share in the IC gas market in terms of customer numbers was as
follows: Bord Gáis Energy - 43.72%, Flogas - 22.29%, Energia - 20.51%, Electric Ireland 6.72% and SSE Airtricity - 4.92%.

In Q2 2016, the market share in the FVT market in terms of customer numbers was as
follows; Bord Gáis Energy - 38.67%, Energia - 22.82%, Flogas - 19.64%, Vayu - 14.62%
and SSE Airtricity - 2.85%.

The market share in the RTF market in terms of customer numbers was as follows; Bord
Gáis Energy - 35.8%, Energia - 21.79%, Vayu - 19.07%, Electric Ireland - 10.89% and SSE
Airtricity - 10.12%.
7
2 Electricity and Gas Retail Prices
This section outlines the range of plans offered by suppliers from January 2015 to June
2016 for domestic electricity, gas and dual fuel customers, including their standard and
highest discounted plans. All information is publicly available on price comparison websites
and supplier websites.
There are a large number of plans available to domestic and business customers that are
provided by electricity and gas suppliers in Ireland. These plans offer customers different
tariffs comprised of standing and unit charges (and in some instances other charges).
Suppliers can also offer different rates depending on the payment or billing methods of
customers (e.g. paperless, online, direct debit etc.). All suppliers are required to publish
details of tariff plans that are available to domestic customers. Suppliers of businesses often
provide bespoke plans to their business customers and information on such plans is
generally not published by suppliers. Some suppliers also offer standard plans to business
customers.
The options available to customers in Q2 2016 included exclusive deals, limited term signup discounted offers, cashback/credit offers, fixed price plans, energy efficiency services,
loyalty programmes and plans including exclusive devices. The range of options available to
consumers can help to promote competition in the electricity and gas retail markets and
increase consumer switching.
The first part of this section provides comparisons between suppliers for their standard and
discounted plans in gas and electricity, and details price reductions by suppliers in 2016.
This is followed by analysis of new data received by the CER from suppliers. Data on the
top ten electricity, gas and dual fuel plans per supplier in terms of customer numbers is
provided to the CER on a quarterly basis. This includes information on the price
components of each plan, discounts, consumption and customer numbers and has been
used for analysis of the number of customers on different levels of discounts and standard
plans.
8
It should be noted that this does not represent all customers in the market as suppliers may
have more than ten plans which are not reported under the new market monitoring
framework.
The last part of section 5 looks at the range of non-price related components of electricity
and gas offers available in the market at present.
Price comparison websites are useful tools for customers to compare prices across
suppliers. CER has an accreditation framework which reviews the energy price comparison
service provided by websites and only accredits if the site meets defined standards for
accuracy, transparency and reliability. There are two accredited price comparison websites:
www.bonkers.ie and www.switcher.ie.
2.1 Domestic Electricity Prices
In order for a domestic electricity customer to accurately compare prices between suppliers,
the comparison of the estimated average annual bill, using current typical consumption
values of 5,300kWhs across suppliers is the best measure.
In 2016 there were five suppliers offering both standard and discounted plans for domestic
electricity, along with PrePayPower and Pinergy who offered PAYG plans exclusively.
Standard Domestic Electricity Annual Average Bills (based on typical annual consumption
of 5,300 kWhs)
January
June 2016
2016
Price Announcements in 2016
Electric Ireland
€1,182
6% reduction in unit rate announced
€1,124
in April 2016
Energia
€1,228
No reduction announced in Q2 2016
€1,228
on standard plans
BGE
€1,169
5% reduction in unit rate
€1,169
announced in August 2016
SSE Airtricity
€1,218
5% reduction on standard gas and
€1,218
electricity unit rates announced in
June 2016
Panda power
€1,234
No reduction announced in Q2 2016
€1,226
on standard plans
PAYG Plans
PrePayPower
€1,311
4.1% reduction on standard
€1,271
electricity unit rate in May 2016
Pinergy
€1,219
No reduction announced in Q2 2016
€1,261
on standard plans
Table 2.1
9
The annual average bill for Lifestyle choice PAYG customers includes an additional supplier
service charge which is reflected in the price.
Highest Discounted Domestic Electricity Annual Average Bills (based on typical annual
consumption of 5,300 kWhs)
January 2016
June 2016
Electric Ireland
Energia
BGE
SSE Airtricity
Panda power
PrePayPower
Pinergy
Electric Ireland
€1,037
€967
€979
€1,020
€1,046
PAYG Plans
€1,139
-
€1,074
€967
€979
€970
€1,046
€1,107
€1,156
€1,230
Table 2.2
2.2 Domestic Gas Prices
In order for a domestic gas customer to accurately compare prices between suppliers, the
comparison of the average annual bill, using current typical consumption values of
13,800kWhs across suppliers is the best measure.
Standard Domestic Gas Annual Average Bills (based on typical annual
consumption of 13,800 kWhs)
Price announcements in
January 2016
June 2016
2016
Announced a 5% drop in its
Electric Ireland
€938
gas unit rate in September
€938
2016
Energia
€960
€960
Announced a 2.5% drop in
BGE
€943
its gas unit rate in August
€943
2016
Flogas
€939
€939
5% reduction on standard
SSE Airtricity
-2
gas unit rate announced in
€953
June 2016
Table 2.3
2
In January 2016 SSE Airtricity offered gas as part of dual fuel offers only
10
Highest Discounted Domestic Gas Annual Average Bills (based on
typical annual consumption of 13,800 kWhs)
Gas
January 2016
June 2016
€891
€854
€880
€783
-
€895
€854
€880
€782
€824
Electric Ireland
Energia
BGE
Flogas
SSE Airtricity
Table 2.4
2.3 Domestic Dual Fuel Prices
In Q2 2016 Electric Ireland, Energia, Bord Gáis Energy and SSE Airtricity offered dual fuel
plans to customers with price discounts for domestic customers that avail of both services
for the same supplier.
Highest Discounted Dual Fuel Annual Average Bills
January 2016
Electric Ireland
€1,970
Energia
BGE
€1,795
€1,916
SSE Airtricity
€1,844
Price announcements in
2016
Announced a 5% drop in its
gas unit rate in September
2016
8% discount plan for dual fuel
customers announced in June
2016
June 2016
€1,918
€1,795
€1,916
€1,901
Table 2.5
11
2.4 Changes in standing charges and unit charges over time
Standing charges for electricity and gas plans have not changed significantly over time. For
electricity, they have fluctuated between an average of approximately 34c per day and 37c
per day3.
Competition and discounts are usually associated with the unit charge for supplier’s plans.
the CER will continue to monitor changes to standing charges and competition in total
energy costs.
150
140
130
120
110
100
Electric Ireland
SSE Airtricity
Energia
Panda
Jul-16
Sep-16
Mar-16
May-16
Jan-16
Nov-15
Jul-15
Sep-15
May-15
Jan-15
Mar-15
Sep-14
Nov-14
Jul-14
May-14
Jan-14
Mar-14
Sep-13
Nov-13
Jul-13
90
May-13
€/year (excluding VAT)
Electricity standing charge over time
Bord Gais Energy
Figure 2.1
For gas, standing charges have fluctuated between 21c per day and 23c per day.
3
This average excludes the standing charges associated with PAYG plans as additional service charges are also
included.
12
c/day (excluding VAT)
Gas standing charge over time
23
22.5
22
21.5
21
20.5
20
19.5
19
Electric Ireland
Bord Gais Energy
Energia
Flogas
Figure 2.2
Figures 2.3 and 2.4 show the changes in electricity and gas standard and discount unit
rates over time per supplier. Overall for standard and discounted plans in both markets, unit
rates have declined in recent years and the trend across suppliers is similar. In 2016, there
were a number of announcements concerning price reductions, however there have been
fewer price reductions in the gas market.
Figure 2.3
13
Figure 2.4
2.5 Number of Customers on Standard Vs Discounted Plans –
Electricity
Under the CER’s extended market monitoring framework, data on the top ten contracts for
each supplier in terms of customer numbers is submitted to the CER on a quarterly basis.
This includes data on the number of customers on each plan, the percentage discount, total
consumption for the period, the features of each plan and the annual average bill. This
analysis does not include all customers in the market but provides a good indication of the
level of up-take of discounted plans in the market.
Electricity
Gas
Number of customers reported on top 10 plans
for Q2 2016
1,695,406
479,632
Total number of customers in the market
2,031,128
646,492
% of total customers
83.47%
74.16%
Table 2.6
This section presents some analysis carried out with data for Q2 2016, looking at the
proportion of customers on standard and discounted plans and the breakdown of the range
of discounts they receive.
14
90.00
83.26
81.09
81.34
80.00
% of customers
70.00
60.00
50.00
Standard Plans
40.00
Discount plans
30.00
20.00
18.91
18.66
16.74
10.00
0.00
Total Customers
Urban
Rural
Figure 2.5
Figure 2.5 shows the % of customers on standard and discounted electricity plans in Q2
2016 (as reported through market monitoring). This data indicates that the majority of
customers in the market are on standard plans.
This information is based on data received for this period from suppliers detailing their top
10 electricity plans, based on the number of customers on each plan. This means that not
every customer in the market is detailed here and the data is only representative of the
market as a whole.
Total Customers
Urban
customers
Rural Customers
% Standard
81.09%
83.26%
81.34%
% Discount
18.91%
16.74%
18.66%
Table 2.6
15
Breakdown of electricity discounts
45.00
40.00
% of customers
35.00
30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
<1%
1-5%
5-10%
10-20%
>20%
Figure 2.6
Figure 2.6 shows the proportion of electricity customers on less than 1% discounts and
discounts of between 1-5%, 5-10%, 10-20% and greater than 20%. Based on market
monitoring information, most customers, who are on a discounted plan, are on discounts of
between 1% and 5%. These may be rolling discounts on standard plans, where customers
receive discounts off their plans for using direct debit and e-billing.
Customers on discounts of 5-10% and 10-20% are more likely to be on fixed term contracts
with higher discounts available. Customers who switch at the end of their contract term can
avail of these discounts across suppliers.
Analysis suggests that most customers are not on the highest discounted plan available,
and in many cases the discounted plans with the most customers have an annual average
bill that is only slightly below that of the standard tariff bill.
16
2.6 Number of Customers on Standard Vs Discounted Plans - Gas
Top 10 domestic gas plans, Q1 2016
80.00
% of customers
70.00
68.53
60.00
50.00
40.00
Standard Plans
31.47
Discounted Plans
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
Standard Vs Discounted Plans
Figure 2.7
Figure 2.7 shows the % of customers on standard and discounted gas plans in Q2 2016 (as
reported through market monitoring). This information is based on data received for this
period from suppliers detailing their top 10 gas plans, based on the number of customers on
each plan. A larger proportion of gas customers are on discounted plans than electricity,
with approximately 31% of customers receiving some type of discount.
Figure 2.8 shows the proportion of gas customers on less than 1% discounts and discounts
of between 1-5%, 5-10%, 10-20% and greater than 20%. As for electricity, the majority of
gas customers on discounted plans receive discounts of between 1-5%. More customers
receive discounts of greater than 20% than for electricity.
Breakdown of gas discounts
40
% of customers
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0-1%
1-5%
5-10%
10-20%
>20%
Figure 2.8
17
2.7 Number of Customers Defaulting to Standard Tariffs
Data is also received from suppliers on a yearly basis on the overall number of customers
who defaulted to standard tariffs. The indicator refers to the automatic default of a current
customer at the end of a contract to a tariff that does not have a new customer discount or a
contract term associated with it.
Number of customers defaulting to standard tariffs,
237391
2015
Number of customers
240000
190000
140000
86191
90000
40000
6159
-10000
Domestic Electricity
573
Small Business
Electricity
Domestic Gas
IC Gas
Figure 2.9
Figure 2.9 shows the number of customers per market segment that defaulted to standard
tariffs in 2015. There were 2,030,110 customers in the domestic electricity market in 2015.
% of customers defaulting to standard tariffs in 2015
Domestic
Electricity
Small Business
Electricity
Domestic Gas
IC Gas
% of total customers
11.69%
3.33%
12.89%
2.41%
% of customers who
switched in the last 12
months
86.14%
18.34%
81.23%
15.73%
Table 2.7
In 2015, 86% of electricity customers that had switched supplier in the last 12 months
defaulted to a standard tariff, when their initial discount period ended. This amounted to
11.69% of all electricity customers.
12.89% of all gas customers defaulted to standard tariffs, at the end of a discount period,
amounting to over 81% of gas customers who switched supplier in the last 12 months.
18
While this is a low percentage of customers overall, taken as a percentage of customers on
fixed term discounted plans this indicates that a large number of customers who were active
in the market did not renegotiate their contract or switch in 2015. Lower numbers of
business electricity and gas customers defaulted to standard tariffs, however a significant
proportion of business customers negotiate bespoke contracts with suppliers.
2.8 Features of plans
In 2016 there was a large variety of payment methods available and different features
across different plans. Features included cash based and credit offers, green offers, loyalty
schemes and device based offers.
Energy based
services/Free items
Cashback
offers & Points
Climote heating
control
€50-€150
cashback
1000-4000
Tesco clubcard
points
Nest learning
thermostat
GE Led Light Bulbs
In Home Displays
and applications
Boiler Services
Green offers
€20-€50 free top
ups
Access to
loyalty schemes
€120 credit on
first or second
bill
Discounts
2%-20% Gas
discounts
1%-26%
Electricity
discounts
Duel fuel
discount
bundles
Payment
Methods
Unit Charges
and Standing
Charges
Standing charges
do not vary widely
PAYG
Direct
Debit
Most discounts
are off unit
charges
Contract terms
12/24 month
contract terms
with exit fees
Most customers
default to
standard tariffs
Bank
Transfer
Phone
Cheque
An Post
Table 5.8
19

A range of price reductions have occurred in electricity and gas in 2016.

The best available standard electricity plan in Q2 2016 was offered by Electric Ireland
with an estimated annual average bill of €1,123.92. The best available discounted
plan was offered by Energia, with an estimated annual average bill of €967.36

The best available standard gas plan in Q2 2016 of €938.32 was offered by Electric
Ireland, while the best available discount plan of €781.9 was offered by Flogas.

There was a price spread of €147 between the best available and worst available
standard electricity plan, and a price spread of €107 between the best available and
worst available discount plan in Q2 2016.

For the best available electricity plans, the next best available offer was only €4 euro
more expensive for standard plans and €3 euro more expensive for discounted plans.

Most customers continue to be on standard plans or on plans with lower levels of
discounts.

A significant proportion of customers default onto standard prices; In 2015, 86% of
electricity customers that had switched supplier in the last 12 months .defaulted to a
standard tariff, when their initial discount period ended.
20
3 Market Share – Domestic Electricity
3.1 Domestic Electricity Market Share by Customer Numbers and
MWhs
Domestic Market Share
4.57%
1.18%
0.83%
5.47%
15.56%
1.28%5.38%
5.19%
0.96%
17.22%
52.7%
57.65%
Electric
Ireland
SSE Airtricity
Bord Gáis
Energy
PrePayPower
Energia
14.75%
17.27%
Pinergy
Others
(a)
Customer Nos
(b) MWhs
Figure 3.1, Q2 Domestic Electricity market Share
Q2 2016
Electric Ireland
SSE Airtricity
Domestic Market Share
Sites
MWhs
1,172,939
1,027,717
300,065
336,778
Bord Gáis Energy
316,472
335,839
PrePayPower
111,184
101,179
Energia
92,927
104,927
Pinergy
23,976
25,030
Others
16,851
18,811
Total
2,034,414
1,950,281
Table 3.1, Number of sites and Mwhs per supplier
21
Domestic Customers change in market
share
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Q2 2015-Q2 2016
Electric Ireland
Sites
-0.93%
MWhs
-1.56%
Sites
-3.34%
MWhs
-3.00%
SSE Airtricity
-0.47%
-0.62%
-1.61%
-1.96%
Bord Gáis Energy
0.37%
0.79%
1.87%
1.77%
PrePayPower
0.18%
0.28%
0.70%
0.57%
Energia
0.46%
0.66%
1.46%
1.38%
Pinergy
0.07%
0.05%
0.13%
0.28%
Others
0.32%
0.42%
0.79%
0.95%
Table 3.2, % change in market share for Q2 2015 to Q2 2016

Electric Ireland had the largest decrease of market share between Q1 and Q2 2016,
losing 1.56% in terms of consumption. Between Q2 2016 and Q2 2015 it lost 3% of
the domestic market in terms of consumption.

Bord Gáis Energy had the largest increase in market share between Q1 and Q2
2016, with an increase of 0.79% in terms of consumption.

In Q2 2016, Electric Ireland held 52.7% of the domestic electricity market in terms of
consumption, followed by SSE Airtricity with 17.27%, Bord Gáis Energy with 17.22%,
Energia with 5.38% and PrePayPower with 5.19%.
22
4 Market Share – Domestic Gas
4.1 Domestic Gas Market Share by Customer Numbers and GWhs
Domestic Market Share
5.72%
6.05%
5.59%
5.97%
14.02%
Airtricity
14.68%
BG
Energy
22.95%
22.34%
Electric
Ireland
51.72%
Flogas
50.97%
Energia
(a) Customer Nos
(b) GWhs
Figure 4.1, Q2 Domestic gas market Share
Domestic Market Share
Q2 2016
Sites
GWhs (Cumulative)
GWhs (Q2 only)
Bord Gáis Energy
334,926
2,196
632
SSE Airtricity
90,814
649
182
Electric Ireland
148,609
984
277
Flogas
36,190
253
74
Energia
37,062
261
75
Total
647,602
4,343
1,240
Table 4.1, Number of sites and Gwhs per supplier
23
Domestic Gaschange in market
share
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Q2 2015 –Q2 2016
Sites
GWhs
Sites
GWhs
Bord Gáis Energy
0.09%
0.56%
1.05%
SSE Airtricity
-0.31%
-0.37%
0.78%
-1.93%
Electric Ireland
-0.27%
-0.60%
-0.21%
Flogas
0.19%
-0.45%
%
0.20%
0.69%
0.66%
Energia
0.30%
0.05%
0.94%
0.82%
-2.23%
Table 4.2, % change in market share for Q2 2015 to Q2 2016

Energia had the largest increase in market share between Q2 2015 and Q2 2016 with
an increase of 0.94% in terms of customer numbers.

SSE Airtricity lost 0.31% of its market share between Q1 and Q2 2016 in terms of
customer numbers, and has lost 1.93% overall since Q2 2015.

In Q2 2016, Bord Gáis Energy held 51.72% of the market in terms of customer
numbers, followed by Electric Ireland with 22.95%, SSE Airtricity with 14.02%,
Energia with 5.72% and Flogas with 5.59%.
24
5 Customer Switching and
Renegotiations
5.1 Electricity, Gas and Dual Fuel Switching in Q2 2016
Customer switching is a key indicator of retail competition and supplier activity within the
retail market. This section contains data on customer switching activity from Q2 2015 to Q2
2016.
Figure 5.1, Overall Switching in Electricity, Q2 2015-Q2 2016
The total number of customers switching in electricity was 81,918 in Q2 2016. This
represented an increase in switching of 9.14% from Q2 2015.
Month
Apr-15
May-15
Jun-15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct-15
Nov15
Dec15
Jan-16
Feb16
Mar16
Apr-16
May16
Jun16
Total
Number of
Switches
22,944
26,712
25,404
26,307
23,867
26,906
25,765
26,455
20,379
23,925
28,684
26,771
29,244
27,079
25,595
Table 5.1 Total switches in electricity, Q2 2015-Q2 2016
25
Figure 5.2, Overall switching in gas, Q2 2015-Q2 2016
The total number of customers switching in gas was 22,926 in Q2 2016. This represented a
decrease in switching of 13% from Q2 2015, during which time there were 26,307 customer
switches.
Month
Apr15
May-15
Jun15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct15
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan16
Feb-16
Mar16
Apr16
May16
Jun16
Total
Number
of
Switches
8,314
9,561
8,432
9,415
8,602
10,174
9,440
8,630
7,314
7,900
8,766
8,639
8,847
6,884
7,215
Table 5.2, Total Switches in Gas, Q2 2015-Q2 2016
The CER has also begun to collect data on the number of dual fuel switches per month. A
dual fuel customer is defined as a site that has both gas and electricity accounts with the
same supplier (whether on a specific dual fuel tariff or not).
The 'dual fuel switching' indicator refers to the number of dual fuel customers (measured by
MPRN/GPRN) that switched, either one account or both gas and electricity, per month. The
data is provide by suppliers to the CER. Table 5.3 and Figure 5.3 demonstrate the level of
duel fuel switches between December 2015 and June 2016.
26
Dual Fuel Switches
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Domestic Electricity
1673
1760
2475
1988
2547
1996
2243
Domestic Gas
1717
2106
1978
1862
1406
1318
1631
Domestic Dual Fuel
4523
5075
6565
5492
5729
3823
4343
Electricity Switches
20,379
23,925
28,684
26,771
29,244
27,079
25,595
7,314
7,900
8,766
8,639
8,847
6,884
7,215
27,693
31,825
37,450
35,410
38,091
33,963
32,810
28.57
28.09
29.42
26.38
25.42
21.01
25.04
Gas Switches
Total Switches
% of switches which
were dual fuel
customers
Table 5.3, Dual Fuel Switches
7000
Number of dual fuel customer switches
6565
6000
5492
5729
Domestic
Electricity
5075
5000
4523
4343
4000
3823
Domestic
Gas
3000
2547
2475
2000
2044
1717
1673
2106
1760
1978
1996
1988
1862
1406
2243
1631
Domestic
Dual Fuel
1318
1000
582
0
126
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Figure 5.3
5.2 Renegotiations
This section presents new market monitoring data on renegotiations in the electricity and
gas retail markets from January 2016 to March 2016. Renegotiations refer to situations
where a new contract term, tariff or terms & conditions have been negotiated between the
supplier and the customer (whether the renegotiation was initiated by the customer or
supplier).Data on renegotiations complements that collected on switching and helps to
provide a more complete picture of customer engagement and the options open to
customers.
27
This analysis looks at the number of successfully completed renegotiated contracts
(regardless of whether initiated by the customer or the supplier or of the number of times
and individual customer renegotiated)4.
Domestic Electricity
Total Number of successful
renegotiations
Non Domestic Electricity
Total Number of successful
renegotiations
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
5,250
10,103
14,239
17,728
14,982
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
582
428
557
1,722
556
Number of switches
26,455
20,379
23,925
28,684
26,771
% of total switches
22.04
51.68
61.84
67.81
58.04
Table 5.4
Domestic Gas
Total Number of successful
renegotiations
Non-Domestic Gas
Total Number of successful
renegotiations
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
1,483
2,850
4,014
4,085
3,519
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
19
600
581
643
196
Number of switches
8,630
7,314
7,900
8,766
8,639
% of total switches
17.40
47.17
58.16
53.94
43.00
Table 5.5

The total number of electricity customers that switched in Q2 2016 was 81,918. This
represented an increase in switching of 9.14% from Q2 2015.

The total number of customers that switched in gas was 22,926 in Q2 2016. This
represented a decrease in switching of 13% from Q2 2015.

Data on dual fuel switches indicates that a material number of switches each month
are from dual fuel customers.

The level of renegotiations between customers and their suppliers in 2016
demonstrates that there is additional customer engagement in the market to that
measured through switching numbers.
4
New data captured under the market monitoring framework may be subject to change
28
6
Financial Hardship PAYG
This section looks at the trend in the installation of PAYG meters. Prepayment meters are
split into two types; financial hardship Pay As You Go (PAYG) meters and lifestyle choice
PAYG meters. PAYG financial hardship meters are offered in the domestic electricity and
gas markets to customers experiencing financial difficulty paying their bills. The cost of the
meter and its installation are socialised and the customer does not have to pay anything
extra for the meter itself.
If a customer is in arrears, they cannot be disconnected for reasons of non-payment of
account unless they have first been offered a PAYG meter by their supplier. In instances
where it would not be appropriate to offer a PAYG meter, such as the customer not being
able to use the meter or where there is no suitable location for the meter in the premises,
the supplier must offer an alternative.
The Codes of Practice require fair and robust customer processes to be in place for the
installation of such meters. Currently Bord Gáis Energy, Electric Ireland, Energia, Flogas
and SSE Airtricity provide PAYG meters for financial hardship in the electricity and gas
domestic markets.
A number of suppliers also offer lifestyle choice prepayment options in the electricity sector
(Electric Ireland, Pinergy and PrePayPower). Customers may find such meters useful to
manage their consumption and spending on electricity.
For gas, GNI provides all the PAYG meters. If a customer wishes to avail of a lifestyle
choice meter in gas they obtain such from GNI through their supplier.
The CER will continue to monitor the installation of PAYG financial hardship meters in its
quarterly reports.
Total Cumulative
Installs
Total Monthly Installs
Q1 2015
67,010
4,152
Electricity PAYG installs
Q2 2015
Q3 2015
70,580
73,288
3,570
2,478
Q4 2015
75,177
Q1 2016
77,101
Q2 2016
78,742
1,889
1,921
1,641
Table 5.1 Total and cumulative number of electricity PAYG installs
29
Gas PAYG Installs
Q2 2015
Q3 2015
97,317
99,341
Q1 2015
94,927
Total Cumulative
Installs
Total Monthly
Installs
% financial hardship
Q4 2015
100,052
Q1 2016
100,749
Q2 2016
101,736
1,896
2022
1,625
902
1,003
1,276
87.87%
89.28%
89.11%
78.82%
70.09%
77.35%
Table 5.2 Total and cumulative number of gas PAYG installs
The total number of PAYG installs by ESBN and GNI has declined between the beginning
of 2015 and the beginning of 2016.
Total number of PAYG installs Q1 2014-Q2 2016
7,000
5,975 6,120
Number of installs
6,000
5,075
5,000
4,064 4,152
4,000
3,000
2,597
2,478
Electricity PAYG
Installs
3,287
3,193
2,000
1,000
2,478
1,959
1,896
1,889 1921
1,750
1641
1,625
1,276
1,003
902
Gas PAYG Installs
Q1
2014
Q2
2014
Q3
2014
Q4
2014
Q1
2015
Q2
2015
Q3
2015
Q4
2015
Q1
2016
Q2
2016
Figure 5.1, Total number of PAYG installs between 2014 and 2016
Table 5.3 details the electricity PAYG meter installation rate per supplier. This was
calculated by dividing the number of meter installs per quarter by the number of customers
of each supplier per quarter.
30
Electricity PAYG
financial hardship
Install Rate
Q2 2014
Electric
Ireland
SSE
Airtricity
Bord Gáis Energy
Energia
0.29%
0.39%
0.32%
-
Q3 2014
0.33%
0.32%
0.31%
-
Q4 2014
0.24%
0.18%
0.18%
0.01%
Q1 2015
0.24%
0.20%
0.16%
0.02%
Q2 2015
0.18%
0.19%
0.24%
0.03%
Q3 2015
0.13%
0.13%
0.17%
0.02%
Q4 2015
0.10%
0.11%
0.12%
0.01%
Q1 2016
0.11%
0.09%
0.10%
0.03%
Q2 2016
0.10%
0.10%
0.09%
0.03%
Table 5.3 Electricity PAYG installation rate
Table 5.4 details the Gas PAYG financial hardship meter installation rate per supplier.
Gas PAYG
(financial
hardship)
Install Rate
Q4 2013
Q1 2014
Q2 2014
Q3 2014
Q4 2014
Q1 2015
Q2 2015
Q3 2015
Q4 2015
Q1 2016
Q2 2016
Electric Ireland
SSE
Airtricity
Bord Gáis Energy
Flogas
0.15%
0.12%
0.24%
0.22%
0.15%
0.05%
0.21%
0.25%
0.13%
0.14%
0.22%
0.65%
0.56%
0.66%
0.45%
0.26%
0.16%
0.29%
0.24%
0.13%
0.16%
0.27%
0.35%
0.32%
0.50%
0.42%
0.26%
0.12%
0.32%
0.21%
0.10%
0.09%
0.12%
0.67%
0.58%
0.41%
0.39%
0.23%
0.05%
0.17%
0.15%
0.09%
0.04%
0.03%
Table 5.4 Gas PAYG installation rate

1,641 Electricity PAYG financial hardship devices were installed in Q2 2016,
compared to 3,570 in Q2 2015.

1,276 Gas PAYG devices were installed in Q2 2016, compared to 2,022 in Q2 2015.

SSE Airtricity and Electric Ireland had the highest electricity and gas PAYG
installation rate in Q2 2016.
31
7 Debt Flagging
Where a customer requests to change to a new supplier, the customer’s existing supplier
has the facility to inform the new supplier if the customer has an outstanding debt, above
the industry thresholds approved by the CER5.
The new supplier can then choose whether to proceed with or cancel the change of supplier
(CoS) request where this ‘flag’ has been raised. The debt flagging process has been in
place since October 2011 and the CER monitors the use of the debt flagging facility by both
losing and gaining suppliers on an on-going basis.
Elec
Debt Flags
Q1
2014
Q2
2014
Q3
2014
Q4
2014
Q1
2015
Q2
2015
Q3
2015
Q4
2015
Q1
2016
Q2
2016
Total Debt Flags
1,061
1,398
1,374
959
1,262
972
858
922
560
572
1.67%
1.73%
1.67%
1.17%
1.61%
1.29%
1.11%
1.27%
0.71%
0.70%
23.60%
29.00%
31.40%
37.23%
35.30%
36.30%
33.10%
21.80%
28.57%
27.97%
811
993
943
602
817
619
574
721
400
412
Total debt Flags as
% of overall
Switches
% of debt Flagged
CoS requests
Cancelled
Debt Flagged CoS
not cancelled
Table 7.1, Debt Flagging in Electricity Q1 2014 – Q2 2016
Debt Flags
Q1
2014
Q2
2014
Q3
2014
Q4
2014
Gas
Q1
Q2
2015
2015
Q3
2015
Total Debt Flags
166
254
287
278
175
258
0.69%
0.96%
0.95%
0.96%
0.65%
50.60%
44.10%
44.30%
38.49%
82
142
160
171
Total debt Flags as %
of overall Switches
% of debt Flagged
CoS requests
Cancelled
Debt Flagged CoS not
cancelled
Q1
2016
180
Q2
2016
352
Q4
2015
237
0.98%
1.25%
0.93%
0.71%
1%
46.29%
52.33%
44.03%
37.13%
47%
55%
94
123
197
149
96
143
Table 7.2, Debt Flagging in Gas Q1 2014 – Q2 2016
5
Domestic threshold: ≥ €225 for > 60 days from due. Small business & unmetered supply: ≥ €600 for > 30
days from due. Medium sized business: ≥ €1,200 for > 30 days from due.
32
319
8 Disconnections
The disconnection/ de-energisation of a customer’s energy supply should always be the last
resort and all suppliers are required to offer a payment plan and prepayment solution to
customers in advance of proceeding to disconnect. This section analyses trends in
disconnections in both electricity and gas for Q2 2016.
In early 2014 the CER, in conjunction with industry and the Department of Communications,
Energy and Natural Resources, reviewed the market processes to ascertain if more could
be done in further reducing disconnections (e.g. by increasing uptake of PAYG). While this
work was ongoing the CER imposed a moratorium on the disconnections, which was lifted
on 20th February 2014. In May 2014, a voluntary agreement was introduced by most
energy suppliers which saw them committing to never disconnect an engaging customer.
8.1 Disconnections – Total
The total number of disconnections in Q2 2016 was 1,631 for electricity and 715 for gas.
Table 8.1 shows the total number of disconnections between 2011 and Q2 2016.
Total NPA
Disconnections
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Q1 2016
Q2 2016
Electricity
17,794
17,441
12,391
8,731
7,783
3,006
1,631
Gas
4,560
7,558
6,279
3,998
3,542
855
715
Table 8.1, total (domestic and business) disconnections in Electricity and Gas 2011-Q2 2016
Number of disconnections
Total (Domestic and Business) NPA disconnections
20,000
17,794
17,441
15,000
12,391
10,000
8,731
7,558
5,000
6,279
4,560
7,783
3,998
3,542
2011
2012
Electricity
2013
2014
2015
Gas
Figure 8.1, trend in NPA disconnections from 2011-2015
33
8.2 Disconnections-Electricity Market
The CER receives data on electricity disconnections6 that were completed for non-payment
of account reasons on a monthly basis from ESBN7. This section analyses the data on
validated electricity non-payment of account (NPA) disconnections8.
Total domestic disconnections per supplier
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Apr-15
May-15
Jun-15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct-15
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Electric
Ireland
SSE
Airtricity
Bord Gáis
Enegy
Pre Pay
Power
Energia
224
406
300
415
148
176
286
134
257
403
398
229
89
114
96
103
80
117
106
114
110
73
60
12
49
136
115
125
61
47
84
76
105
71
63
26
122
90
76
45
52
34
52
48
47
13
29
9
5
2
5
21
17
33
68
52
32
12
20
9
699
596
580
250
92
73
71
84
56
81
97
109
56
94
83
107
40
58
20
30
22
15
22
13
19
18
11
21
27
22
Pinergy9
1
5
1
4
1
7
1
21
15
23
22
28
14
13
Total
489
748
592
709
358
408
600
425
558
573
570
306
880
845
774
502
292
288
Table 8.2, Total domestic disconnections by supplier, January 2015 – June 2016
The majority of disconnections due to NPA in Q2 2016 were for domestic customers, with
Electric Ireland having the largest number of disconnections in Q2 2016. The market share
6
This data has been validated by suppliers in advance of publication.
NPA can cover customers in arrears that have been disconnected because they cannot pay due to financial
hardship or disconnected customers who choose not to pay debt. Currently such customers cannot be
distinguished in the data. This NPA data does not include data on self-disconnections. This data includes
disconnections of PAYG customers due to fraud/theft.
8
PrePayPower states that, as a prepay supplier, it only disconnects in situations where they suspect a site of
being vacant or in instances of fraud based on an analysis of vend and consumption data.
9
As a prepay supplier, Pinergy also disconnects customers in instances of fraud and for vacant premises based
on vend and consumption data.
7
34
of suppliers and rate of disconnections will be considered in the 2016 annual report, which
will look at the disconnection rate per 10,000 customers.
Figure 8.2 shows the trend in disconnections for 2015 and 2016 compared to the trend in
installation of PAYG financial hardship meters. Without a PAYG system in place which
provides an option for customers facing difficulty in paying their electricity bills,
disconnections would be significantly higher.
Total domestic electricity disconnections compared to PAYG
Installs
1,800
1,600
1,577
1,400
1,358
1,200
1,217
1,082
1,000
800
Domestic
Disconnections
1,187
709
600
592
489
400
941
884
880 845
796
748
600
1,018
358
408
200
774
687 675
653
653
563 530 559
558 573 570
523
502
465
425
306
292 288
PAYG Installs
Jun-16
May-16
Apr-16
Mar-16
Feb-16
Jan-16
Dec-15
Nov-15
Oct-15
Sep-15
Aug-15
Jul-15
Jun-15
May-15
Apr-15
Mar-15
Feb-15
Jan-15
-
Figure 8.2, Total Domestic Electricity Disconnections compared to PAYG financial hardship
installs for January 2015 to June 2016
Percentage change in electricity disconnections
Total
Domestic
% change between 2013 and 2014
-29.63%
-27.62%
% change between 2014 and 2015
-11.04%
-13.51%
% change between Q2 2015 and Q2
2016
-11%
-27%
Table 8.3
35
8.3 Disconnections- Gas Market
There are three types of disconnections10 in gas: credit locks, disconnect meters (DMs) and
street isolations (CTSRs). This section only focuses on the disconnections that were
undertaken for non-payment of account (NPA) reasons11.
Total domestic gas disconnections per supplier
Bord Gáis
SSE
Electric
Flogas
Energia
Energy
Airtricity
Ireland
Total
Jan-15
74
27
17
17
1
136
Feb-15
99
31
38
26
0
194
Mar-15
208
22
27
39
4
300
Apr-15
111
30
36
48
17
242
May-15
77
29
38
34
19
197
Jun-15
212
30
52
22
35
351
Jul-15
206
40
20
47
61
374
Aug-15
222
30
26
26
35
339
Sep-15
206
29
8
227
0
470
Oct-15
221
37
52
127
6
443
Nov-15
135
18
4
77
6
240
Dec-15
68
6
1
10
1
86
Jan-16
143
9
13
21
12
198
Feb-16
172
30
37
42
9
290
Mar-16
142
13
25
43
15
238
Apr-16
76
23
15
21
24
159
May-16
143
30
47
33
23
276
Jun-16
89
24
29
48
21
211
Table 8.4, Total domestic disconnections by supplier, January 2015 – March 2016
10
The CER receives separate data reports on all three from GNI. To determine the disconnections that were
completed for non-payment of account reasons (NPA), the CER assumes all credit locks were completed for
NPA reasons and sends each supplier the GPRNs that relate to their DMs and CTSRs so that the supplier can
identify the remaining NPA disconnections. The CER then add together all the CLs and the NPA identified DMs
and CTSRs to derive an estimate for total gas NPA disconnections.
11
This data has been validated by suppliers in advance of publication.
36
Bord Gáis Energy had the highest number of disconnections overall between January and
June 2016. The market share of suppliers and rate of disconnections will be considered in
the annual report, which will look at the disconnection rate per 10,000 customers.
Figure 8.3 shows the trend in gas disconnections compared to the trend in installation of
PAYG financial hardship meters. The chart indicates that without a PAYG system,
disconnections would be higher.
Total gas disconnections compared to PAYG installs
700
650
600
577
616
570
470
440 441 443
439
400
Domestic Gas
Disconnections
563 567
500
351
300
374
374
360 344
339
300
290
242
200
240
197
194
171 166
136
100
221
205
198
277 283 276
238
211
159
Gas PAYG
(financial
hardship)
installs
86
Jun-16
May-16
Apr-16
Mar-16
Feb-16
Jan-16
Dec-15
Nov-15
Oct-15
Sep-15
Aug-15
Jul-15
Jun-15
May-15
Apr-15
Mar-15
Feb-15
Jan-15
0
Figure 8.3, Total Domestic Gas Disconnections compared to PAYG financial hardship
installs for January 2015 to June 2016
Percentage change in gas disconnections between 2014 and 2015
Total
Domestic
% change between 2013 and 2014
-36.3%
-35.3%
% change between 2014 and 2015
-11.43%
-11.64%
% change between Q2 2015 and Q2 2016
-13.75%
-18%
Table 8.5


In Q2 2016, there were 1,631 electricity disconnections and 715 gas disconnections.
Overall, this presented a decline in electricity disconnections in from Q2 2015 of 11%.
There was a decrease of 27% of domestic disconnections and an increase of 55% in
non-domestic disconnections between Q2 2015 and Q2 2016.
37
9 Non-Domestic Electricity Market
Share
9.1 Small and Medium Business Electricity Market Share by Customer
Numbers and MWhs
SME Market Share
1.46%
2.14%
Electric
Ireland
20.34%
Airtricity
28.09%
45.69%
37.13%
Bord Gáis
Energy
11.91%
Energia
12.09%
20.6%
20.55%
(a) Customer Nos
Others
(b) MWhs
Figure 9.1, Q2 SME Electricity market Share
Q2 2016
Small Business Market Share
Sites
MWhs
Electric Ireland
SSE Airtricity
Bord Gáis Energy
Energia
Others
84,477
38,086
22,021
37,597
2,698
321,753
178,103
104,747
243,379
18,510
Total
184,879
866,492
Table 9.1, Number of sites and Mwhs per supplier
Small Business - change in
market share
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Electric Ireland
Sites
-0.88%
MWhs
-1.18%
SSE Airtricity
0.22%
Bord Gáis Energy
Q2 2015 – Q2 2016
Sites
MWhs
-2.81%
-2.24%
0.17%
0.58%
0.31%
0.37%
0.48%
1.32%
1.77%
Energia
-0.07%
0.09%
-0.09%
-1.13%
Others
0.35%
0.44%
1.01%
1.29%
38
Table 9.2, % change in market share for Q2 2015 to Q2 2016



In Q2 2016, Electric Ireland held 37.13% of the small business market in terms of
consumption, followed by Energia with 28.09%, SSE Airtricity with 20.55% and Bord
Gáis Energy with 12.09%.
Electric Ireland lost the most in terms of consumption between Q1 and Q2, with a
loss of 1.18% of market share. Between Q2 2015 and Q2 2016 it lost 2.24% of its’
market share in terms of consumption.
Bord Gáis Energy gained 0.48% in terms of market share between Q1 and Q2.
9.2 Medium Business Electricity Market Share by Customer Numbers
and MWhs
Medium Business Market Share
0.79%
1.57%
2.66%
2.89%
Electric Ireland
Airtricity
23.66%
39.14%
30.66%
3.91%
10.01%
Bord Gáis Energy
Energia
60.06%
Vayu
16.5%
Others
8.16%
(a) Customer Nos
(b) MWhs
Figure 9.2, Q2 Medium Business Electricity market Share
Q2 2016
Electric Ireland
SSE Airtricity
Bord Gáis Energy
Energia
Vayu
Others
Total
Medium Business12 Market Share
Sites
MWhs
15,450
384,880
2,575
162,230
1,007
80,264
6,086
301,479
204
26,123
404
28,406
25,726
983,382
‘Medium-sized business’ includes low voltage maximum demand (DG6) and public lighting (DG
3&DG4).
12
39
Table 9.3, Number of sites and MWhs per supplier
Medium Business
- change in market
share
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Q2 2015-Q2 2016
Electric Ireland
Sites
-0.14%
MWhs
0.06%
Sites
-2.23%
MWhs
0.66%
SSE Airtricity
-0.16%
0.03%
-1.32%
-2.96%
Bord Gáis Energy
0.03%
0.36%
0.22%
0.78%
Energia
0.07%
-1.42%
2.27%
-0.91%
Vayu
-0.03%
0.25%
0.02%
0.15%
Others
0.22%
0.72%
1.05%
2.28%
Table 9.4, % change in market share for Q2 2015 to Q2 2016

In Q2 2016, Electric Ireland held 39.14% of the medium business market in terms of
consumption, followed by Energia with 30.66%, SSE Airtricity with 16.5% and Bord
Gáis Energy with 8.16%.

Bord Gáis Energy had the largest increase in market share in terms of consumption
between Q1 2016 and Q2 2016, while Energia had the greatest loss with a decrease
of 1.42%.
40
9.3 Large Energy Users Electricity Market Share by Customer
Numbers and MWhs
LEU Market Share
5.9%
3.74%
3.10%
Electric Ireland
7.92%
Airtricity
18.26%
13.21%
45.09%
45.14%
8.92%
Bord Gáis
Energy
Energia
9.93%
Vayu
21.71%
17.07%
(a) Customer Nos
Others
(b) MWhs
Figure 9.3, Q2 LEU Electricity market Share
Q2 2016
LEU Market Share
Sites
MWhs
Electric Ireland
795
1,049,982
SSE Airtricity
301
504,926
Bord Gáis
Energy
Energia
175
207,574
322
307,190
Vayu
104
72,190
66
184,267
2,326,128
Others
Total
1,763
Table 9.5, Number of sites and Mwhs per supplier
LEUs - Change
change in market
share
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Q2 2015 – Q2 2016
Electric Ireland
Sites
-0.51%
MWhs
-0.67%
Sites
0.76%
MWhs
0.23%
SSE Airtricity
-0.28%
-0.63%
-3.64%
-3.79%
Bord Gáis Energy
-0.12%
0.79%
0.49%
2.46%
Energia
0.57%
0.45%
0.79%
-0.34%
Vayu
-0.15%
-0.13%
0.29%
0.10%
Others
0.49%
0.20%
1.31%
1.34%
Table 9.6, % change in market share for Q2 2015 to Q2 2016
41


In Q2 2016, Electric Ireland held 45.14% of the LEU market, followed by
SSE Airtricity with 21.71%, Energia with 13.21%, Bord Gáis Energy with
8.92% and Vayu with 3.10%.
Between Q1 and Q2 2016, Electric Ireland lost 0.67% of market share in
terms of consumption, while Bord Gáis Energy gained 0.79%.
10 Non-Domestic Gas Market Share
10.1 Industrial and Commercial Gas Market Share by Customer
Numbers and GWhs
NDM IC Market Share
1.85%
4.92%
2.61%
20.51%
4.23%
Airtricity
25.52%
38.87%
43.72%
22.29%
Bord Gáis
Energy
Electric
Ireland
Flogas
Energia
22.58%
Vayu
6.72%
(a)
Customer Nos
6.19%
(b) GWhs
Figure 10.1, Q2 IC gas market share
42
NDM IC13 Market Share
Q2 2016
Sites
GWhs
(cumulative)
GWhs (Q2
2016)
Bord Gáis Energy
10,397
422
142
SSE Airtricity
1,169
45
15
Electric Ireland
1,597
62
21
Flogas
5,300
262
99
Energia
4,878
277
95
Vayu
439
42
14
Total
23,780
1,110
386
Table 10.1, Number of sites and GWhs per supplier
NDM IC- change in
market share
Q2 2015 – Q2 2016
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Sites
GWhs
Sites
GWhs
Bord Gáis Energy
3.62%
7.12%
-0.42%
-1.89%
SSE Airtricity
-1.96%
-6.55%
-0.21%
-0.26%
Electric Ireland
-0.65%
-1.70%
-0.09%
-0.22%
Flogas
-1.87%
-2.92%
0.57%
3.13%
Energia
0.68%
3.46%
0.11%
-0.53%
Vayu
0.19%
0.60%
0.02%
-0.24%
Table 10.1, % change in market share for Q2 2015 and Q2 2016


13
In Q2 2016, Bord Gáis Energy held 43.72% of the IC gas market in terms
of customer numbers, followed by Flogas with 22.29%, Energia with
20.51%, Electric Ireland with 6.72% and SSE Airtricity with 4.92%.
Flogas gained the most between Q1 2016 and Q2 2016 with an increase
in market share of 0.57%.
Non-daily metered industrial and commercial.
43
10.2 Fuel Variation Tariff Market Share by Customer Numbers and
GWhs
FVT Market Share
Airtricity
2.98%
2.85%
Bord
Gáis
Energy
Electric
Ireland
14.71%
14.62%
35.59%
38.67%
21.27%
22.82%
Flogas
Energia
19.64%
24.25%
1.4%
(a) Customer Nos
1.19%
Vayu
(b) GWhs
Figure 10.2 Q2 FVT gas market share
FVT14 eligible Market Share
Q2 2016
Sites
GWhs
(Cumulative)
GWhs (Q2
2016)
Bord Gáis Energy
693
494
179
SSE Airtricity
51
45
15
Flogas
352
309
122
Energia
409
289
107
Vayu
262
208
74
Electric Ireland
25
15
6
Total
1,792
1,360
503
Table 10.3, Number of sites and GWhs per supplier
14
Fuel variation tariff.
44
Q2 2015 – Q2 2016
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Bord Gáis Energy
Sites
9.14%
GWhs
9.76%
Sites
0.63%
GWhs
-1.17%
SSE Airtricity
-7.47%
-8.59%
-0.17%
-0.52%
Flogas
-3.56%
-4.05%
-0.41%
2.43%
Energia
2.14%
5.16%
-0.25%
0.04%
Vayu
-0.12%
-2.23%
-0.07%
-0.92%
Electric Ireland
-0.13%
0.16%
0.28%
0.14%
FVT- change in
market share
Table 10.4, % change in market share for Q2 2015 and Q2 2016


In Q2 2016, Bord Gáis Energy held 38.67% of the FVT market in terms of
customer numbers, followed by Energia with 22.82%, Flogas with 19.64%,
Vayu with 14.62% and SSE Airtricity with 2.85%.
Between Q1 2016 and Q2 2016, Bord Gáis Energy gained the most in
terms of customer numbers, while Flogas lost the most with a decrease of
0.41%.
45
10.3 Regulated Tariff Formula Market Share by Customer Numbers
and GWhs
RTF Market Share
0.27%
1.17
0.36%
10.12
11.86%
Airtricity
14.5%
BG
Energy
Electric
Ireland
Energia
19.07
9.99%
1.17
11.51%
35.80
21.79
Gazprom
51.52%
Vayu
10.89
Flogas
(a) Customer Nos
(b) GWhs
Figure 10.3, Q2 RTF gas market share
RTF15 eligible Market Share
Q2 2016
Sites
GWhs
(cumulative)
GWhs (Q2
2016)
Bord Gáis Energy
92
2,310
1,155
SSE Airtricity
26
655
325
Electric Ireland
28
475
258
Gazprom
3
18
8
Energia
56
484
224
Vayu
49
526
266
Flogas
3
6
6
Total
257
4,474
2,242
Table 10.4, Number of sites and GWhs per supplier
15
Regulated tariff formula.
46
RTF- change in market
share
Q2 2015 – Q2 2016
Bord Gáis Energy
SSE Airtricity
Sites
9.8%
-5.08%
Electric Ireland
0.49%
Gazprom
-1.23%
Energia
GWhs
16.27%
-4.87%
5.18%
Q1 2016 – Q2 2016
Sites
-1.07%
-0.08%
-0.09%
GWhs
-0.16%
-0.27%
1.80%
-0.01%
-5.01%
-5.78%
-7.76%
-0.56%
-0.09%
-1.64%
Vayu
0.67%
-3.11%
1.42%
0.23%
Flogas
-
-
1.17%
0.27%
Table 10.5, % change in market share for Q2 2015 to Q2 2016


In the RTF market, Bord Gáis Energy held 35.8% in terms of customer
numbers, followed by Energia with 21.79%, Vayu with 19.07%, Electric
Ireland with 10.89% and SSE Airtricity with 10.12%.
Between Q1 2016 and Q2 2016, Vayu gained the most in terms of
customer numbers with an increase of 1.42% of market share, while
Borg Gáis Energy lost the most with a decrease of 1.07%.
47
11 Non-Domestic Disconnections
Total non-domestic electricity disconnections per supplier
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Apr-15
May-15
Jun-15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct-15
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Electric
Ireland
23
29
49
52
62
37
94
86
78
49
56
48
85
81
122
110
136
68
SSE Airtricity
Bord Gáis
Energy
Pre Pay
Power
Energia
Pinergy
24
42
31
53
19
23
29
27
30
18
28
17
18
15
18
23
40
12
10
21
8
13
13
11
7
16
13
17
11
19
16
31
25
26
13
14
1
1
1
2
1
3
-
34
33
22
31
23
15
21
20
30
11
22
14
45
23
28
28
43
31
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
-
92
125
111
150
117
87
151
151
152
96
117
98
2
-
164
150
193
187
237
125
Total
Table 11.1, Total non-domestic electricity disconnections, 2015-2016
There were 549 non-domestic electricity disconnections in Q2 2016, compared with 354 in Q2
2015. For gas, there with 69 non-domestic disconnections in Q2 2016, compared to 39 in Q2
2015.
48
Jan-15
Feb-15
Mar-15
Apr-15
May-15
Jun-15
Jul-15
Aug-15
Sep-15
Oct-15
Nov-15
Dec-15
Jan-16
Feb-16
Mar-16
Apr-16
May-16
Jun-16
Total non-domestic gas disconnections per supplier
Electric Ireland
Airtricity
Bord Gáis Energy
Flogas
Energia
0
3
2
4
0
1
0
8
2
1
0
3
12
6
1
2
3
8
2
2
1
0
7
1
0
0
1
6
3
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
0
6
5
2
0
16
2
4
0
0
10
1
2
2
1
11
0
1
0
2
13
1
0
0
2
11
0
3
0
2
17
2
1
2
1
78
0
8
16
0
2
3
1
19
1
1
2
2
9
2
4
1
6
Vayu
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
Total
9
12
22
18
9
12
7
14
23
13
15
16
17
23
89
22
25
22
Table 11.2, Total non-domestic gas disconnections, 2015-2016
12 Next Steps
This report has detailed the market share of suppliers for Q2 2016 along with disconnections
data. It has presented data for 2016 concerning debt flagging, PAYG installs, customer
switching and electricity and gas prices. It is encouraging to see that the trends in both
disconnections and electricity and gas prices were downward for 2016. Data for Q3 2016 will be
presented in the next electricity and gas retail market report.
49