A record number of consumers switched gas supplier last year, although there was a drop in customers swapping electricity provider.
Figures from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities show 33 per cent more people moved gas supplier in 2017 than the previous year, with electricity switching down 1.1 per cent. Overall almost 314,000 electricity users changed in 2017 and 124,400 gas customers.
Electric Ireland accounted for almost a third of accounts lost as just under 106,000 customers moved away from the largest supplier in the market but it gained more than 63,000 new or returning customers. SSE Airtricity was the only other main supplier to lose market share with a net fall of 21,225.
Energia was the big electricity winner last year, gaining a net 36,140 customers, followed by PrePayPower with 7,800. Panda Power and Pinergy made smaller net gains while Bord Gáis Energy recorded almost 5,800.
In the gas market, PrePayPower adding a net 26,570, while Energia again boosted its share with a net addition of almost 6,900 accounts.
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Bord Gáis Energy, the largest provider of gas, recorded the biggest drop in market share, with a net loss of around 26,900 customers, while Electric Ireland was down by 7,900. Flogas had a slight decrease overall in customers.
Irish consumers remain among the biggest switchers in the EU as they chase cheaper energy bills.