• Uswitch CEO Angus McCarey warns that an overly complicated energy market is leaving households confused, despite willingness to shift usage

• Customer confusion is blocking the household flexibility needed to help the grid handle the projected increase in domestic electricity demand, set to double by 2035

• McCarey is urging the energy industry to focus on cost and convenience – while giving households tools that make it effortless

• Uswitch is calling for network and policy costs to be moved off bills and into general taxation, so household energy bills are based solely on usage

The energy grid is at risk of being overwhelmed by 2035, unless households can be persuaded to change when they use energy, warns Uswitch CEO Angus McCarey.

The way the energy market is priced and explained is leaving households confused about how it works, with one in three (34%) wrongly believing the price cap limits their total bill, according to new research from Uswitch.[1]

The initial findings from a survey of 8,000 UK adults, carried out by Opinium, were shared today by Uswitch CEO Angus McCarey in a speech at Cornwall Insight’s 2026 Energy Conference.

He warned that this confusion is causing households to disengage with their energy usage, preventing many from actively managing their consumption. With domestic electricity demand forecast to roughly double from around 100 TWh in 2025 to between 180 and 200 TWh by 2035 as more households move to electric vehicles and heat pumps, consumer flexibility will become increasingly important.[2] [3]

McCarey welcomed the gas standing charge reforms announced in last week’s Budget, but said the government should go further and adopt a simple guiding principle: align control of costs with who pays for it.

Households control how much energy they use, when they use it and which tariff they choose, while the government controls the size and speed of grid upgrades. He argued that energy bills would be simpler and easier to control if all network and policy costs were moved off bills and into general taxation. In addition, suppliers would have more room to compete on smart tariffs and offer rewards for shifting.

He also urged the industry to focus their efforts on making the energy market simpler for households and called for every household to have access to an energy ‘super app’ that makes it effortless to power their home for less.

Angus McCarey, Uswitch CEO, comments: “Households have a lot on their minds, from the mortgage to the insurance renewal to the school run, so we can’t expect them to spend hours deciphering their energy bill. The system that’s been built is hard to follow, and it’s the industry’s job to fix that, not the customer’s job to decode it.

“Electricity demand is forecast to nearly double by 2035, and the grid will only cope if households can easily shift when they use energy. The government’s aim is for 100% of new cars and vans sales to be zero emission by 2035, and if every EV owner plugs-in and charges when they get home from work at 6pm, it will overwhelm the grid.

“The good news is that people are ready to play their part. Six in 10 say it is realistic to change when they run their washing machine or dishwasher, and more than half would do it for a saving of £20 a month or less. The gap between that and what’s happening today is friction, and removing friction is the industry’s job.

“The energy market needs to clearly communicate the convenience and cost benefits while giving households tools that make it effortless.

“Households control how much energy they use, when they use it and which tariff they choose, so that is what their bill should reflect. Transitioning network costs and policy levies off bills and into general taxation would make bills simpler and easier for households to control.”

Uswitch is already central to how Britain’s households buy and manage their energy. Customers comparing energy on Uswitch account for around a quarter of all domestic energy demand, and 10 million households use its home management services every year. In addition, more than 300,000 households have connected their smart meter to the Uswitch app to track their usage and earn rewards for shifting consumption to off-peak periods – and that number is growing by 400-500% every year.

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Mark Page, Uswitch Corporate Communications Manager - mark.page@rvu.co.uk

Notes to editors

Research conducted online by Opinium, 16th - 28th October 2026, among 8,000 UK energy bill-payers, weighted to be nationally representative.

[1] Respondents were asked whether the following statement about the price cap is true or false: “The energy price cap is a cap on the total cost of an energy bill”. 34% said true and 39% said false (the correct answer).

[2] DESNZ Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2026 [https://tinyurl.com/mvzkxzmu]

[3] NESO Pathways to Net Zero - Electricity Demand Summary Data Tables [https://tinyurl.com/ms63cp37]

About Uswitch

Uswitch is one of the UK's top comparison websites for home services switching. For 25 years, our experts have been doing more to get people a better deal on their energy, broadband and mobiles. In fact, we've saved our customers over £2.7 billion off their energy bills since we launched in 2000.

Uswitch's free app helps households save money with the latest switching deals, daily energy usage insights and chances to earn real cash with energy earning sessions. The app is powered by their Utrack technology, designed to encourage customers to shift and reduce their home energy consumption.

Uswitch [https://www.uswitch.com] is part of RVU [https://www.rvu.co.uk], a group of online brands with a mission to empower people and transform industries.

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