Nearly half of company executives find that there is no or hardly any competition among electricity providers in the country, a survey by Policy Agenda and Ipsos revealed. Only about 20% of the respondents in the survey gave existing competition an above-medium or strong grade leading to an average of 2.6 on the scale of one to five.

In order for the market to really start working after a formal liberalization, the management of SMEs must also get involved in happenings on the scene, said Zoltán Nagy head of electricity supplier Magyar Áramszolgáltató. According to his observations, the executives at smaller businesses have yet to fully understand the savings potential in seeking out the best offers available. At the same time, he noted that providers should also be more aware of the needs of their prospective clientele, mainly through devising service packages tailored to the needs of individual companies or business categories, something that is already common in the banking sector.

Furthermore, they also need to be more active, Nagy said, provided that 58% of the survey’s respondents said they received no offers whatsoever from power traders. Only a small segment, 6% said they were approached with three or more proposals.

However, the research also indicates that the trends are set to change somewhat, with 14% of queried executives stating they are planning to switch providers in the near future. In their case, the main incentive is lower prices and, to a smaller degree, better services. But the greatest untapped market for the traders comprises SMEs, 40% of the sample, that have yet to be informed about the better offers and to decide on a change.

Altogether, customer demand for more intense competition is significant. Some 61% of respondents said they are planning to sign elsewhere or would do so if they had the pertinent information.