Households have the power to force change in order to reduce the amount that they pay for their heating bills, according to an expert.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, was commenting on a recent report by the IPPR which has called for further market reforms.
She noted that customers have the power to make the industry work better for them.
"The biggest issue facing the energy market is that people aren't shopping around. As a result they are sitting on old-fashioned and expensive tariffs, paying far more for their energy than they actually need to. Until this changes, suppliers have no real incentive to compete," she claimed.
Ms Robinson added that shopping around and switching providers will put pressure on the energy companies to offer fair prices providing a better and more efficient service.
An increase in competition might also see improvements being made to customer service, which consumers rate as an important factor when choosing products from a supplier.