Ofgem S Retail Market Review

The Energy and Climate Change Committee believes that energy companies found to have mis-sold electricity and gas deals should pay compensation to consumers. The Committee is concerned that customers may be pressured into switching supplier on the door-step without proper consideration of the options when confronted with a vast array of complex tariffs and a hard sell. Figures from Ofgem suggest that up to 40% of consumers who switch do not end up with a better deal. The report also raises concerns about the propensity for energy prices to 'rise like a rocket and fall like a feather', the growing complexity of tariffs and the market dominance of the 'Big Six' vertically integrated energy companies. The MPs single out recent price increases from ScottishPower for particular criticism. Customers who use the least energy will be hit the hardest from August when the increases are put into effect providing an apparent incentive for higher consumption - when energy companies are now supposed to be helping consumers become energy efficient. Electricity and gas tariffs are now so complex that even the Energy Minister admitted he got confused when trying to switch. The Committee is worried that a lot of people are simply bamboozled by their bills and the vast array of different tariffs on offer. The industry should address these problems immediately without waiting for Ofgem or the Government to act.

Additional written evidence is contained in Volume 3, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/ecc. For Volume 1: Report, see (ISBN 9780215052193)

Over one hundred billion pounds of investment is needed by 2020 to replace the UK's aging power stations, cut carbon emissions and maintain energy security. Government proposals for Electricity Market Reform (EMR) are supposed to encourage power companies to deliver clean affordable energy. But the Energy and Climate Change Committee is concerned that the current proposals are over-complex and could fail to attract the £110 billion investment needed in electricity generation alone by 2020. It is calling on the Government to simplify its package of reforms to provide a more certain framework for investors. The starting point for EMR should be a clearly defined objective to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity generation in the UK to 50g of CO2 per kilowatt hour (KWh) by 2030. The wholesale market should be fundamentally reformed to break up the dominance of the Big Six energy companies, in order to allow new entrants to invest in the UK and improve the liquidity of the market. The long term contracts designed to encourage low carbon energy sources - known as Feed-in-Tariffs with Contracts for Difference - will work for nuclear, but different types of contract are needed for renewables and other clean technologies. The Carbon Price Support is a necessary short term solution to weaknesses in the EU Emission Trading System, but will increase costs for consumers and could provide a windfall for nuclear and renewables generators. The MPs also call on the Government to be clear about the effect that reforms will have on energy bills.

Government response to HC 1046, session 2010-12 (ISBN 9780215560872)

This volume contains papers presented at the 17th Annual EU Competition Law and Policy Workshop, organized by Philip Lowe and Mel Marquis and held at the European University Institute on 13-14 July 2012. From a variety of angles the book explores the themes of competition, regulation and certain public policies; their interactions; and, in some cases, their mutual tensions. The authors of the various chapters consider legal and economic issues relating to network industries, industrial, environmental and trade policies, and intellectual property and innovation policies, among others. Comparative views and the views of judges from different jurisdictions are provided, and techniques for mediating among different policy objectives and frameworks are discussed. Authors contributing to this book include: Rafael Allendesalazar, Robert D Anderson, Marco Boccaccio, Ginevra Bruzzone, Cristina Caffarra, Alexandre de Streel, Ian Forrester, Douglas Ginsburg, Geert Goeteyn, Calvin Goldman, Daniel Haar, Küllike Jürimäe, Suzanne Kingston, Lars Kjølbye, Paul Lugard, Mel Marquis, Veljko Milutinovic, Giorgio Monti, Anna Caroline Müller, Rosa Perna, Anthony Pygram, Philip Lowe, Pierre Régibeau and Jon Stern.

The Economics of Electricity Markets provides a cutting-edge analysis of the critical issues involved in the design and operation of electricity markets, as well as an assessment of alternative institutional arrangements that have either been implemented or are under discussion in Europe and the US. The book illustrates how a sound market design can render electricity trading and retailing very much like that of other commodities. Social and political concerns, rather than engineering or economics, are what make electricity markets 'special'. The expert contributors address a wide set of issues that arise when competition is introduced to the electricity industry, ranging from the design of spot and real-time power markets to alternative approaches to congestion management, from competition policy in wholesale electricity markets to the benefits and costs of retail competition, and from regulatory measures to ensure generation capacity adequacy to the politicization of generation investment decisions as a way of pursuing sustainability targets. This highly informative book will appeal to academics, students and researchers in the field of advanced energy economics, and will prove essential reading for energy regulators, professionals and executives wishing to explore the theoretical foundations underpinning their day-to-day activities.

With twenty-two chapters written by leading international experts, this volume represents the most detailed and comprehensive Handbook on electricity markets ever published.

Argentina has embarked in a series of regulatory reforms to improve the quality of its regulatory framework. High-quality regulations can protect consumers and the environment without becoming burdensome for citizens and businesses.