EURELECTRIC urges member states to make retail markets deliver

EURELECTRIC today calls on national governments to make sure that electricity customers get a better deal from retail markets, most notably by stepping up the implementation of EU energy market rules. Speaking at the Citizens’ Energy Forum in London today and tomorrow, electricity industry representatives will also urge member states to fully implement existing rules on consumer protection.

All too often retail markets still do not work as well as they should. In line with the Commission’s recently adopted Energy Union Communication, EURELECTRIC renews the sector’s call on member states to phase out regulated prices for end consumers, in particular when set below costs. Opening up markets to fair competition on a level playing field is the best way to promote innovation and provide customers with a greater choice of products and services at competitive prices. Regulation should foster, not stifle competition.

Established electricity companies are well placed to offer customers new products such as demand-side response, energy efficiency, distributed generation, and broader value-added propositions. They are working hard to win consumers’ trust and design offers that respond to their needs. In striving to increase customer engagement, they are becoming more agile and innovative, for instance by collaborating with smaller start-ups to deliver greater customer satisfaction.

However, as retail markets evolve and become more sophisticated, they can also appear more complex for customers. EURELECTRIC believes that all actors in retail markets – be they traditional suppliers or new actors such as switching websites or other intermediaries – must be subject to the same degree of regulatory oversight. Applying the same standards of transparency and simplicity to all players guarantees a maximum of transparency for customers and avoids any counterproductive impact on customer trust and engagement in the market. Similarly, policies or regulatory schemes to further self-generation and smart consumption should take care not to disadvantage those consumers who cannot afford to invest in self-generation.