Competition in energy markets - assessment framework published

Framework announced for assessing competition in the energy market.

Ofgem, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have today announced a framework for how they will assess competition in the energy market, looking at both the domestic and small business markets.

Ofgem and the OFT will use the framework to produce the first annual review of the market in March 2014. It will draw on Ofgem’s knowledge and expertise in energy markets and competition within them, as well as the OFT’s wide-ranging experience of assessing competition in a range of different markets. The CMA will become the UK’s lead competition and consumer body from April 2014.

The framework will be used to look at the market share the 6 largest suppliers have, how vigorously they are competing and how easy it is for new entrants to enter the market and compete against larger suppliers. It will also look at how the vertical integration of suppliers affects competition, and how well suppliers engage with consumers. The review will also consider evidence on the level of profits at different parts of the supply chain.

 

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