Big six defend energy market ahead of competition review
THE BIG six energy firms yesterday defended competition in the market, ahead of the regulators’ findings on the matter later this week.
Ofgem and the Office of Fair Trading are due to decide whether to refer the investigation into whether the energy market operates fairly to the Capital Markets Authority.
“Competition in the energy market is increasing and the pace of change is on the up,” said Energy UK, an industry body which represents the big six.
“Since the 1990s the number of suppliers has increased four-fold with smaller and medium sized companies now making up more of the market.” The findings come from an independent report commissioned by Energy UK.
Consumer group Which and the Federation of Small Businesses yesterday wrote a joint letter to the regulators, calling on them to refer the market for a phase two investigation. A referral is widely expected, but a large-scale investigation would be disruptive and could hinder much-needed investment into the energy sector, according to Liberum research.
Shares in SSE and Centrica both slumped over one per cent yesterday on the uncertainty.