The total cost of a two-year competition investigation into the British energy market could exceed £80 million, according to industry officials. The Competition and Markets Authority is set to publish its final 500-page report tomorrow, bringing a formal end to a detailed study of the energy market that began in June 2014. The CMA, which has had about 30 full-time staff working on the investigation for two years, says that the project has cost it about £5 million, including about £440,000 in fees paid to lawyers and external advisers. However, the total cost to the industry, including the six big energy suppliers and their rivals, is believed to be far higher, with the bulk of this ultimately met by consumers through their energy bills.
Times 23rd June 2016 read more »
When the Competition and Markets Authority started an investigation into the energy industry in June 2014, the sector and its companies were the focus of a furious public row. Ed Miliband had made rising bills a hot political issue in the run-up to a general election and there were open threats to break up the Big Six. Two years on, that row is likely to end with more of a whimper than a bang.
Times 23rd June 2016 read more »
The Competition and Markets Authority is to publish its long-awaited final report tomorrow (24 June) which it says will fix the broken energy market. But speaking on the eve of the report’s publication, Juliet Davenport, Chief Executive of independent supplier Good Energy, launched a pre-emptive attack on the Big Six British utility companies which dominate the UK energy supply market. She said: “I want to see the CMA holding the big energy companies to account. For far too long the Big Six have taken loyal customers for granted. “This report needs to deliver practical solutions which really do un-stick the so-called ‘sticky’ customers and help them find the best deals.
Scottish Energy News 23rd June 2016 read more »