Is The UK Energy Market A Closed Shop?
As the price of energy in the UK continues to spiral higher and higher there are calls to introduce yet more players to the industry to try and stir up more competition. Even though it had been thought that current UK regulations were sufficient to see a degree of competition you would expect in a market of the UK's size, in practice this appear not to be the case. So what next?
The UK government is currently looking at ways to reduce the barriers to entry for smaller companies to enter the market as we have seen in the telecom industry. At the moment it seems that the major six energy providers have the industry sewn up between them and are able to crush any new entrants with their firepower.
The telecoms market is seen by many as a perfect example of how a competitive market should operate, smaller niche players entering the market with a specific client base in mind. This then puts the pressure on the larger players to offer deals to customers, thereby bringing the overall cost of services down and creating a more level playing field.
However, with big money at stake in the energy market there may be some resistance to change in the short term.
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