Brussels, 16/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - EU consumers are still not fully benefiting from liberalisation of the energy market reveals a study on how electricity retail markets operate, published on Monday 15 November by the European Commission which is determined to act to remedy the situation.
10 years after the start of the process to open up the electricity market to competition and despite measures adopted by the EU to ensure a high level of protection for consumers, in more than six cases out of ten (62%), mystery shoppers managed to find less expensive tariffs by swapping energy suppliers, potentially saving consumers about €100 per year. Lack of consumer awareness, for example, on the possibilities available for changing suppliers and making savings, is the main reason. Complaint handling in retail electricity needs to be improved.
The study conducted in all 27 member states, using mystery shoppers, found that 32% of consumers have compared offers. 41% of consumers do not know if they can find a cheaper tariff for themselves. Less than half (47%) know how much electricity they consume at home. In most EU countries, households consuming less energy pay more per unit than those who consume more electricity. After they make complaints, only 28% of EU consumers were satisfied with the way their complaint was dealt with.
So that consumers can make full use of the opportunities of the liberalised market in terms of price, choice, innovation and quality of service, the Commission proposes that national regulators draft guidelines to inform consumers more effectively and help them compare prices. It also intends to identify, jointly with key stakeholders, best practices in alternative dispute resolution in the energy sector. The Commission wants to see better energy bills and complaint handling: implementing the recommendations which are already in place, including those developed by the Citizen's Energy Forum.
The Commission study is a follow-up to the 2009 consumer markets scoreboard which found the retails electricity market to be among the worst performing markets for consumers. It is available at ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/facts_en.htm#Energy. (A.N./transl.rt)