Competition in the retail energy markets has brought considerable benefits to industrial, commercial and domestic customers since it was introduced.
Allowing customers to choose the supplier of their choice keeps the pressure on costs and promotes greater choice of tariffs and services for customers, such as the fixed price and capped price offers now available to domestic customers.
Competition in metering services also helps suppliers to deliver more innovative products to customers.
In its market monitoring role, Ofgem publishes periodic reports on developments in the domestic retail market and conducts investigations and consultations into performance of the domestic and the non-domestic markets when necessary. As retail competition develops the regulatory framework is kept under review.
There is an increasing reliance on self-regulation to supplement market mechanisms in meeting customers’ needs, with the introduction of industry codes of practice and the creation of the Energy Supply Ombudsman scheme.