The aim of the Retail Market Review (RMR) is to encourage and equip consumers to engage effectively so they can get the best deal from the energy market.
For households, we are looking to rebuild trust and confidence in the market so that more people are inclined to engage, and to put in place measures so that when they do engage, consumers are better able to choose the deal that suits them. A combination of the competitive pressure this creates and additional consumer protection we introduce should mean that the market better serves the interests of consumers.
Read more: Retail Market Review – Simpler Clearer Fairer
We are also looking to ensure that all business customers, and particularly small businesses, are able to get the best deal from the market and do not have to spend unnecessary time managing their energy accounts.
Read more: Retail Market Review – protecting businesses
We have looked to make best use of our statutory powers to address the concerns we have about the market. If, following consultation, we consider that our proposals do not have a realistic chance of addressing the concerns identified due to industry opposition or otherwise, we retain the option that we have flagged in our previous consultations of referring the market to the Competition Commission for a Market Investigation Reference.
Our proposals represent an important development in the functioning of the retail market and we want to allow stakeholders adequate time to present their views. Our deadline for responses to our final domestic proposals is 23 April 2013. For the final non-domestic proposals our deadline for responses is 1 May 2013.