Statutory Consultation: Enabling consumers to make informed choices
- Consultation status:
- Closed (with decision)
- Publication date:
- Closing date:
- Topic:
-
Gas supplyElectricity supply
- Industry sector:
- Supply and Retail Market
- Related consultations:
- Statutory consultations on the removal of certain Retail Market Review Simpler Tariff Choices rules
- Helping consumers make informed choices – proposed changes to rules around tariff comparability and marketing
Decision:
In regulating the retail energy market we have committed, over time, to rely more on enforceable principles rather than detailed rules about how suppliers should run their businesses. Last year, we removed around 30 pages of prescriptive “Simpler Tariff Choices” rules (e.g. the four tariff cap) that had originated from our 2013 Retail Market Review (RMR). We also committed to overhaul the rules around suppliers’ sales and marketing activities.
This statutory consultation sets out our final proposals to remove the majority of prescription from the sales and marketing licence condition, standard licence condition 25, and replace it with five narrow principles – three aimed at promoting tariff comparability and two requiring responsible sales and marketing practices. These proposals, if implemented, will help ensure consumers are able to make informed choices.
This consultation also confirms our intention to make amendments to some of the ‘Clearer Information’ tools originating from the RMR reform package. These changes are being proposed in the context of our decision to remove certain RMR “Simpler Tariff Choices” rules.