Delivering a better energy retail market
Government’s vision for the future energy retail market and a package of targeted reforms.
Documents
Details
The retail energy market needs reform. Unprecedented high prices have necessitated substantial, untargeted, government intervention. Poor financial resilience has led to costly supplier insolvencies. There have been high profile cases of poor treatment of vulnerable consumers on prepayment meters. Even before the onset of high gas prices, there was little investment in innovation, and customer service standards were often poor.
Reflecting the challenges the market has faced in recent years, government published a new vision for the market in Powering Up Britain. Our vision is for a retail energy market that:
- works better for consumers
- is more resilient and sustainable
- supports wider energy system transformation
Some market reforms are already underway in line with this vision and progress has been made, for example to improve financial resilience and strengthen consumer protections. However, further work is needed, particularly to ensure that consumers can fully benefit from the ongoing transformation of our energy system to align with net zero.
This package of announcements is a key step towards delivering on our vision. It provides further detail on what we see the future retail market looking like and paves the way for further focused reforms. We intend to follow up with a consultation on options for reform later this year.
Related documents
Press release: Innovation at heart of plans to strengthen retail energy market
- Towards a more innovative energy retail market: a call for evidence
- Domestic consumers with non-domestic energy supply contracts: call for evidence
- Designing a framework for transparency of carbon content in energy products: summary of responses to a call for evidence
- Third-party intermediaries in the retail energy market: summary of responses to a call for evidence
- Exemptions from the requirement for an electricity licence: summary of responses to a call for evidence