Press Release: Competition: study on electricity markets supports the results of the Commission’s Sector Inquiry

The European Commission has published a detailed study carried out by an external consultant which finds that fuel costs have contributed to the increase of EU electricity prices since 2003, but that wholesale electricity prices are significantly higher than would be expected on perfectly competitive markets. The differences are highest when only a few generators with available capacity are needed to meet demand, especially at peak time. The results of the study broadly support the conclusions of the Commission's Final Report of the Energy Sector Competition Inquiry (see IP/07/26 and MEMO/07/15), namely that competition in EU wholesale electricity markets is not yet functioning properly.