EU gaat energiemarkt onderzoeken (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Commission has said it will investigate the energy retail market after a survey revealed several complaints by EU customers.
According to an EU-wide report published on Monday (2 February), less than two thirds of consumers are satisfied with their energy supplier, which constitutes one of the lowest satisfaction ratings for any service provider.
At the same time, electricity accounts for the largest part of household spending, at 5.7 percent of the average household budget.
"Because of its importance in the basic household budget, I have decided to make the retail electricity market the target sector for 2009," EU consumer commissioner Meglena Kuneva i told a press conference in Brussels.
"The pattern of indicators produced in this report re-inforce the endless complaints and feedback I have heard over the last 18 months from consumers, agencies and consumer organisations frustrated with the service, and options they receive," she added.
In terms of prices, some 60 percent of consumers reported increases from their energy supplier, compared to only three to four percent who noted a decrease.
"The unsatisfactory state of the retail energy market is not helped by the evidence that pre-tax prices for electricity and gas in neighbouring countries can be very different," Ms Kuneva said.
The electricity price before tax in Germany and Belgium, for example, is 50 percent more expensive than in countries such as Poland.
Despite the high dissatisfaction rate however, few consumers switch from one provider to another – fewer than one in 10 consumers have switched gas or energy supplier in the last year.
It is important to find out the reasons behind this, as "one person switching imposes a discipline in the market that benefits all consumers," the commissioner underlined.
Both the electricity and gas markets will be included in an in-depth market analysis that will be carried out in the next 12 months by her office together with that of EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
It aims to "examine how the electricity market functions for consumers, looking at comparability of offers, unfair commercial practices and billing," the consumer commissioner stressed.
The announcement comes as Brussels struggles to liberalise the EU's national energy markets, facing strong resistance from national energy monopolies.
Banking and transport problematic too
Banking and urban transport are the two other sectors where European consumers are less than happy, according to the EU report.
It says the banking sector is particularly problematic when it comes to comparing offers, or switching from one bank to another.
In addition, bank fees and interest rates vary widely amongst member states - adjusted interest rates on consumer credit between one and five years vary between 0.21 percent in Sweden and 12.12 percent in Estonia.
Transport services in the bloc have also failed to satisfy more than half of European consumers, who complain about price levels and the attractiveness of commercial offers.
By contrast, "traditional goods sectors," as well as certain services - notably telecoms - were highlighted by the commission as performing relatively well.