Residential Consumers Did Not Fully Benefit From Decrease in Wholesale Prices, Says ACER

Residential consumers throughout Europe did not fully benefit from the decrease in wholesale energy prices in 2014, the Agency for Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the Council of European Energy Regulators (CEER) wrote on Monday. 

The two organisations presented their Market Monitoring Report, reporting that in 2014 household electricity bills in the EU increased, on average, by 2.6% with respect to the previous year, while gas bills reported a 2.1% uptick.

“There needs to be competition both at wholesale and retail level to ensure that EU energy consumers reap the full benefits of market liberalisation. Market integration efforts should continue and be intensified. Social welfare losses for Europeans due to unscheduled electricity flows alone total about 1 billion euro every year” Alberto Pototschnig, ACER Director, commented in the statement. 

On the other hand, ACER and CEER wrote that, for what concerns gas, there is an increasing price convergence among EU hubs as well as a narrowing gap between hub and long-term contract prices. 

‘Although gaps persist, recent infrastructure investments, in particular in reverse flow capabilities, are bearing fruit.’

The report suggested to increase efforts to promote transparency in price formation in the Baltic region and in South Eastern Europe.