Suppliers ‘must accept’ failure of CMA review

EDF Energy leader says it was “unrealistic” to expect two-year investigation to settle the cost of energy debate

Energy suppliers “have to recognise that the debate [over the cost of energy] has not gone away since the CMA investigation,” the head of EDF’s UK retail business has said.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the results of a two-year investigation of the energy marekt last year. Its findings were widely expected by energy industry leaders to draw a line under concerns about a lack of fairness and transparency in the way the cost of energy is set in the UK.

Mid-way through the review, EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz said he was “sure” the investigation would give the energy market “a clean bill of health” and would “clear the air”.

But speaking to Utility Week, Beatrice Bigois, EDF’s managing director for its customers busienss unit, said that, alothough “it would have been good” if the CMA could have closed the debate about the cost of energy in the UK, “I think it would have been unrealistic to expect it”.

Her comments follow the launch of a fresh energy review, chaired by Oxford professor Dieter Helm, which has been tasked with reccomending to government how best to keep electricity prices as low as possible for UK consumers and businesses.

Although it has barely begun, the Helm review has already met with criticism from many industry commentators who say it shows government has ignored the out puts of the CMA. They also complain that the Helm review’s short timescale of 30 days (spread over three months) and limited terms of reference mean it is unlikely to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Bigois however, said: “Any review that can help with understanding the cost of energy is useful.”

She added that, although it is “quite a quick review” she is confident that “Dieter can have an impact”.

Denying any frustration with the ongoing scrutiny of the cost of energy, Bigois said: “The government has felt the need for this review. So it means that it is needed…We have to recognise that the debate [over the cost of energy] has not gone away since the CMA investigation. It would have been good if it had, but I think it would have been unrealistic to expect it, although it was a very thorough review.

“I think we have to be ready, being in such a sensitive sector as energy, to do these reviews as required and to constructively engage in the public debate”.

She also suggested that Helm’s review “is not the last” that the energy industry can expect.