UK gas market is ‘most competitive and transparent’ in Europe, says parliamentary report

The UK’s wholesale gas market is the most competitive and transparent energy market in Europe, according to a parliamentary report published today.

The report was carried out by a cross-party parliamentary group alongside the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) probe into the energy sector, after the authority said it was not minded to investigate wholesale gas given its high level of existing transparency.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Energy Costs agreed, with chair Lord Palmer saying in today’s report: “This is the definitive guide to the British wholesale gas market. The report shows the UK market to be the most competitive and transparent in Europe.”

The in-depth investigation found that the UK gas market is “highly transparent” with National Grid publishing high levels of data and information, some near real-time or within day.

“This information is freely and widely available to any interested party,” the report said.

The wholesale gas market is also the only market in Europe that meets the European Union’s standards for trading liquidity with over 200 companies signed-up to actively participate.

The companies involved span the European energy sector from small local co-operatives to large vertically integrated utilities, with low barriers to entry, the report said.

The report’s findings on the health of the market undermine calls from the outgoing Energy and Climate Change Committee chair Tim Yeo for the market to be included in the CMA probe earlier this year. Yeo claimed that the probe would be “compromised from the outset” without the inclusion of the gas market in the vestigation. 

Palmer said that he hopes the new report will be used by government, politicians and “anybody who wants to comment knowledgeably on UK energy issues”.