Status Review of End-User Price Regulation as of 1 January 2010

This Status Review is a follow-up to ERGEG’s 2007 Position Paper of End-user Energy Price Regulation and ERGEG’s Status Review of End-User Price Regulation as of 1 July 2008. The report provides an overview of the state of play of energy price regulation in ERGEG member and observer countries as of 1 January 2010 and looks at whether there has been progress towards markets without regulated end-user prices. As of 1 January 2010, in a still significant number of countries (18 in electricity (out of 30 countries) and 15 in gas (out of 25 countries)), end-user regulated prices exist on at least one of the various market segments: households, small businesses, medium-sized to large businesses and energy-intensive industry. Meanwhile 11 countries in electricity (out of 30) and 9 countries in gas (out of 25) have fully opened their markets without any price regulation.

In most of the countries with end-user regulated prices, the share of eligible customers supplied under regulated prices is more than 80%, in each of the market segments considered, which indicates a lack of competition in the retail market. This share is close to 100% for the household segment in most of these countries. Since ERGEG's review of the situation as of 1 January 2008, price regulation was removed (for at least one market segment) in 4 countries for electricity and 4 countries for gas. Meanwhile, 5 out of 17 ERGEG member and observer countries with price regulation have adopted a roadmap towards a competitive market without end-user price regulation for electricity, and 1 out of 15 countries for gas.