Policy paper

Delivering a better energy retail market

Government’s vision for the future energy retail market and a package of targeted reforms.

From:
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Published
24 July 2023

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Delivering a better energy retail market: a vision for the future and package of targeted reforms

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The retail energy market needs reform. Unprecedented high prices have necessitated substantial, untargeted, government intervention. Poor financial resilience has led to costly supplier insolvencies. There have been high profile cases of poor treatment of vulnerable consumers on prepayment meters. Even before the onset of high gas prices, there was little investment in innovation, and customer service standards were often poor.

Reflecting the challenges the market has faced in recent years, government published a new vision for the market in Powering Up Britain. Our vision is for a retail energy market that:

  • works better for consumers
  • is more resilient and sustainable
  • supports wider energy system transformation

Some market reforms are already underway in line with this vision and progress has been made, for example to improve financial resilience and strengthen consumer protections. However, further work is needed, particularly to ensure that consumers can fully benefit from the ongoing transformation of our energy system to align with net zero.

This package of announcements is a key step towards delivering on our vision. It provides further detail on what we see the future retail market looking like and paves the way for further focused reforms. We intend to follow up with a consultation on options for reform later this year.

Press release: Innovation at heart of plans to strengthen retail energy market

Published 24 July 2023