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Ofgem - www.ofgem.gov.uk
Ofgem is the regulator for Britain's gas and electricity industries. Its role is to protect and advance the interests of consumers by promoting competition where possible and through regulation only where necessary. Applying this principle has resulted in great benefits for all gas and electricity customers. To build on these benefits, Ofgem's work focuses on the following areas:
- Making gas and electricity markets work effectively
- Regulating monopoly businesses intelligently
- Securing Britain's gas and electricity supplies
- Meeting its increased social and environmental responsibilities
Ofgem's governance
Ofgem operates under the direction and governance of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, which makes all major decisions and sets policy priorities for Ofgem. The authority's role in the management of Ofgem is set out in its rules of procedure.
Ofgem's powers are provided for under the Gas Act 1986, the Electricity Act 1989, as amended by the Utilities Act 2000. It also has enforcement powers under the Competition Act 1998.
All customers have been able to change their gas or electricity supplier since May 1999. Since then, over 19 million customers have changed supplier, seeing significant savings on their energy bills. Average energy prices have fallen by 13 per cent in real terms since competition began.
Ofgem's role is to see that there are no barriers to effective competition. It continually monitors both the gas and electricity markets to ensure that companies do not act anti-competitively.
Ofgem seeks to ensure that competitive pressure is brought to bear on prices. For example, in March 2001 it introduced New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA) to replace the Electricity Pool, which had allowed generators to keep wholesale electricity prices artificially high.
As a result of the competitive pressures introduced by NETA and overcapacity in the generation market, industrial customers have so far saved £1.5 billion pounds and domestic customer's £500 million pounds in lower electricity prices.
Energywatch - www.energywatch.org.uk
Energywatch is the independent watchdog for gas and electricity consumers. They provide free, impartial advice on a range of energy issues. They also take-up complaints on behalf of consumers who are experiencing difficulty in resolving problems directly with their energy suppliers.
Energywatch is working to ensure that all consumers can get the very best out of their companies, whether they use gas and electricity at home, or for their businesses. So whether you want to save money on your energy bills or you want to know more about the performance of each of the energy companies, the energywatch website is full of useful information.
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