BCC response to CMA report into the energy market

10th March 2016

Commenting on the Competition and Markets Authority summary of its provisional decision on the energy market, Ashley Shackleton, Head of Public Affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: -Businesses tell us that rising energy costs are a growing concern, so the measures laid out in the CMA report to increase price transparency and end auto-rollover contracts are a good first step to fix the obvious problems in our energy market.

-While microbusinesses often lack the information to make informed decisions, energy costs affect businesses of all sizes, and it is a shame that the report only focuses on those at the smaller end of the spectrum. -Any moves to increase competition in the market will help businesses at a time when they are faced with an enormity of business costs. However, these measures need to be coupled with a significant energy security strategy for the long term.