Non‐Discrimination Clauses in the Retail Energy Sector
研究了英国能源监管机构对零售商跨区域统一定价的规定，发现该条款可能反而削弱主流市场竞争，并评估其对弱势消费者的影响。
The British Energy regulator will soon review a non-discrimination licence condition which it imposed to ensure that energy retailers charge the same mark-up in different regions. Many consumers are loyal to incumbent firms, necessitating heavy discounting by entrants to attract customers, which had led to regional price discrimination. Matching characteristics of the energy market to models of discrimination, we identify the necessary conditions for the licence condition to have a positive effect for consumers, and explore whether the policy has helped potentially „vulnerable? consumers. We conclude that the most likely effect of the licence condition is to reduce competition in the mainstream energy markets, and welcome the regulator?s latest review of the retail market.