On 12 April Nordic Energy Research will launch the Evaluation of Nordic Electricity Retail Markets report. The report analyses the functioning of the retail electricity markets in the Nordic countries and Åland by looking at regulatory frameworks, competition, and customer satisfaction. All interested parties are invited to join the launch seminar.
Details
Date: 12 April at 10:00-11:30 (CEST)
Agenda:
- Welcome, Andrea Stengel, Senior Adviser, Nordic Energy Research
- Presentation of the report and its recommendations, Christopher Markhus Poots, Senior Economist, Oslo Economics
- Comments by Per Nässén, Analyst, the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate (Ei), Thomas Iversen, Senior Legal Adviser, the Norwegian Consumer Council and Henrik Boesgaard Sørensen, Senior Adviser, Green Power Denmark
- Q&A
Place: Join on Teams
Evalution of Nordic Electricity Retail Markets
The Nordic electricity retail markets, apart from Iceland, have similar structures following liberalisation in the 1990s, separating the grid from competitive activities like production and trading. End-users can choose their electricity suppliers, with the local distribution system operator (DSO) adding grid fees and taxes to the bills for the distribution of electricity. Retailers use Nord Pool Spot for wholesale trading and Nasdaq for financial contracts.
In an effort to make the market more resilient to price shocks and to facilitate the green transition in the long run, an agreement on the Electricity Markets Design Review was reached in the European Union in December 2023. The agreement is now set to be implemented in the Nordic countries. Following this, the report analyses the functioning of the retail electricity markets in the Nordic countries and Åland by looking at regulatory frameworks, competition, and customer satisfaction. The aim is to find commonalities and to allow countries to learn from each other. In addition, it analyses the reactions of market participants to the price shock caused by the Ukraine war to see what can be learned from the crisis to improve retail markets.
The evaluation examines the following questions:
- The competitiveness of the retail markets in the Nordics
- Prerequisites for retailers to offer competitive fixed price contracts
- Customer satisfaction with services and customer preferences for the services of the suppliers
- Consumers confidence in electricity retail companies and their ability to make informed decisions
- Legal restrictions that prevent different types of price agreements
The report has been conducted by Oslo Economics in cooperation with Sweco (Sweden) and Gaia (Finland) and it will be accessible here after the launch.