Tag Archives: S. Littlechild

S. Littlechild latest submission to CMA

Stephen Littlechild has responded to the CMA’s invitation to comment on its proposed review of the Prepayment Charges Restriction Order 2016. In his response “Providing for a transition back to a competitive retail energy market” he suggests that the CMA phase out the prepayment meter tariff cap by December 2020 rather than leave a “cliff… Continue Reading

Report “Is there competition below the PPM tariff cap? What are the implications for policy?” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild wrote a report “Is there competition below the PPM tariff cap? What are the implications for policy?” This paper finds that the range of tariff offers that are widely available and significantly below the Prepayment Meter tariff cap is much less than first appears. It suggests various implications for policy relating to accuracy of information, setting… Continue Reading

S. Littlechild latest submission to CMA

Stephen Littlechild has made a further submission to the CMA investigation of the SSE-Npower merger, suggesting that divestment to smaller suppliers of some 740,000 long-standing Npower domestic energy customers on Standard Variable Tariffs would address the CMA’s recently identified theory of harm associated with a loss of rivalry in the setting of default tariff prices | PDF… Continue Reading

Comment “Competition, Regulation and Price Controls in the GB Retail Energy Market” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild’s paper “Competition, Regulation and Price Controls in the GB Retail Energy Market” is a revised and updated version of his July 2017 lead article in Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Network, which summarises and appraises the last decade of UK retail energy market regulation. The revised paper has been submitted to Utilities Policy. The full text can be found here The… Continue Reading

S. Littlechild latest submission to CMA

Stephen Littlechild has made a submission to the CMA investigation of the SSE-Npower merger, suggesting that the two companies agree to divest long-standing customers on Standard Variable Tariffs to smaller suppliers in the domestic energy market. He identifies ten respects in which this would increase competition, which is particularly important in present circumstances | PDF… Continue Reading

Report “The Regulation of Retail Competition in US Residential Electricity Markets” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild wrote a report on US competitive electricity markets “The Regulation of Retail Competition in US Residential Electricity Markets”. The report explains that all competitive retail markets in the US except Texas require incumbent network utilities to offer a default supply service to customers who do not choose a retail supplier, and to do… Continue Reading

Presentation “Competition and the UK Retail Energy Market” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild gave a presentation “Competition and the UK retail energy market: Lessons for Australia?” during AEC Luncheon Seminar in Park Hyatt, Melbourne, Australia on 29 November 2017 | PDF He also presented “Competition and the UK retail energy market” at Meridian Energy Seminars, Wellington, New Zealand on 23 November 2017 | PDF   You can view this presentation here    Continue Reading

S. Littlechild latest submission to BEIS

Stephen Littlechild and other former energy regulators of the UK submitted a written evidence to the BEIS Select Committee on pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft domestic gas and electricity (tariff cap) bill  in November 2017. The full text can be found here. On 12 December 2017, S. Littlechild gave evidence in person during the Select Committee meeting. The written… Continue Reading

Article “Competition and Price Controls in the UK Retail Energy Market” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild published an article “Competition and Price Controls in the UK Retail Energy Market” in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Network publication on 7 July 2017. This lead article summarises and appraises the last decade of UK retail market regulation. The full text of the article can be read here   Continue Reading

Letter from S. Littlechild to Ofgem on retail energy market , 23 June 2017

Stephen Littlechild and other former UK regulators sent a letter to Dermot Nolan, Ofgem, following a letter from the Secretary of State to Ofgem about the retail energy market, and Ofgem’s statement in response to the letter, on 23 June 2017. The text of the letter can be read here The Secretary of State’s letter and… Continue Reading

Article “Resist the Temptation to Intervene on Energy Prices” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild and other former UK energy regulators published an article “Resist the Temptation to Intervene on Energy Prices” in Daily Telegraph on 22 March 2017 (online) and on 23 March 2017 (printed version). The full text of the article can be found here. To view it on Daily Telegraph website, please click here Continue Reading

Stephen Littlechild’s latest contribution to CMA’s current Energy market investigation

Stephen Littlechild’s latest contribution to CMA’s current Energy market investigation “The CMA energy market investigation, the well-functioning market, Ofgem, Government and behavioural economics“. This paper is forthcoming in the European Competition Journal, March 2016. Executive Summary | Text    Continue Reading

Comment “Response to CMA on Supplemental Remedies” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild and the other former energy regulators recently submitted their response to CMA on Supplemental Remedies. In their response they argue that prohibiting Standard Variable Tariffs would overrule customer preferences. It would be better to promote more competition for SVTs. They also propose an alternative way forward, to recognise that the extent of Ofgem’s… Continue Reading

Report “Regulation of Retail Energy Markets in the UK and Australia” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild published a report “Regulation of Retail Energy Markets in the UK and Australia” in a weekly energy newsletter of Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESAA) on 15 October 2015. The full text of the report can be found here. You can also click here to read the introduction by Andrew Dillon, General Manager of Corporate… Continue Reading

Comment “Snakes and Ladders: price controls and markets. What might the CMA’s provisional findings mean for retail markets in utility services?” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild, Fellow at Judge Business School and EPRG Associate Researcher, addressed the Indepen Forum on 29 September 2015 which was on the theme”Snakes and Ladders: price controls and markets. What might the CMA’s provisional findings mean for retail markets in utility services?” The full text of his opening remarks can be found here. Continue Reading

Article “‘Goldilocks’ Energy Price Limit Doesn’t Bear Scrutiny” by S. Littlechild

Stephen Littlechild, Fellow at Judge Business School and EPRG Associate Researcher, published an article ‘Goldilocks’ Energy Price Limit Doesn’t Bear Scrutiny in The Telegraph newspaper. “Two cheers for the Competition and Markets Authority’s provisional findings in its energy market investigation. The first is for its comprehensive assessment of which aspects are a problem and which aren’t.… Continue Reading

Explanatory Statement on the Regulatory Conduct Authority’s Occasional Paper 1

There was a wide variety of responses to “Applying behavioural economics at the Regulatory Conduct Authority”, Occasional Paper 1, published on 1 April 2014. These ranged from support for or concern about the RCA’s proposed policy, through the enigmatic “thank you, very interesting”, to “fantastic, brilliant”. But I suspect that a large number of readers… Continue Reading