Retail electricity markets in Europe: Taking stock, looking ahead

IF 4.4 3区经济学 Q3 ENERGY & FUELS

Utilities Policy Pub Date : 2025-09-29 DOI:10.1016/j.jup.2025.102065

Christophe Defeuilley

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The potential benefits of retail electricity market liberalization have been the subject of intense debate. Taking stock of both the academic work and the current state of retail markets in Europe, this article seeks to assess whether opening competition has led to an increase in consumer welfare. We conclude that the benefits of retail competition remain unclear and controversial while the costs are substantial. In light of these findings and given the growing importance of decarbonization and inequality issues, policy-driven changes should be considered to build stable regulatory frameworks that prioritize consumer protection over unfettered competition.

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欧洲零售电力市场：盘点，展望

零售电力市场自由化的潜在好处一直是激烈辩论的主题。通过对学术工作和欧洲零售市场现状的评估，本文试图评估开放竞争是否导致了消费者福利的增加。我们得出的结论是，零售竞争的好处仍然不清楚和有争议，而成本是巨大的。鉴于这些发现，并考虑到脱碳和不平等问题日益重要，应考虑政策驱动的变革，以建立稳定的监管框架，优先考虑保护消费者，而不是不受约束的竞争。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Utilities Policy ENERGY & FUELS-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

10.00%

发文量

审稿时长

66 days

期刊介绍： Utilities Policy is deliberately international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral. Articles address utility trends and issues in both developed and developing economies. Authors and reviewers come from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, law, finance, accounting, management, and engineering. Areas of focus include the utility and network industries providing essential electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater, solid waste, communications, broadband, postal, and public transportation services. Utilities Policy invites submissions that apply various quantitative and qualitative methods. Contributions are welcome from both established and emerging scholars as well as accomplished practitioners. Interdisciplinary, comparative, and applied works are encouraged. Submissions to the journal should have a clear focus on governance, performance, and/or analysis of public utilities with an aim toward informing the policymaking process and providing recommendations as appropriate. Relevant topics and issues include but are not limited to industry structures and ownership, market design and dynamics, economic development, resource planning, system modeling, accounting and finance, infrastructure investment, supply and demand efficiency, strategic management and productivity, network operations and integration, supply chains, adaptation and flexibility, service-quality standards, benchmarking and metrics, benefit-cost analysis, behavior and incentives, pricing and demand response, economic and environmental regulation, regulatory performance and impact, restructuring and deregulation, and policy institutions.