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Dynamic electricity pricing: the missing piece in the clean heating transition?

Dynamic electricity pricing can offer consumers some substantial savings on their energy bills, but its full potential is still yet to take off. These...

Energy markets Renewable energy
Letta report identifies untapped potential of Single Market for consumers

The report published today by Enrico Letta from the Jacques Delors Institute is a welcome effort to remove barriers that prevent the Single Market...

Enforcement
Missed opportunity to make consumer home renovation easier

European legislators have reached an underwhelming deal on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which will not make it substantially...

Energy consumer rights
Consumers to get much-needed rights and protections from their gas supplier

Consumers will get much-needed new protections from their gas suppliers after European lawmakers struck a deal today on the EU’s ‘Gas Market Package’.

Energy markets Energy consumer rights
Buying and installing a heat pump: how hard can it be? New BEUC research

Consumers are increasingly looking to heat pumps to reduce their energy bills and their emissions. But making the switch from fossil fuels to green...

Renewable energy
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Energy consumer rights
Energy markets
Renewable energy
EU Parliament champions consumers on renewables
EU Parliament champions consumers on renewables
- PDF Document - 197.48 KB

Renewable energy
Available in English
In its plenary session today, the European Parliament voted in favour of proposals to make it easier for consumers to produce renewable energy. This has set it on course for a showdown with Member States later this year, who have been reluctant to create an electricity market where consumers feed energy they produce into the grid.
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EU member states reluctant to open up benefits of energy transition to consumers
EU member states reluctant to open up benefits of energy transition to consumers
- PDF Document - 125.48 KB

Renewable energy
Available in English
EU energy ministers meet on Monday to agree to a common line on Commission proposals to reform the electricity market, manage a transition of Europe’s energy supply to renewables and roll out new technologies like smart meters. Despite much of the positive rhetoric surrounding this file, ministers are emptying the Commission proposals of many of its advantages.
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Despite many attempts for improvement, the energy market is still a sector of great concern to European consumers as it has many failures: there is concern over complex tariffs, rising prices, poor service or mis-selling, the difficulty of switching and confusion over what consumers can do to lower their bills, including how to be energy efficient.

Access to affordable energy is a real worry for consumers, particularly for vulnerable groups such as those with a low income. Despite the opening of the markets, competition remains limited, restricting consumer choice and driving up prices. Unfair commercial practices such as aggressive doorstep-selling are another source of consumer frustration in the energy market.

‘Smart technologies’ such as smart meters are heralded as the future and they are claimed to offer benefits to consumers. Yet they raise numerous questions about their true potential to deliver real benefits to consumers, as well as risks related to privacy and cost increases.

  • Ensure energy is affordable and available to all consumers

  • Enable consumers to easily choose between various energy suppliers and switch to the best deal

  • Ensure that smart energy systems and other new developments are affordable and designed to benefit consumers