EDF's electricity metering and related services

No. 24/01/2007

Investigation into EDFE's alleged abuse of dominance by refusing to supply meter data services

The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (the Authority) has concluded that EDF Energy plc (EDFE) has not infringed section 18 (the Chapter II prohibition) of the Competition Act 1998 (the Act) or Article 82 of the EC Treaty (Article 82) in relation to its decision to withdraw data collection and data aggregation services (together meter data services) from electricity suppliers that are not affiliated to EDFE.

The Authority's decision follows an investigation prompted by complaints submitted from energywatch, and two other complainants, arising from the actions of EDFE. In particular, it was alleged that EDFE's actions were foreclosing the electricity supply market for small suppliers and that this was harmful to competition. 

The existence of a dominant position is a pre-requisite for the application of the Chapter II prohibition and Article 82. This decision sets out the Authority's finding that EDFE does not hold a dominant position in a relevant market for the purposes of those provisions.

The Authority notes that the complainants are able to obtain meter data services from third parties, albeit at higher prices. Moreover, while in this case closure decision we have focussed on the markets relating to meter data services (in the various forms described below) and have decided to close the case due to the absence of a dominant position on those markets, we also note (based on our ongoing monitoring of the markets) that the market(s) for electricity supply are highly competitive (and EDFE faces and will continue to face strong competition from a number of sources in the supply market(s)), such that we are sceptical as to the existence of a realistic possibility of consumer harm arising out of the complaints made against EDFE [note 1].

Download the full text of this decision (pdf 248 kb).

NOTE
1. See Ofgem's Domestic Retail Market Reports: March 2006 (Ref 110/06), September 2005 (Ref 23/06) and June 2005 (Ref 24/06).

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