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Regulation, customer protection and customer engagement

Author

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  • Stephen Littlechild

    (University of Birmingham, Judge Business School, University of Cambridge)

Abstract

The UK utility regulation framework developed in the 1980s was intended to improve on the restrictive, inefficient and burdensome regulatory approach in the US. But the UK regulatory process has itself now become increasingly burdensome. Meanwhile, utilities and customer groups in the US and Canada have developed methods of negotiating and settling regulatory issues that more directly reflect the interests of customers, often embody incentive price caps as in the UK, and avoid unduly burdensome regulatory processes. There is now scope for UK regulators to learn from overseas. This paper summarises these developments. It then examines how three UK utility regulators – the CAA, Ofgem and Ofwat - are responding to them. Briefly, the CAA has moved firmly in this direction, but Ofgem and Ofwat have nominally rejected it while seeking to secure many of the benefits of the approach via a less committed process. There is scope for governments to encourage a regulatory approach that offers the prospect of better outcomes for customers and a less onerous process for all concerned.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Littlechild, 2011. "Regulation, customer protection and customer engagement," Working Papers EPRG 1119, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:enp:wpaper:eprg1119
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrzej T. Szablewski, 2018. "Kolejny etap ewolucji koncepcji i praktyki regulacji ekonomicznej," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 49-72.
    2. Stephen Littlechild, 2012. "Regulation and Customer Engagement," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    3. Haar, Lawrence, 2021. "The competitive disadvantages facing British assetless electricity retailers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    4. Bohne, Eberhard, 2011. "Conflicts between national regulatory cultures and EU energy regulations," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 255-269.
    5. Szablewski, Andrzej T., . "Kolejny etap ewolucji koncepcji i praktyki regulacji ekonomicznej," Gospodarka Narodowa-The Polish Journal of Economics, Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie / SGH Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 2018(2).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L9 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities

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