The Future of Competition in SME Energy Supply

Introduction

A year after the SME energy market was fully opened throughout the EU, the region's utilities are facing a rethink of how they approach this market segment. This brief reflects both the variety of executive opinion within the industry, and Datamonitor's innovative Market Competitive Intensity methodology in assessing the current state of competition in the SME segment and its medium-term trends.

Scope

• Focus on energy supply to SME customers in key western European markets such as the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands & Scandinavia.
• Based on a combination of over 30 in-depth executive interviews with Datamonitor's innovative Market Competitive Intensity framework.
• Analyses the state of play a year after full SME market opening throughout the EU, and discusses the emerging trends for the next two years.

Highlights

Market deregulation has tended to see high prices suddenly fall, forcing suppliers to focus on value rather than on volume as the market matures. Thus, in some of the newly liberalized markets competition has already depressed supplier margins to an extent that little room remains for new entrant activity.

Many SME suppliers are overspending on customer service in relation to the level of competition in their market either because effective competition has not yet emerged, or because, on the contrary, it has developed to a point where the process of commoditization is increasingly removing the emphasis on non-cost factors.

Reasons to Purchase

• Incorporates over 30 in-depth interviews with key industry executives from all the leading western European energy markets.
• Reflects Datamonitor's house view of developing competition in Europe's energy markets, based on its innovative Market Competitive Intensity model.
• Provides actionable recommendations to Europe's SME suppliers, based on a thorough analysis of the trends that will shape this market beyond 2006.