we are told:Europe has not yet developed fully competitive internal energy markets. Only when such markets exist will EU citizens and businesses enjoy all the benefits of security of supply and lower prices. (...) Furthermore, the consolidation of the energy sector should be market driven...This is presented as a declaration of fact, when it is a debatable, and far from generally accepted, proposition. [Some references would be useful here. Do any of the FT's more sensible columnists have something that could be quoted?]
Europe has not yet developed fully competitive internal energy markets. Only when such markets exist will EU citizens and businesses enjoy all the benefits of security of supply and lower prices. (...) Furthermore, the consolidation of the energy sector should be market driven...
Deregulation of the electric power industry was a bad idea. It resulted in a complete industry restructuring, an increase in costs, and a decline in reliability. While the prior procedures had problems, mostly caused by poor regulatory procedures, doing away with regulation was not the answer, improved regulation was. If a car has a transmission problem, you don't solve the problem by replacing the engine.
