E.ON Next deal to buy Ovo Energy leaves UK with just ‘big three’ energy suppliers
Source: The Guardian ·
Competition watchdog clears takeover despite concerns that suppliers will have less incentive to lower billsAlmost three-quarters of households in Great Britain are now served by just three energy suppliers, after E.ON Next completed a deal to buy Ovo Energy despite fresh concerns about competition in the energy market.The takeover concluded on Thursday after Britain’s competition watchdog…
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Almost three-quarters of households in Great Britain are now served by just three energy suppliers, after E.ON Next completed a deal to buy Ovo Energy despite fresh concerns about competition in the energy market. The takeover concluded on Thursday after Britain’s competition watchdog cleared it, despite concerns that the shrinking number of household energy suppliers could mean billpayers will have less choice and suppliers will have less incentive to lower bills. While there will be no immediate change for Ovo’s 4 million customers, the sale means that E.ON Next, which already supplies 5.6m households, will hold 25% of the household energy market and become Great Britain’s second-largest energy supplier. This puts the supplier’s hold on the market narrowly behind Octopus Energy, which holds a 26% share, and ahead of legacy energy incumbent British Gas, which was once the top supplier but today serves about 23% of households. It also deals a blow to the decade-long efforts to…