PRESS STATEMENT - 26.05.2016

The European Parliament today voted through a report which calls on the Commission to create a more consumer-friendly energy market. The report, ‘A New Deal for Consumers’, is a timely call ahead of a Commission legislative package due in the second half of the year, expected to cover issues related to energy bills, supplier switching, smart meters or small-scale generation of renewable energy by consumers.

Monique Goyens, Director General of BEUC, The European Consumer Organisation, said: “The EU Parliament is right: the energy market can, and should, perform better for consumers. Whether through clearer bills, more transparency in energy offers or fairer rules on how to generate electricity from solar panels, there are numerous issues for the EU to tackle so that the energy market works better for consumers.

“Consumers face two kinds of problems when it comes to bills. The first is being able to pay them and the second is that their bills are as hard to understand as a maths problem in Mandarin.

“When it comes to generating and selling electricity produced from their solar panels, consumers face all sorts of unnecessary barriers. That’s because the rules were set up for the big utilities, and not for millions of small-scale producers and tenants. This needs to change.

“The Commission should bear these recommendations in mind when it sets out its case for a ‘New Deal’ this winter.”