Retail power faces reconsolidation challenge
The market share of challengers hits a landmark figure, but M&A could remake a hegemony, simply with different actors
The UK’s retail energy sector achieved an unenviable reputation for being a broken market over the last two decades. This was true for both electricity and gas, which were dominated by a so-called ‘Big Six’. At the start of the 2010s, these companies had a 100pc share of the residential power market, according to figures from regulator Ofgem. The Big Six was made up of UK utilities Centrica, born out of the old British Gas monopoly, and SSE, in addition to units of France’s EdF, Germany’s RWE and Eon and Spain’s Iberdrola. They were vertically integrated businesses and owned the vast majority of conventional UK generation assets, which was a significant barrier to entry. Their dominance beca
Also in this section
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
11 March 2026
De la Rey Venter, CEO of LNG player MidOcean Energy, discusses strategy, project developments and the prospects for the LNG market
10 March 2026
From Venezuela to Hormuz, the US—backed by the most powerful military force ever assembled—is redrawing not only oil and gas flows but also the global balance of energy power
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
