SSE, Innogy Have Week To Woo UK Regulator

The UK competition regulator said April 26 it has given SSE and German firm Innogy a week to offer remedies to avoid their proposed retail merger leading to higher UK domestic retail gas and power prices.

As of September 2017, SSE and Innogy-owned Npower supplied 11.5mn homes in Britain, just behind the market leader Centrica; the trio are among the 'Big Six' retail suppliers that control most of the market.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its initial 'phase 1' investigation of the planned SSE Retail/Npower merger found it could lead to higher prices for some as competition for customers would be less intense. Its senior director Rachel Merelie said: "We therefore believe that this merger warrants further in-depth scrutiny." SSE and Innogy unveiled the planned UK retail merger in November 2017; the CMA announced its phase 1 investigation at the end of February.

SSE and Npower now have until May 3 to offer measures to address the CMA’s concerns. If they do not provide such ‘undertakings’, the CMA will refer the merger for a phase 2 investigation.

The two firms said April 6 they had appointed Katie Bickerstaffe as CEO-designate of the planned retail joint venture. She has headed UK telephone and electronics retailer Dixons Carphone in the UK/Ireland since 2015.

Shell announced March 1 2018 it had completed the acquisition of First Utility, one of the challengers to the Big Six, thereby entering the UK household energy market for the first time. Across the English Channel, Total this month announced its similar planned entry into the French energy retail market.