French study: Electricity liberalisation has failed to deliver benefits to households

French study: Electricity liberalisation has failed to deliver benefits to households:

"A new study by the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) shows that the liberalisation of electricity markets in the EU 'has not had a major effect on prices'. It also shows that opening up and connecting markets does not necessarily lead to a more efficient system. "

I'd expect there to be some substance to claims the goals of market 'liberalisation' was to benefit consumers.

This study indicates there may be no substance to the claims.

The author also has an interesting, and I think correct, view of smart metering:

"The smart meter can be developed for those who have an intermittent use of electricity, such as those who have an electric car and who can decide when to charge it up again. At the end of the day, all these systems imply that we replace consumption with an investment, which is a possibility that not everyone has. That will be the case for a third of small consumers at most, according to studies on the subject. Those who don’t have access to it (e.g. people who don’t have the internet, elderly people etc.) are not mentioned in official speeches."

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