Good Practice on Comparison Tools

In the CEER-ACER Annual Report on the Results of Monitoring the Internal Electricity and Gas Markets in 2015, there was a case study on Norway on the effect of regulation on the offers on price comparison tools.

In 2015, a new and improved price comparison tool (PCT) was launched in Norway, following the implemen­tation of new regulation under the Energy Act, which obliged electricity retailers to report all of their offers in the PCT rather than only a selection of them. The PCT was developed by the Norwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet) on mandate from the Norwegian government, in close cooperation with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE). The new PCT aims at improving the ability of Norwegian consumers to compare electricity offers, by presenting all electricity offers available in the market through one common web site.

On 10 July 2012, CEER published its Guidelines of Good Practices (GGP) on Price Comparison Tools (C12-CEM-54-03), which includes a set of recommendations on how these tools can function effectively to the benefit of energy customers. CEER's public consultaion document, made available at the end of 2016, was a preliminary review of the 2012 GGP, and invited stakeholders to submit their vision and suggestions on possible enhancements of the recommendations, in order to ensure that they still address, both at present and in the predictable future, the issues that energy consumers face when approaching and using comparison Tools.