British watchdog orders electricity reforms

The “big six” power suppliers should sell off up to a fifth of their electricity output in a move to “break the stranglehold” they have over the market in the UK, the British energy watchdog said today.

The major suppliers “failed to play it straight” with consumers, according to regulator Ofgem, and have eight weeks to comply with a series of radical proposals to overhaul the industry or face a referral to the Competition Commission.