The role of regulation authorities

Two segments of the gas market are totally opened to competition in the UK: the industrial and the domestic sectors. No pricing regulation exist for any of these sectors but the transport of gas, which remains under the control of a monopoly, is submitted to a pricing regulation. There exist some proposals to change this situation but they require the implementation of a new regulation which fixes the rules for the dismantling of historical monopolies, the development of competition, the security of supplies, and the tariffing systems. This article is followed by a round table about the lessons to be learnt from the UK model, and the common points and differences among the different regulation authorities in Europe (independence, statuses, transparency, sanctions). (J.S.)