Price-comparison site in September, RAE insists on fixed-tariffs option

A price-comparison platform for electricity and natural gas supply packages currently being prepared by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, is expected to be up and running in September, sources have informed.

Preparations for the new platform, to help consumers make supplier choices, are believed to be an advanced stage.

Suppliers have been given access to the platform to upload their packages and conduct checks, sources noted.

Meanwhile, RAE has completed public consultation ahead of a plan, which, if introduced, would require suppliers to offer consumers fixed tariffs, at a slightly higher price, as an alternative to existing flexible tariffs.

In recent times, independent suppliers have had to trigger price-adjusting clauses as a means of covering elevated wholesale electricity prices, including higher CO2 emission right costs. This has prompted complaints by consumers caught unaware by such terms.

RAE supports the idea of offering consumers fixed tariffs.