Energy prices: It's gas! The Competition Authority is delighted with Bord Gáis in the market for electricity.

The ESB says it must get approval of the Energy Regulator to reduce its prices! Who is this fella working for? I suspect that the customer has been screwed for inflated ESB charges for years and it will not be a free market if ESB is so constrained. – William

The idea is that ESB can't use its market power to drive new competitors out of business with predatory pricing. If/when ESB's share of the market drops below a certain point, the regulator would be in a position to remove price restrictions and to allow it to compete aggressively. In the meantime the ESB will have a positive incentive to push for price reductions at every opportunity. If the regulator allowed the ESB a free rein now, it could simply use its position to drive out competition and resume charging higher prices than are perhaps justified. This is actually a fairly sensible way of going about things. – Tom Ennis