British Gas boss tells Blair to act on prices

BRITISH Gas boss Sir Roy Gardner attempted to plant a Union Jack at the heart of the Europe Union last night, demanding Tony Blair uses Britain's presidency of the EU - which begins today - to bring in Continent-wide energy competition and force down escalating power prices.

Speaking after high-level meetings with EU commissioners, Gardner called for stronger action from Brussels to break up the big power monopolies like RWE and E.On of Germany and Electricité de France.

This would enable British Gas parent Centrica to compete on a level playing field in the backyards of such companies, which have carved out strong market shares in Britain.

In a swipe at the German companies, which trade as npower and Powergen in the UK, and EDF, which controls much of the London and South-East energy market, Gardner said: 'We need less State-sponsored monopolies operating from protected home markets. The fact that German and French companies are supplying millions of UK energy customers but British companies are denied access to their markets can no longer be sustained.'

But he insisted after his meetings with Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes that his demands are not just about Centrica eyeing up the European market - though only this week the company indicated its strategic plans by taking a 25% stake in Belgium's second-largest electricity generator as part of a £650m joint venture with Gaz de France.

'We need more transparency and tough independent regulators to ensure fair and equal access to European gas pipelines,î Gardner declared.

'Energy competition is no longer just about improving European competitiveness - it's about ensuring the UK can get the gas it needs at realistic prices.

'It would be a travesty if UK consumers ended up paying more for their energy because of the failure to crack open the closed shop operating in European energy markets.'

Centrica believes the price of gas shipped into Britain is artificially inflated because pipelines and transmission networks on the Continent are in the hands of vertically-integrated power generators and suppliers. Unless these are opened up, Centrica believes Britain cannot guarantee future gas supplies.