Eurostat: "EU electricity and gas markets increasingly competitive"

From 2013 to 2021 share of major players in generation and retail dropped, number of sellers went up

Between 2013 and 2021, there has been a steady opening of European electricity and gas markets, with Italy among the countries that have seen the greatest development of competition. These are the findings of the latest Eurostat report.
In electricity, the market share of the largest producer did not exceed 17 percent in 2021: Italy, Poland and Lithuania, and that of the largest generator was down from 2013 in most countries: in Italy from 27 to 17 percent, in Germany from 32 to 26 percent and in France from 84 to 79 percent.
Italy leads the EU in the number of generating companies: 860 in 2021, down from 493 in 2013. Large generation companies (producing at least 5% of the national total) dropped in Italy between 2013 and 2021 from 4 to 3.
In terms of retail, the Peninsula ranks second with 800 companies in 2021 (down from 472 in 2013), behind Germany (1,423 retail companies, down from 1,177 8 years earlier).
In 2021 there were 4 Italian retailers with more than 5 percent of the domestic market (doubled in comparison with 2013), a number similar to the EU average.
A similar trend can be observed in the gas market, where the market share of the largest domestic producer and importer declined in 14 EU member states between 2013 and 2021. By 2021 the share was declining over the 8 years considered in almost all countries: in Italy from 53 to 48 percent, in France from 61 to 58 percent.
There was a parallel trend toward an increase in the number of companies producing and importing gas in each country, with Italy rising from 3 in 2013 to 5 in 2021.
In gas retail, Italy also had the second highest number of sales companies in 2021 (697 vs. 330 in 2013), again behind Germany (979 vs. 825).
In the EU, gas retailers with a market share of more than 5 percent remained essentially stable over the 8 years considered (in Italy 4). Between 2013 and 2021, however, the market share of the leading retailer fell almost everywhere, in Italy from 26% to 17%.

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