The Western European Electricity Market Outlook 2008
Country profiles of supply, demand, regulation and infrastructure

The changes in Western Europe's electricity markets stemming from liberalisation, EU enlargement, new market entrants and environmental issues continue to drive dynamism in the market.

The Western European Electricity Market Outlook 2008 is a newly updated management report that provides a comprehensive examination of the electricity market landscape in each of the major Western European markets and predicts future market trends. This report also provides an in-depth analysis of 19 highly dynamic Western European electricity markets, with detailed data on supply and demand balances. The country profiles also feature an overview of supply and demand, an examination of key governmental, legal and political influences on the sector and an analysis of international trading and infrastructure.

Use this report to identify and exploit new profit opportunities created by Western European electricity market expansion and anticipate future market risks.

This new report will provide you with

• Profiles of each country’s electricity infrastructure detailing installed capacity by plant type, power stations, transmission and distribution networks, ownership and also full colour maps of each country’s power grids.

• Electricity supply data in GWh including power production and capacity by fuel input, and import and export levels from 1990 to 2007

• Key electricity demand data in GWh by consumer type detailing residential and industrial usage including end-user demand data from 1990 with forecasts to 2020.

• Analysis of each country’s regulatory structures including EC directives, local legislation, market reforms, re-structure, tariffs, key players and foreign investment helping you to understand the Western European competitive landscape.

Some key findings from this report
• Nearly 30% of Germany’s electricity is produced from the country’s 19 nuclear power plants. The government is commited to phase out these plants by 2021, and is now encouraging further investment in renewable capacity, particularly wind.

• Greece has followed EU regulations regarding the liberalization of the electricity market. In July 2004 all non-household customers became eligible to choose their electricity supplier and by July 2007, the market was designated to be completely open.

• The Dutch market shows signs of being an oligopoly where vertical integration is widespread. Many of the Dutch industry’s major players are European utilities such as E.On and Electrabel.

• Full opening of the Swiss market is only scheduled for 2009 at the earliest. It remains closed to competition, although legislation was developed in 2007 towards greater liberalization.

• Finland’s electricity prices for both domestic and industrial consumers are among the lowest in Europe by a significant margin. Competition in the Finnish market began in 1997 with foreign investment quickly becoming significant.