The Seminar 'Governance by Indicators: the Pitfalls of the EU´s Retail Energy Market Barrier Index'

Governance by indicators is increasing rapidly. However, the use of indicators has not been accompanied by a systematic comparative study of, or reflection on, the implications, possibilities, and pitfalls of this practice. The Retail Energy Market Barrier Index researched the extent to which energy suppliers across Europe encounter barriers to entering and competing in the retail electricity and gas markets, targeting the residential market segment.

In the testing of the reliability of the Barrier Index, several pitfalls were identified. This including pitfalls in the methodology, data collection, and choice to exclude data. As a result of these pitfalls the reliability of the policy recommendations formulated by the EB Project were compromised.

Lucila de Almeida is a Part-time Assistant Professor at European University Institute and an Assistant Professor at Wageningen University & Research. The presentation was based on the paper to be published in the Energy Policy: Governance by Indicators: the Pitfalls of the EU’s Retail Energy Market Barrier Index, co-authored with Fabrizio Esposito and Josephine van Zeben

The research group thanks de Almeida for an interesting and informative seminar.