Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Monday, 1 November 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 November 2004. It was answered by Mike O'Brien (Labour) on Tuesday, 16 November 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what comparative assesment she has made of the wholesale gas price in (a) the UK and (b) other major EU economies.

Answer: Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what comparative assessment she has made of the wholesale gas price in (a) the UK and (b) other major EU economies. [196037] Mr. Mike O'Brien: Because gas markets in other EU economies are less liberalised and competitive than those in the UK, there is not much open trading in wholesale markets and it is difficult to make meaningful price comparisons with those in the UK. On the Continent wholesale prices tend to be set through contract and linked to oil. However, unofficial data indicates that UK wholesale gas prices in October 2004 were comparable with wholesale prices at Zeebrugge in Belgium and the TTF trading hub in the Netherlands.

Secondary information