The State of the Power Industry: The Lost Era of Regulatory Certainty

As the industry seeks its future equilibrium, we ask what will drive the changes needed, and how will those changes manifest themselves?

According to Marsh’s latest power sector research, a perceived lack of long-term regulatory stability in the European power sector is threatening investment in the European power system.

The report questions investors, operators, equipment manufacturers, and stakeholders across the European power industry. The report reveals that the majority of respondents are concerned with the state of the European power industry, with more than 20% considering it to be “stagnant”, and more than one third believing it to be in an “unhealthy” state.

Regulatory uncertainty is widely considered to be the main barrier to investment in the European power system: more than three quarters (79.6%) of respondents identify regulatory uncertainty as a major barrier to investor confidence. Furthermore, almost half (46.3%) of respondents believe that regulatory stability and transparent, long-term policy-making would improve investment in the industry.

Amid these concerns about lack of investment, Marsh’s research also highlights that more than half (54%) of survey respondents believe that the possibility of blackouts will increase in the future, with four out of five power investors sharing this opinion.