Point taken on “vertical integration”, though as most markets have not unbundled distribution and retail the effects are pretty much the same.

As to consumer switching, all of the evidence I have seen suggests that it doesn’t happen without a lot of effort. The vast majority of consumers are unwilling to switch for any reason other than price, and even then they want substantial savings, not just a few dollars a month. Consumers have shown a consistent willingness to stay with higher-priced suppliers because they can’t be bothered to make the effort to switch. Ofgem claims that the UK retail market is a great success, but they put a lot of effort into consumer education that shouldn’t be necessary if the market was actually functioning properly.

If consumers could switch easily on a day-to-day basis the way they can with gasoline things might be different, but that would require some of Lynn’s smart gadgets.