Npower and SSE merger given final clearance by competition watchdog

Two of the UK’s Big Six energy suppliers have been given the all clear to merge their retail businesses by the competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said consumers would still have “plenty of choice” on standard variable tariffs (SVTs) after Npower and SSE’s proposed tie-up.

MPs and consumer groups have criticised big gas and electric firms for profiting from loyal customers by switching them to expensive SVTs when their initial tariff ends.

But the CMA said SSE and Npower are “not close rivals” on the tariffs, which had been an area of particular concern for the regulator.

The Big Six suppliers, which also includes British Gas, E.On, Scottish Power and EDF, have already lost hundreds of thousands of customers to newer competitors and are predicted to shed another 2.4 million in 2018, according to industry trade body Energy UK.

Price comparison site uSwitch said in August that it had seen a 40 per cent rise in customers changing utility suppliers this year suggesting that households have become more savvy.

Anne Lambert, chair of the CMA inquiry group, said: “With many energy companies out there, people switching away from expensive standard variable tariffs will still have plenty of choice when they shop around after this merger