1. Deregulation

2. Introduction
Timeline: 1980s (privatisations). 1990s : deregulation. The process is going on.
removal of government controls from a sector
Open a sector to competition
Advantages :
Cost savings
Reduced bureaucracy
Consolidation
Disadvantages : consumer protection, social and environmental risks, volatile prices, risky operations, oligarchy.
Need of regulators: ex Ofgem (office of gas and electricity markets)

3. 1. THE AIRLINE SECTOR 1987 : public flotation of BA shares
1990s : lower fares, efficiency gains, consolidation of BA (TAT European, Deutsche BA, Qantas)
New competitors : Virgin Atlantic, Ryan Air, Easyjet

4. 2. THE TELECOMS SECTOR
1981 : Post Office Telecoms becomes BT. Entry of Mercury Telecoms
1984 : BT privatised.
1990s : new licences for new operators
2003 : abolition of licences.
2006 : abolition of price caps.

5. 3. The Electricity market
Dates : UK / EU
1947 : nationalisation of the electricity market.
1990 : privatisation of electricity producers except nuclear assets.
: opening to competition from business to retail consumers.
2001 : liberalisation of prices with NETA
: Europe’s lowest electricity prices

6. Pitfalls in the ENERGY sector
Collapse of nuclear in early 2000s
Renewable projects abandoned. (so Return to regulation : 2002 renewable obligation)
New oligarchy: EDF, E.On, Npower, ScottishPowerBusiness, Scottish&Southern

7. 4. Transportation : railways
1948 : formation of British Rail (state-owned)
1980s : cuts in government funds
1987 : Privatisation of Railtrack and British Rail.
Vertical separation : railroad infrastructure/passenger operations (25)
Regulator : Office of Rail and Road

8. major security problems :
October : A crash at Paddington
October : Four people are killed in a derailment at Hatfield.
2003 : Potters Bar crash.
2002 : Railtrack sold to Network Rail
2003 : Railtrack brought maintenance back in-house.
Rising prices with cuts in government funds.

9. 5. BREXIT and regulation
BREXIT vote: anger with deregulation. Yet BREXIT may increase deregulation.
EU fears : fiscal dumping. Lower labour regulations.
UK : February 2017 Great Repeal Act.
City of London : no longer subjected to bonus caps (2011). Yet draft agreement compels it to implement EU regulations.