When assessing the customer benefits it is important to keep in mind that this is not a homogeneous group. Depending on location, type of consumption etc. customers can naturally be affected differently. In every analyses of any reform there will be a question of whether the reform creates a more efficient market (resulting in overall benefits) and how the benefits and costs are distributed, i.e., an efficiency and a distributional aspect. It has not been possible for us to go into any depth on this. Initially we set up four criteria to assess whether it is likely that an integrated Nordic end-user market in the long-run will provide benefits for the end-users. These criteria are:
- Sufficient or improved competition
- System efficiency
- Improved functionality of the market
- More diversified market
Based on the discussions in this report we assess the possible effects on the customers against these criteria.