Germany's new dawn

For years a liquid, transparent and competitive gas market has failed to appear in Germany. Now there are signs of progress as dominant incumbents, pushed by domestic and international pressure, move slowly towards a market model, writes Roderick Bruce

Up to now, liberalisation of the German gas market has been widely viewed as a failure. The country has paid lip service to the idea since 1998, but has lagged behind other parts of Europe with implementation. Almost 10 years later, liberalisation has made very little difference to Germany's market structure. A complex three-tier market remains, consisting of five importing companies: E.ON Ruhrgas