According to the EU Annual Consumer Markets Scoreboard Report, less than two thirds of consumers are satisfied with their energy provider, with gas and electricity supply services scoring badly due to price hikes.
EU consumer commissioner Meglena Kuneva said: “I am very concerned that three services that play such a central part in people’s lives are scoring badly against a range of key EU wide consumer indicators.
“Because of its importance in the basic household budget, I have decided to make the electricity retail market the target sector for investigation in 2009.
The Commission will look at areas such as comparability of offers, unfair commercial practices and billing.
Figures show that 5.7% of the average household budget is spent on energy, with electricity bills accounting for 2.1%.