The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) was accused by Ibec yesterday of failing to deliver a competitive electricity market.

According to the Irish Cold Storage Federation (ICSF), a group affiliated with Ibec, Irish businesses are being prevented from shopping around by a lack of transparency in electricity pricing.

"Business users cannot establish the real prices being quoted due to ambiguity of tariff periods and highly complex pricing systems. This is restricting users from switching between electricity suppliers," Michael Barry of the ICSF said yesterday.

This contasted with the situation prevailing in the UK where an open and transparent market existed, Mr Barry added.

In a series of meetings between the two organizations, the ICSF have called on the CER to standardise pricing systems across electricity suppliers and to establish a one stop shop for handling complaints.

"The CER must take action now to ensure that business users can shop around for the best value thus reducing the inflationary effect of rising electricity prices on the economy as a whole," Mr Barry said.

A government green paper on energy is due shortly and is expected to conclude that the Republic's energy market is not large enough to sustain price competition. The paper is expected to call for the building of interconnectors between Ireland and continental Europe so that Irish consumers can access cheaper electricity.