In this book, the latest volume in the annual series published in association with the London Business School and the Institute of Economic Affairs, some of the main issues in UK and EU utility regulation and competition policy are discussed. Topics examined include the new electricity and gas trading markets, regulating the railways, introducing competition into water, telecoms and Ofcom, opening EU gas and electricity markets, the 1998 Competition Act, EU merger policy and a general review of privatisation and regulation in Britain. Essays by expert commentators are followed in each case by comments from the relevant regulator.Contents: Introduction - Colin Robinson 1. The New Electricity Trading Arrangements in England and Wales: A Review - David Currie, Chairman's Comments - Callum McCarthy 2. A Critique of Rail Regulation - Dieter Helm, Chairman's Comments - Tom Winsor 3. Moving to a Competitive Market in Water - Colin Robinson, Chairman's Comments - Sir Ian Byatt 4. The New Gas Trading Arrangements - George Yarrow, Chairman's Comments - Eileen Marshall 5. A Review of Privatisation and Regulation Experience in Britain - Irwin M. Stelzer, Chairman's Comments - Stephen Littlechild 6. Converging Communications: Implications for Regulation - Mark Armstrong, Chairman's Comments - David Edmonds 7. Opening European Electricity and Gas Markets - Graham Shuttleworth, Chairman's Comments - Clare Spottiswoode 8. Concurrency or Convergence? Competition and Regulation Under the Competition Act 1998 - Tom Sharpe QC, Chairman's Comments - Geoffrey Horton 9. Ten Years of European Merger Control - Paul Seabright, Chairman's Comments - Derek Morris