For years, British consumers were told that the answer to expensive energy bills and poor customer service was simple: more competition.

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Break the dominance of the Big Six, encourage smaller suppliers into the market and give households genuine choice. Competition, we were promised, would drive down prices and force energy companies to treat customers better.

So how have we ended up heading back towards a market dominated by just three major suppliers?

The acquisition of OVO by E.ON is the latest development in what should be a worrying trend for consumers. The combined businesses will serve millions of households, concentrating even more power in the hands of a small number of energy giants.

I’m not suggesting that bigger automatically means worse. Large energy companies can benefit from economies of scale, greater financial resilience and the resources to invest in better........

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