ABSTRACT
The development of price reporting agencies (PRAs) largely mirrors the development of the energy markets. The major players in the PRA world have instead come from within the energy industry. For the first time, PRAs also emerged outside the traditional energy trading hubs of the US and UK. The end of the Cold War and the opening up of the Eastern Bloc and China during the 1990s created several new energy markets and brought a number of new energy companies into the global markets, offering significant opportunities for PRAs. After the wave of acquisitions and mergers, the energy-focused PRAs have achieved economies of scale. The next few years are likely to see further consolidation in the industry and the disappearance of some of the last remaining independent PRAs as potential lower industry spend and higher compliance costs effectively reinforce the dominant position of the largest players.
