Andris Piebalgs the EU commissioner has stated that the recent spat of mergers Gas Natural for Endesa and E.On for Scottish Power is concerning. It is perhaps significantly concerning for him, when France and Germany have sought to protect their state utilities whilst Italy and the UK have watched them slip into other European hands. There is no doubt that the theory of economics suggests that a few players is not good for market prices, as the kinked demand curve causes prices to be set slightly higher than normal market conditions. More importantly the market requires volume to trade through it, this creates transaprency and a truly liquid market. As more vertically integrated companies are bought less and less volume needs to go through the market and vagaries of competition are lost.