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Total Global Steel, a London-based trader, will start handling U.K. and French power contracts this month, potentially boosting volume in both markets. Started as a trader on the London Metal Exchange in 1999, Total Global Steel signed up to join Amsterdam-based APX-ENDEX, and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and Nord Pool Spot AS’s N2EX platform, Martin Lonergan, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a telephone interview. Total Global traded German power contracts for the last two months and plans to trade power across U.K., French and German power cables starting in April. It will focus on forward power contracts within this calendar year, Lonergan said. Total Global will trade power contracts over-the counter and on the exchanges, he said in an interview this week. N2EX held its first U.K. power auction in January. British regulators are pushing electricity auctions as a way of improving transparency and attract new entrants. The U.K’s energy market is dominated by six large suppliers, Centrica Plc’s British Gas, Scottish & Southern Energy Plc, Electricite de France SA, E.ON AG’s U.K supply business, RWE AG’s Npower and Iberdrola SA’s Scottish Power. The U.K. energy regulator Ofgem is seeking ways to encourage smaller companies to enter the market and boost competition. Ofgem, the U.K.’s Office for Gas and Electricity Markets, proposed a range of measures this year and forced power generators to provide more details about revenue from their various businesses after a probe into market competition. Trading in the U.K. market is low compared with other European markets including Germany and the Nordic region, which are the most actively traded. |