Portrait of Charles Blake

Charles Blake Senior Consultant

Charles is a member of Oxera’s Analytics and Performance, Productivity and Efficiency teams. He has extensive experience of the UK and continental European regulatory systems and has a particular interest in regulated energy and water networks. He has led a number of efficiency projects in the UK water and transport sectors as well as the German energy sector, including large, complex international benchmarking assignments. Charles regularly delivers cost assessment training as part of Oxera’s Utility Regulation course.

Before joining Oxera, he completed an internship at an energy think tank and studied economics at the University of Cambridge, where he specialised in econometrics and public economics.

Charles speaks English.

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7776 6692

Charles' specialisms include:

Selected
professional experience

  • Advising a consortium of British distribution networks on real price effects (2025–)

  • Ongoing assistance for British energy networks as part of the upcoming price control (RIIO-3), with a focus on frontier shift, real price effects, cost modelling and incentives (2024–)

  • Developing a methodology for a Portuguese water company to monitor and incentivise its own efficiency (2024)

  • Assisting a Belgian gas and electricity distribution system operator (DSO) on the implementation of a TOTEX regime (2023)

  • Critically evaluating the Bundesnetzagentur’s RP4 TOTEX models on behalf of a German Gas DSO (2023)

  • Ongoing assistance for UK water companies in engagements with the regulator on PR24 cost and performance assessment, including econometric cost modelling, setting performance targets and ongoing efficiency and input price pressure (2022–)

Selected
publications

  • Thanassoulis, E., Blake, C. and Parthasarathy S. (2022), ‘Implicit and explicit incentives within economic regulation’, Decision Analytics Journal, 4:1.

Qualifications

  • BA Economics, University of Cambridge

Latest Insights:  Charles Blake

Agenda
10 minute read
Depiction of RIIO-ED2 Draft Determinations

RIIO-ED2 Draft Determinations

On 29 June 2022, Ofgem published its Draft Determinations (DDs) for the RIIO-ED2 price control covering the electricity distribution (ED) sector. The regulatory cycle for the ED sector follows that…
Agenda
9 minute read
Depiction of RIIO-2 appeals: CMA Final Determination

RIIO-2 appeals: CMA Final Determination

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its Final Determination (FD) of the appeals in respect of Ofgem’s RIIO-GD2 and RIIO-T2 (‘RIIO-2’) price control reviews. Out of 12 grounds…
Agenda
8 minute read
Depiction of RIIO-2 appeals—CMA provisional findings

RIIO-2 appeals—CMA provisional findings

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a summary of its Provisional Determination of the appeals in respect of Ofgem’s RIIO-GD2 and RIIO-T2 price control review. Out of 12…

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