Britain's energy regulator sets practice code for comparison websites

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Britain's energy regulator is introducing a code of practice for price comparison websites to make it easier for consumers to find better deals, at a time when power prices are high on the political agenda ahead of a national election.

Price comparison sites allow customers to check whether they could be paying less for their gas and electricity.

Under the new Confidence Code, which goes live in March, the websites will have to show all tariffs available and make it clear which energy providers they have commission arrangements with.

"Comparison sites are a great place to start energy shopping, but customers need to feel confident that the sites are providing information they can trust," said Rachel Fletcher, a senior partner at regulator Ofgem, in an emailed statement.

Wholesale crude and gas prices in Europe have fallen in recent months due to a global supply glut, reducing some of the purchase costs the utilities incur and making the cost of energy a battleground for the country's politicians in the run-up to May's election.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey has encouraged people to look for better deals by switching energy providers.

The opposition Labour Party said it would try to introduce a law to give the regulator the power to force firms to cut prices in response to falls in wholesale costs.

Three of Britain's energy providers, Centrica (LSE: CNA.L - news) , E.ON and Scottish Power, owned by Spain's Iberdrola , have announced price cuts in the past two weeks.

That has put pressure on the remaining members of the 'Big Six' suppliers, EDF Energy, SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) and RWE (Xetra: 703712 - news) npower , to do the same. (Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by John Stonestreet)