UK energy tariff cap a chance to develop new products - E.ON CEO

LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) - Britain's plan to introduce price caps in the energy retail market will be a "challenge" but also a chance for one of the country's biggest suppliers to develop new products in a very competitive market, said the chief executive of E.ON.

Britain's Conservative Party, leading in polls to take a larger majority in next month's election, has pledged to cap standard energy tariffs, while the opposition Labour party has proposed nationalising some energy firms.

E.ON group CEO Johannes Teyssen said a price cap would unlikely have any impact on E.ON's current portfolio.

"It's an opportunity to define and develop new products, it's a challenge for us," Teyssen said on the sidelines of the FT Energy Transition Strategies conference in London.

E.ON, whose British unit saw profits plunge 43 percent in the first quarter, is ramping up sales in Britain to gain new customers in a market where large suppliers have seen fierce competition from new entrants.

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)