The changes of the last few years in the European utilities market have tremendous impact on the companies in this industry sector. The competitive pressure will increase further as liberalisation has reached in average just about 65 % of the European power market. The national markets in France, Italy, Spain, Swiss and Austria as well as in other European countries are still not fully liberalised. This article explains the drivers for competition and their impact on the structure of power trading, transmission/distribution and generation.