Big 6 Energy Companies Are Ripping Off UK
Big six energy companies are ripping off UK, says watchdog
tell us something we didn't know , all adds to the rich getting richer and the poor barely able able to keep themselves warm
Energy suppliers are overcharging customers and bills should come
down for the vast majority of households, the head of the industry
watchdog said today.
Dermot Nolan, chief executive of Ofgem, said “we really should be seeing bigger retail cuts” in the wake of falling wholesale energy prices.
The absence of major price cuts is the result of a lack of competition in the market, he said as he encouraged consumers to switch suppliers to seek a better deal.
His comments follow an article in The Times this week revealing that almost five million pensioners will have to ration heating this winter because they cannot afford to pay their energy bills.
Asked if he thought energy should be cheaper, Mr Nolan told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I believe it should - at least I believe it should for the vast majority of people.
“The biggest component of your energy bill is the wholesale cost - it’s approximately half the bill, maybe a shade under ... it has fallen by nearly a third over the last year to year-and-a-half.
“We really should be seeing bigger retail cuts than we have seen so far.”
Asked why that was not happening, he said: “I think we are not, because the market is not working as competitively as it should be.
“The best protection for customers in the long run is a fully-competitive market. I don’t think it is, which is why we referred the market to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who are due to report in the very near future.”
Pressed on whether the market was “ripping customers off”, Mr Nolan said: “I think they are overcharging in many cases.”
He added: “I think what they are consciously doing is charging as high as they think people will get, which is an endemic feature of any market, but the main protection for consumers is a competitive market.”
On Wednesday David Cameron shot a warning across the bows of the industry by saying that he did not think prices were falling quickly enough. He welcomed the Competition Commission investigation.
In the next two weeks the Competition and Markets Authority will publish provisional recommendations on how to increase competition in the industry after concluding last year that households were being overcharged by £1.2 billion a year.
At the time it suggested capping bills for the 70 per cent of households languishing on their supplier’s expensive standard tariffs until other measures to improve competition become effective.
According to GoCompare.com, a comparison website, the cheapest dual fuel deal available for a household with typical energy consumption is offered by GB Energy at £787 a year, more than £300 cheaper than the average standard tariff of the big six suppliers — British Gas, EDF Energy, npower, E.ON UK, Scottish Power and SSE.
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of industry body Energy UK, told Today: “There are a number of different companies out there - we have got 34 different suppliers out there, there are a range of different tariffs to suit different people’s options.
“As Ofgem say, we are fully behind getting people engaging in this market and getting people on the best deal.”
But he added that falling wholesale costs did not necessarily mean bills should be cut.
“Yes, they do represent a big chunk - around 45 per cent of the average dual-fuel bill is wholesale costs. What isn’t coming out is all of the costs that are added on to consumers’ bills that are outside of a supplier’s control.
“Some of those costs over the last year have actually increased, in one case by 20 per cent.
“When you look at that, and you look at a world where we are actually decreasing our consumption of gas and electricity due to energy efficiency measures, that reduces quite substantially the room that any supplier has to reduce bills at a time when wholesale prices are coming down.”
BOLLOCKS MATE !!!!
Parts of Britain are expected to suffer the coldest temperatures in four years
this weekend as public health chiefs warned of an increasing risk of
preventable deaths among older people due to lack of heating.
The Met Office warned of severe cold weather for all regions of England, with Arctic air pushing average temperatures down to 2C, while some areas are due to experience minus 15C overnight.
Paul Gundersen, chief operational meteorologist at the Met Office, said that there was a “99 per cent probability” of severe, cold, icy conditions and heavy snow lasting until Tuesday.
Scotland and northern England are expected to bear the brunt of the winter weather over the weekend and motorists have been warned of icy conditions and freezing fog patches, causing dangerous travelling conditions.
Dr Angie Bone, of Public Health England, said it was important that the elderly and those caring for them in the next few days keep their homes heated to at least 18C.
“Have plenty of warm food and drinks to stay warm,” she said. “Try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18C, particularly if you are not mobile, have a longterm illness or are over 65, and check weather forecasts and plan your day around them.
“Also, take some time to think about how the bad weather may affect your friends and family, particularly if they are older or very young or have pre-existing health conditions.
“Although most of our advice on keeping warm and well in cold weather may seem like common sense, it’s important to remember that cold kills, even in places where the temperatures aren’t at their lowest.”
Mr Gundersen said that spells of sleet and snow would become increasingly confined to the North Sea coast and hills, giving way to cold, crisp days and sharp overnight frosts with a risk of ice.
“Frosts may also be severe at times, particularly where there is lying snow,” he said. “The cold weather currently looks like lasting into the early part of next week with a trend towards less cold conditions during the second half of next week.”
Motorists were urged to take extra care in hazardous driving conditions yesterday as snow swept across parts of the UK.
Areas of Scotland, Wales, northern England and the Midlands were affected and caused difficult conditions on some routes, leading to overturned cars and jackknifed lorries.
Between 3cm and 6cm of snow fell in parts of central and east Scotland. More than 10cm is expected to fall on higher ground tonight.
Dermot Nolan, chief executive of Ofgem, said “we really should be seeing bigger retail cuts” in the wake of falling wholesale energy prices.
The absence of major price cuts is the result of a lack of competition in the market, he said as he encouraged consumers to switch suppliers to seek a better deal.
His comments follow an article in The Times this week revealing that almost five million pensioners will have to ration heating this winter because they cannot afford to pay their energy bills.
Asked if he thought energy should be cheaper, Mr Nolan told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “I believe it should - at least I believe it should for the vast majority of people.
“The biggest component of your energy bill is the wholesale cost - it’s approximately half the bill, maybe a shade under ... it has fallen by nearly a third over the last year to year-and-a-half.
“We really should be seeing bigger retail cuts than we have seen so far.”
Asked why that was not happening, he said: “I think we are not, because the market is not working as competitively as it should be.
“The best protection for customers in the long run is a fully-competitive market. I don’t think it is, which is why we referred the market to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who are due to report in the very near future.”
Pressed on whether the market was “ripping customers off”, Mr Nolan said: “I think they are overcharging in many cases.”
He added: “I think what they are consciously doing is charging as high as they think people will get, which is an endemic feature of any market, but the main protection for consumers is a competitive market.”
On Wednesday David Cameron shot a warning across the bows of the industry by saying that he did not think prices were falling quickly enough. He welcomed the Competition Commission investigation.
In the next two weeks the Competition and Markets Authority will publish provisional recommendations on how to increase competition in the industry after concluding last year that households were being overcharged by £1.2 billion a year.
At the time it suggested capping bills for the 70 per cent of households languishing on their supplier’s expensive standard tariffs until other measures to improve competition become effective.
According to GoCompare.com, a comparison website, the cheapest dual fuel deal available for a household with typical energy consumption is offered by GB Energy at £787 a year, more than £300 cheaper than the average standard tariff of the big six suppliers — British Gas, EDF Energy, npower, E.ON UK, Scottish Power and SSE.
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of industry body Energy UK, told Today: “There are a number of different companies out there - we have got 34 different suppliers out there, there are a range of different tariffs to suit different people’s options.
“As Ofgem say, we are fully behind getting people engaging in this market and getting people on the best deal.”
But he added that falling wholesale costs did not necessarily mean bills should be cut.
“Yes, they do represent a big chunk - around 45 per cent of the average dual-fuel bill is wholesale costs. What isn’t coming out is all of the costs that are added on to consumers’ bills that are outside of a supplier’s control.
“Some of those costs over the last year have actually increased, in one case by 20 per cent.
“When you look at that, and you look at a world where we are actually decreasing our consumption of gas and electricity due to energy efficiency measures, that reduces quite substantially the room that any supplier has to reduce bills at a time when wholesale prices are coming down.”
BOLLOCKS MATE !!!!
Now This !! - Turn on the heating, elderly told as temperatures plummet to -15C
The Met Office warned of severe cold weather for all regions of England, with Arctic air pushing average temperatures down to 2C, while some areas are due to experience minus 15C overnight.
Paul Gundersen, chief operational meteorologist at the Met Office, said that there was a “99 per cent probability” of severe, cold, icy conditions and heavy snow lasting until Tuesday.
Scotland and northern England are expected to bear the brunt of the winter weather over the weekend and motorists have been warned of icy conditions and freezing fog patches, causing dangerous travelling conditions.
Dr Angie Bone, of Public Health England, said it was important that the elderly and those caring for them in the next few days keep their homes heated to at least 18C.
“Have plenty of warm food and drinks to stay warm,” she said. “Try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18C, particularly if you are not mobile, have a longterm illness or are over 65, and check weather forecasts and plan your day around them.
“Also, take some time to think about how the bad weather may affect your friends and family, particularly if they are older or very young or have pre-existing health conditions.
“Although most of our advice on keeping warm and well in cold weather may seem like common sense, it’s important to remember that cold kills, even in places where the temperatures aren’t at their lowest.”
Mr Gundersen said that spells of sleet and snow would become increasingly confined to the North Sea coast and hills, giving way to cold, crisp days and sharp overnight frosts with a risk of ice.
“Frosts may also be severe at times, particularly where there is lying snow,” he said. “The cold weather currently looks like lasting into the early part of next week with a trend towards less cold conditions during the second half of next week.”
Motorists were urged to take extra care in hazardous driving conditions yesterday as snow swept across parts of the UK.
Areas of Scotland, Wales, northern England and the Midlands were affected and caused difficult conditions on some routes, leading to overturned cars and jackknifed lorries.
Between 3cm and 6cm of snow fell in parts of central and east Scotland. More than 10cm is expected to fall on higher ground tonight.
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