OMG - British Gas increases of 10.4% and 8.4% - WHAT PLANET ARE THEY ON !!!!!

[reigate]

I work for BG. I know it takes between 14 and 21 days to notify your current supplier. This is due to distance selling regualtions - Energy Companies's have to offer a two week cool-off period, during which point they aren't allowed to contact your exisiting supplier in case you change your mind and cancel in cool-off.

In our defence, we're offsetting the price for all pensioners and those with disabilities and vulnerabilities by giving them a addional £60 credit over the winter to cover the winter price increase, which is on top of the exisiting Winter Fuel Allowance. Don't think SSE did that.

It's true we have to think of the shareholders, because without them, there would be no investment in energy supply. Without dividends, there's no fresh investment. And also, without dividends being paid out, a lot of peoples pension schemes would be down the pan. If the government still owned the utilities, it would be roughly the same situation. They wouldn't exactly want to run at a loss.

And personally, I don't think this has anything to do with the Fuel price-freeze thingy. All thoughts are my own, as well.

Thanks - i'll call BG (although I expect phones will be down after this announcment) to see exaclty when I'll get the £100, to see if I can still still switch and he the cash .

Do you know anything about the free insulation BG are advertsing? I assume if you work and pay tax you are not elligable?

 

[KZNSeagull]

I'm all for markets where there's a genuine basis for competition among producers/suppliers and for choice on the part of consumers, but in the case of most utilities and energy suppliers this is not the case. They are, for the most part, natural monopolies -- what's the basis of competition? it is after all the same gas coming through the same pipes regardless of who you buy it from, and it's the same electricity, generated at the same power stations, regardless of who you buy it from. So-called competition in this market just ends up with multiple organisations diverting resources into attracting customers from each other (resources that could be invested in R&D, new energy sources, and better distribution networks), and siphoning off surpluses to pay dividends to shareholders (surpluses that could be in invested in ... etc, etc), and government resources devoted to regulating the dysfunctional companies (resources that could be invested in... etc etc). There is no obvious way in which the introduction of competition in this market has benefited either consumers or the longer-term development of alternative approaches to energy that could help combat climate change.
Call me old-fashioned, but I'd renationalise the lot of them.

Ofgem - what has happened to them? Why are there only 6 energy companies now in the UK, whereas there used to be about 14 or so?

Electricity is nationalised here and the price has gone up by 150% in the last 5 years or so and is going up by 8% per year in each of the next 5 years as well (this has already been agreed). They wanted to increase it by 16% per annum, but were stopped by the energy regulator. We are crying out for competition. Nationalise them? Don't even think about it.

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

Ofgem - what has happened to them? Why are there only 6 energy companies now in the UK, whereas there used to be about 14 or so?

There are other suppliers in the UK, but they're not widely covered/known as the 'big 6' have a huge portion of the customer base.

 

[withdeanwombat]

I'm all for markets where there's a genuine basis for competition among producers/suppliers and for choice on the part of consumers, but in the case of most utilities and energy suppliers this is not the case. They are, for the most part, natural monopolies -- what's the basis of competition? it is after all the same gas coming through the same pipes regardless of who you buy it from, and it's the same electricity, generated at the same power stations, regardless of who you buy it from. So-called competition in this market just ends up with multiple organisations diverting resources into attracting customers from each other (resources that could be invested in R&D, new energy sources, and better distribution networks), and siphoning off surpluses to pay dividends to shareholders (surpluses that could be in invested in ... etc, etc), and government resources devoted to regulating the dysfunctional companies (resources that could be invested in... etc etc). There is no obvious way in which the introduction of competition in this market has benefited either consumers or the longer-term development of alternative approaches to energy that could help combat climate change.
Call me old-fashioned, but I'd renationalise the lot of them.

You're old fashioned, and so am I, and I wouldn't stop at power industries.

 

[ElectricNaz]

Thanks - i'll call BG (although I expect phones will be down after this announcment) to see exaclty when I'll get the £100, to see if I can still still switch and he the cash .

Do you know anything about the free insulation BG are advertsing? I assume if you work and pay tax you are not elligable?

No problem, phones shouldn't be down, if they were they probably would have been down for 30 minutes before we announced the rise to the City, shouldn't be any longer.It will be 2 years exactly after your start date. Keep in mind as well that energy companies (Thanks to OFGEM and the Retail Market Review) are no longer allowed to offer cash incentives as discounts off bills, so you won't get an offer like that if you switch (just to set your expectations). We aren't even allowed a staff discount anymore!

In terms of point two, Yes it's completely free. Doesn't matter if you're working or whatever. It's open to all. The only issues are you need to have under a certain limit of existing insulation. Also, say if you live in a flat or a top floor, and scaffolding is needed to access the property, there could be a charge for that, but that's really very rare. You're also entitled to both Cavity Wall and Loft Insulation if your property is compatible.

 

[ElectricNaz]

There are other suppliers in the UK, but they're not widely covered/known as the 'big 6' have a huge portion of the customer base.

Yup.

And the reason the smaller companies only have a small customer base is because once they get over 250k customers they have to start including things like the green tax on customers bills (which as smaller suppliers they're actually exempt from - unfair advantage?), which is why they're generally cheaper but their tariffs are usually limited to a certain number of customers, as they don't want to go over the customer limit.

 

[Gritt23]

Do you think the future and to freeze prices, as announced by the opposition party recently has anything to do with this?

Absolutely!

It was bound to happen from the moment Labour made the announcement. They may have well said "ramp your prices up NOW, just in case we get into power and try to stop you."

 

[Leighgull]

What a bunch of greedy ****wit twatting bollock cockrotters.

 

[Triggaaar]

Get fixed in before its too late

Done, thanks.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Absolutely!

It was bound to happen from the moment Labour made the announcement. They may have well said "ramp your prices up NOW, just in case we get into power and try to stop you."

And how do you explain the big six putting their prices up by roughly the same amount in October 2012?

 

[BLOCK F]

Renationalise?
Ha,that really would lead to lower prices wouldn't it!

Why not remove all the green costs from power bills and put them under general taxation instead.That would lower power bills and the very poor who do not pay tax at all would be saved the cost.
Government don't want to do this because they like to blame the big bad power companies for everything,including the costs they themselves foisted on the industry.

 

[ElectricNaz]

And how do you explain the big six putting their prices up by roughly the same amount in October 2012?

Because 85% of a bill is set by regulatory, tax, and supply costs, which are pretty much the same for all big six suppliers (The smaller companies get tax benefits such as not having to pay the green tax)

10% is running costs, and 5% is profit.

The only way to avoid having to all change prices at the same time would be to significantly lower profits, or cut running costs (e.g. redundancies, which will affect service levels and innovation)

When the core product is being sourced by everyone from the same place at the same cost, of course prices are going to be similar across the board.

 

[GreersElbow]

I see Labour's avoiding the bullet here, whilst it's disgusting from the energy companies. This is a natural reaction to threats of intervention from Labour if they were to win, the tories don't look like winning an outright. If Liberals were to become dissatisfied with Tories they could force a coalition with Labour. They're responding to surveys and soundbites from politicians.


Don't forget, it was Ed Miliband who kick started the rises when he was energy secretary.

 

[Canonman]

Just announced. All the big six deny being in a cartel yet they all put their prices up by similar amounts, at similar times and always just before winter !!!!!

There really is not word in the English language to describe them.

Totally agree, there are some elderly people that have no savings to help them out and are too frightened to put the heating on all day for fear of not being able to pay. When you are in your 80's and 90's it's very important you are kept warm all the time. It's not just the elderly either that it affects. The government are a complete waste of space in not controlling these money grabbing companies.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Because 85% of a bill is set by regulatory, tax, and supply costs, which are pretty much the same for all big six suppliers (The smaller companies get tax benefits such as not having to pay the green tax)

10% is running costs, and 5% is profit.

The only way to avoid having to all change prices at the same time would be to significantly lower profits, or cut running costs (e.g. redundancies, which will affect service levels and innovation)

When the core product is being sourced by everyone from the same place at the same cost, of course prices are going to be similar across the board.

Yes BUT you really can't tell me that ALL the big six do their wholesale agreements at the same time surely ? That can be only explanation for all of them increasing their prices within days of each other ( and more often than not as winter comes ) rather than as and when they re-negotiate their current wholesale deals.

 

[Bwian]

It'll be interesting to see what happens to mail pricing now the service provider has been privatised. Regardless of what promises were made prior to the sell-off, once all of the privately held shares have been sold off to major investors it is a 100% certainty that prices will go up with depressing regularity-and probably way above the rate of inflation. They see the energy companies getting away with it every year-they're bound to join in. Wonder who'll be blamed then when it happens?

 

[Bwian]

Totally agree, there are some elderly people that have no savings to help them out and are too frightened to put the heating on all day for fear of not being able to pay. When you are in your 80's and 90's it's very important you are kept warm all the time. It's not just the elderly either that it affects. The government are a complete waste of space in not controlling these money grabbing companies.

Instead of controlling money grabbing public utility companies-they've just created another one in Royal Mail.

 

[Napper]

Good old Tories and prIvatisation

 

[Seagull kimchi]

There's absolutely no justification for such extortion....how long will people put up with it?

Here in Korea I pay around 40 quid per quarter for gas/elec/water for a studio flat. Korea has no oil/coal reserves and only 4 nuclear power reactors - everything else is imported. Yet people's basic needs are met with affordable pricing. The crazy thing is that England is way more temperate that Korea where you need AC from june-sept and serious heating from oct-march.

 

[wellquickwoody]

In normal circumstances I fully support a free and open marketplace, and dislike regulation. But this is NOT a free and open marketplace. The energy companies are acting as a cartel, and have the bare faced cheek to repeatedly keep threatening us with power cuts in the near future, maybe to keep us brow beaten consumers in line. What makes this worse is the energy regulator seemingly being too scared or too weak to take these pariahs to task.

I think this is an issue which would create millions of votes for any party who really grasped the nettle.