Gas & Electricity

[Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese]

At what point do the energy companies get asked/made to dip into their profit margin and share the pain of consumers. They have been raking it in, as have the govt on duty while we mostly spent two years consuming 10-20% more by being in our houses all week. A mate of mine has a chippy and his profits surged or dived according to the wholesale price of potatoes and fish - some months he was virtually printing money and others ran at a loss. His customers were not subject to these variations as they would have gone elsewhere. Energy privatisation has delivered a cabal, not the promised competition.

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

At what point do the energy companies get asked/made to dip into their profit margin and share the pain of consumers. They have been raking it in, as have the govt on duty while we mostly spent two years consuming 10-20% more by being in our houses all week. A mate of mine has a chippy and his profits surged or dived according to the wholesale price of potatoes and fish - some months he was virtually printing money and others ran at a loss. His customers were not subject to these variations as they would have gone elsewhere. Energy privatisation has delivered a cabal, not the promised competition.

Won’t they organically have to as more and more people default?

Then what happens?

 

[M18CTID]

£4556 by April 23 as well.

The system is just not working for anyone and an urgent rethink and intervention from government is needed immediately!

Over 130% more than the current cap ffs!

 

[BlueHammer85]

how much would you actually save by hardly using any Gas over winter ?

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

how much would you actually save by hardly using any Gas over winter ?

Look at what you are spending on both now. That'll be your figure multiplied by 1.77 in October.

 

[Kompany Car]

Won’t they organically have to as more and more people default?

Then what happens?

Well if they cut all the houses off who aren’t paying then eventually supply will meet demand and the price will fall.

I’m sure those in power will be happy to get rid of the surplus population over the winter. All very Dickensian.

 

[RobMCFC]

Realistically, the only way to solve this is to follow the money.

i.e. if every household is paying an average of £2000 for extra energy this year, then 28 million households x £2K is going in somebody's pocket. Even allowing for rising price of natural resource extraction/wages etc., then there is a lot of profit in that.

The problem might be that most of that money is beyond the reach of the UK government. They should apply windfall tax to all UK-based companies who are coining it in, but will that be enough?

Bottom line is that yes, the government should be doing more, but there may well be a limit to how much they can do.

(I'm not defending the government here, who vaccine jabs and support for Ukraine aside, have been an absolute shambles, just trying to be realistic).

If anybody has an opinion on where the government can get the money from (super tax on the very wealthy?) I'm interested in hearing it.

 

[remember arthur mann]

I'm so glad for privatisation, it's efficiency and forethought delivering us competitively priced energy, knowing it will be the private sector that will act as a safety net and bail out any shortfall. Also the efficiency of the water companies that have delivered us new reservoirs with unlimited fresh water all year round, not to mention unpolluted rivers and how they fulfilled the promise of removing all lead pipes nationwide with a less toxic replacement, FFS !!!!

Edit:

Water companies ‘sold off reservoirs that could have eased drought’

Firms gave up sites for reserves without building new ones, says former head of Natural England

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Well if they cut all the houses off who aren’t paying then eventually supply will meet demand and the price will fall.

I’m sure those in power will be happy to get rid of the surplus population over the winter. All very Dickensian.

I’m not sure what the legality is in cutting off gas and electric, especially with dependents living there, but I guess we are going to find out.

I’m stocking up on thermal gear and thick jumpers.

The wife doesn’t know it, but she’s getting 5 hot water bottles and some thermal socks for Xmas!

 

[Cricket Blue]

I think a lot of people simply will refuse to pay these bills to be honest.
It's not the right course of action of course as you could end up with a criminal record but what happens if millions refuse to pay?