Ofgem calls on the Big Six to explain their prices

I’m with SSE/Ebico as some of you may already know & our prices went down in March of this year. Only by 3.5%. With little energy I use I was very happy wit this. Still a long way off the drop of wholesale prices, but like I say, I’m happy.

Trust on the other hand…. I do not trust Ebico or SSE at all as a company. But my account manger, a really nice women called Rosemary, I do have full trust in her to-do what is right for me.

I assume that those who continue to defend the energy companies are shareholders or hold other investments that will benefit from the success of these companies.

Failure to respond to falling wholesale prices, confusing pricing and allowing many customers to build up large credit balances when they pay by direct debit are just some of the issues that demonstrate that governments past and present have a lot to answer for by allowing the public to be exploited. Energy is vital to everyone, so consumers should be treated fairly.

As long as you can get away with selling to your own suppliers at whatever price you choose this will continue. It seems extraordinary to me that the Big 6 all claim to make the same amount of profit i.e. between 4 & 5%. If there was competition in the market profits would vary as they do in other marketplaces. Ofgem and the CMA need to investigate their hedging practices as this will no doubt have some bearing on their reasons to justify price increases. If they get it wrong the consumer pays and it is another win win situation for the Energy Companies and their shareholders.
T
High time they were broken up into separate smaller companies, nothing much will change until they are.

People could be forgiven for feeling that Ofgem doesn’t expend enough energy when it comes to addressing the major power co’s. Gas is the big issue because it is the biggest charge in most households’ energy budgets, and because, unlike electricity, it can be stored to even out the ups and downs of wholesale price movements. The failure across the industry to follow wholesale prices downwards certainly needs detailed investigation.

It is surprising that the returns on gas and electricity supply are not drawing new entrants to the production side of the market with additional electricity generation and gas storage capacity. It looks like we have to hope for a windy Winter with plenty of sunshine to get us through the next heating season in order to take the pressure off the power stations.

I can’t remember whether our supplier [Eeyore or something like that] has informed us about falling wholesale prices; they send us so much trivial drivel in e-mails and other bilge it’s difficult to take them seriously at times. In answer to the question in the preamble, “if they don’t, will you be looking to save by switching energy providers?”, I am tempted to say “what’s the point?”. There are only two more major providers left on my “worth considering” list, the remainder having ruled themselves out by previous misbehaviour! In any case, energy is such a major and vital part of life I feel we should not be having to go through the switching process every few months – the fragmentation of tariff structures has made that a nightmare [deliberately, of course]. Frequent switching adds cost to the industry and I want to be at ease with energy provision, not forever at its mercy.

Ofgem are a complete and utter waste of space. Far from helping the consumer they pander to the wishes of the big six with only a token gesture seeing fair play is rolled out.
They have even told OVO not to pay 3% interest on credit balances. How stupid is that?
Time we had a proper regulator to ensure a fair deal all around. Better still an independent regulator with teeth overseeing a renationalised energy supply industry.

When wholesale prices of gas and electricity rise they are quickly followed by rising prices for consumers and given the blame. There is no excuse then for not reducing consumer prices when wholesale prices fall. If they buy at a fixed price they should have the knowledge and experience to get the best deal – I hope they have secured a good deal now while prices are low so I shall be expecting a reduction in my bill soon.
Unless Ofgem can do more and get some real action it should be replaced with something more positive with more powers…and not give huge payouts to its current management, who do not appear to be making any difference.

Are Ofgem, the Big Six or indeed any of the politicians at all concerned about what the ordinary ‘man’ in the street thinks? I think not. Could this be because they all ‘sing from the same hymn sheet as the saying goes and not for the best of motives. Am I a cynic or just a realist? I await being surprised but won’t hold my breath.