Why Haven't Prices Dropped?

DCFC79

SCRIBES wrote: »

Petrol prices have dropped below £1 now - so why haven't gas & electricty prices dropped? I thought they were linked to the price of petrol??

this was covered on watchdog i think, the prices for fuel eg gas havent dropped yet is because the energy companies buy the fuel at a certain price so the companies would have bought the current fuel when it was at a high price and it takes time for us to get the fuel at a low price,

heres a qoute from "E.ON: "Power and gas is bought in advance on the wholesale market, which means there is always a period between when the wholesale price rises or falls and when customers' domestic bills rise or fall. This process allows us to even out the cost of energy for our customers, protecting them from sudden peaks and day-to-day changes in the wholesale energy market."

from the bbc watchdog site

honest_tom

It always seems to be,"price rise imediate, price drop, "not if we can help it". Take petrol, crude was around $60 a barrel and the price at the pump about 70p /ltr. Crude $160 / barrel, petrol at the pump around £120/ltr. Crude back around $60 but petrol? Still 93p/ltr. (and more), says it all really. 300 years of coal waiting to be mined under the UK. Surely modern technology could ensure clean burn power stations. One deep mine recently re-opened at Hatfield nr. Doncaster, this should be considered nationally I think. By the way, I have cavity wall, latest thickness loft insulation, new boiler fitted four years ago, draught proofing and d/glazing. Does anyone know where Mr Browns help will assist me and others in the same boat? The government and/or the energy companies should supply me with cut price fuel for saving their precious commodities. Will they?

reactor_3

Cardew wrote: »

Your humour is appreciated.

However on a more serious note, why should the Utility companies be coerced into 'helping those in fuel poverty'.

These are commercial companies, not social welfare organisations.

If it is deemed their profits are excessive,(and it is not the point of this post to determine if that is a valid argument) then tax them or take action against the company.

If people suffer from 'fuel poverty' then it is the government's task to sort out the problem. However they abdicate their resposibility, pass the buck to the utility companies who simply get their other customers to cross-subsidise the social tariffs.

Why not coerce Tesco and Sainsbury - who have greater profit margins than the Utility companies - to provide free food for the needy?

Or the Banks to provide some free cash - oh I forgot - the banks need money from the Government!

They are not competive their costs are not transparent and they are acting as a cartel, plus their excuses for their high prices do not stand up to examination.
The are guilty of massive profiteering, have unscrouplous business practices and cannot be trusted to control Britians vital energy requirements.
They need to be taken back understate control before they do as much damage as the banks have done. The profit margin they show is meaningless, the real profits are hidden. As energy is 1/3 of what it was they must be making a staggering 330%
profit.

mech_2

reactor wrote: »

The profit margin they show is meaningless, the real profits are hidden. As energy is 1/3 of what it was they must be making a staggering 330%
profit.

Data? Evidence? Sources of information?

No of course not. It's all BS.

*plonk*

Cardew

reactor wrote: »

They are not competive their costs are not transparent and they are acting as a cartel, plus their excuses for their high prices do not stand up to examination.
The are guilty of massive profiteering, have unscrouplous business practices and cannot be trusted to control Britians vital energy requirements.
They need to be taken back understate control before they do as much damage as the banks have done. The profit margin they show is meaningless, the real profits are hidden. As energy is 1/3 of what it was they must be making a staggering 330%
profit.

Was that a combined effort of esbo and iamesbo(the other names he posts under) and youself to come up with such a wonderful logical post - or did you receive help from The Troll? You make a formidable quartet!

1carminestocky

Cardew/Hugh Jeego - the little man* with the BIG, WELL 'ARD keyboard. :rolleyes:


* Smaller than Tony Robinson/Baldrick would be my guestimate

reactor_3

Cardew wrote: »

Was that a combined effort of esbo and iamesbo(the other names he posts under) and youself to come up with such a wonderful logical post - or did you receive help from The Troll? You make a formidable quartet!

Oh dear a gas cartel representitive trying to justify it's exorbitant and unjustly high prices.
Do you seriously believe anyone believes your defense of inflated gas prices when energy prices worldwide have completely collapsed.
10 out of 10 for effort in trying to justify those high prices but you are flogging a dead
horse.

Nobody believes you.

You are just making a fool of yourself and destroying your own credibility.

Not that you ever had any credibility.

WelshGandalf

Hi

It's funny when people say "oh they put the prices up immediately, but take ages to bring them down." It's basically because when they are going down the press is all over it questioning why end-user prices haven't gone down, but when they are going up you don't get the press all over it questioning why end-use prices aren't going up :rolleyes:

The last rises from the suppliers took place over a 8-week period. So, you can't say they all put their prices up immediately. They were from July to August, yet the commodity futures prices started going up an awful lot in about April.

Now we're on the way down - the commodity price crash for electricity & gas started at the start of October. You're most looking at a similar 3-month lag on the way down, so Jan-March next year you'll almost certainly see the big 6 drop their prices.

This is however also dependant on the other main factor affecting the consumer price - that is the dollar to pound exchange rate. The pound has crashed against the dollar in recent months (see here http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/GBP/graph120.html) so this is definitely acting against a drop in end-user prices unfortunately

Cardew

WelshGandalf wrote: »

Hi

It's funny when people say "oh they put the prices up immediately, but take ages to bring them down." It's basically because when they are going down the press is all over it questioning why end-user prices haven't gone down, but when they are going up you don't get the press all over it questioning why end-use prices aren't going up :rolleyes:

The last rises from the suppliers took place over a 8-week period. So, you can't say they all put their prices up immediately. They were from July to August, yet the commodity futures prices started going up an awful lot in about April.

Now we're on the way down - the commodity price crash for electricity & gas started at the start of October. You're most looking at a similar 3-month lag on the way down, so Jan-March next year you'll almost certainly see the big 6 drop their prices.

This is however also dependant on the other main factor affecting the consumer price - that is the dollar to pound exchange rate. The pound has crashed against the dollar in recent months (see here http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/GBP/graph120.html) so this is definitely acting against a drop in end-user prices unfortunately

You really mustn't start using logic here - the Gas and Electricity forum has become the rant forum and that sort of post is unwelcome.

You too are obviously an employee of the wicked cartel of Utility companies, as, apparently, is everyone who doesn't agree with the rants.

reactor_3

WelshGandalf wrote: »

Hi

This is however also dependant on the other main factor affecting the consumer price - that is the dollar to pound exchange rate. The pound has crashed against the dollar in recent months (see here http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/GBP/graph120.html) so this is definitely acting against a drop in end-user prices unfortunately

Wrong!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course our gas is priced in pounds its nothing to do with the dollara.
We stil produce most of our own gas and it is in pounds, failing that Euros.
No dollars in the EU pal we use the Euro.
We don't buy our gas off the Yanks you know :rotfl: