Energy companies overcharge customers by 600m

Hasbeen

So thats why the totally inefficient windmills are there to make even more ££££:mad:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/9490712/Energy-companies-overcharge-customers-by-600m.html

Terrylw1

It would be nice to see some proper action taken, not a piddly few million in fines that they just earn back of their customers.

Perhaps suspend their licence to take new customers or some form of % given back.

magyar

Very bizarre comments from Decc. Cannot possibly see how they think anything has been manipulated.

spiro

The problem is DECC and the government want all this 'green energy' to comply with the EU rules. The problem is that the grid was designed to take power from a smallish number of power stations to millions of homes. It was not designed for 1000s of 'power stations' dotted all around the country and lots are now appearing in areas where there is very limited grid coverage.

Given that they are giving the go ahead for massive investment in the networks this should offset this problem over time.

magyar

spiro wrote: »

The problem is DECC and the government want all this 'green energy' to comply with the EU rules. The problem is that the grid was designed to take power from a smallish number of power stations to millions of homes. It was not designed for 1000s of 'power stations' dotted all around the country and lots are now appearing in areas where there is very limited grid coverage.

Given that they are giving the go ahead for massive investment in the networks this should offset this problem over time.

That is all true, which makes it all the more bizarre as to why Decc are coming up with these comments. They are just participating in the ancillary bid/offer services.

What is true is that some wind farms (some of the very few large enough to be transmission-connected) did receive very large payments for being shut off, this was actually because they had never actually switched off the turbines at full load before and bid a very high price trying to be deliberately turned off.

As ever, this will doubtless result in
- a media/public feeding frenzy on how we're all being ripped off by the electricity companies
- a Decc enquiry costing the taxpaying millions
- then nothing will be found.

The government must have run at least six? investigations into the industry and has still never found any evidence of it being rigged.