MSE News: David Cameron: law will force energy firms to offer cheapest deals

pooch

Energy minister John Hayes was forced by Speaker John Bercow to appear in the Commons to explain the Prime Minister's announcement

New laws will help consumers "get the best deal" on their gas and electricity bills, energy Minister John Hayes has said.

But he refused to confirm David Cameron's pledge that companies would be forced to offer their lowest tariffs.

He said the proposed legislation would first be discussed with the industry and debated by MPs.

Labour said the government's policy was in "chaos".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19986929

I think I have to agree on this one.

MillicentBystander

No matter what your politics, if you are an honest person you would have to say this Govt. have totally lost the plot (not that i personally believe they had one to lose but hey ho). Cameron is so wishy washy he should advertise Fairy Liquid.

PS Not that Ed Milliband can gloat too much - he was energy minister and did b*gger all to sort this industry out.

grahamc2003

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Sums it up perfectly for me. De-nationalising this industry has proved to be an absolute disaster. Especially when you realise the money the Govt got for it all was basically used to fund the 3 million+ unemployed Thatcher needed to get her reactionary policies accepted. And, before anyone says it, no, I'm not claiming everything was rosy when the nation ran the industry but look at the parasitic industry that de-nationalising it has caused to be born. So many layers of **** and so many duplicated and wasteful resouces. And STILL no proper storage facilities.

I came to the sad conclusion that privatisation had gobe pear shaped about 4 years ago. Sad for me because I supported it and spent many years helping devise and implement the several stages of the privatisation process. I thought it would be a good thing for the consumer and the industry, but I'm afraid my view now is that it has failed.

The industry was split in a strange manner - all the strategic and high level technical expertise was lumped into The National Grid - the suppliers were left basically with none, just the ability to run a few retail shops and print off bills. The generators knew how to drive power stations, and that was their only expertise. Business knowledge simply didn't exist anywhere, so in came hundreds of expensive consultants to orchestrate some sort of business acumen into the new supplier functions (they really didn't have any before, and most of what they do now is purely due to privatisation itself and simply overhead). I'd say management at NGC were very good - salaries and the rates they'd pay consultants were at the top end - and in return they expected and got top performance from talented people in the then Big 6 consultancies. The suppliers, during the many years of privatisation, took on second rate consultants at low rates and, from my personal experience, paid peanuts and got monkeys, and I think the remnants of that (i.e. the manner in which they run their business) is still visible today.

onzey

Just spoke to my energy company who were unable or unwilling to tell me the reasons for the latest price hike over the phone. Evidently I will receive something in the post one day giving an explanation.

Our government do not seem really willing or able to do anything about the energy companies and their freedom to club together and push up prices whenever they wish.

Ofgem, the electricity and gas market REGULATOR, are likewise ineffective.

So those who can or could do something, do nothing

As far as I can see this situation will continue unless we the customers club together and do something.

Is there anything we can actually do (and I don't mean playing the switching game) in the form of a real campaign for change? We need to form our own cartel of customers willing to act and speak as one. A show of protest such as thousands or millions not paying their bill for one month.

We will continue to be fleeced by them until we say "enough is enough" and mean it. We need some real but balanced consumer power to be shown in some way or other.

grahamc2003

onzey wrote: »

Just spoke to my energy company who were unable or unwilling to tell me the reasons for the latest price hike over the phone. Evidently I will receive something in the post one day giving an explanation.

Our government do not seem really willing or able to do anything about the energy companies and their freedom to club together and push up prices whenever they wish.

Ofgem, the electricity and gas market REGULATOR, are likewise ineffective.

So those who can or could do something, do nothing

As far as I can see this situation will continue unless we the customers club together and do something.

Is there anything we can actually do (and I don't mean playing the switching game) in the form of a real campaign for change? We need to form our own cartel of customers willing to act and speak as one. A show of protest such as thousands or millions not paying their bill for one month.

We will continue to be fleeced by them until we say "enough is enough" and mean it. We need some real but balanced consumer power to be shown in some way or other.

Have you in the past supported windmills?

Supported solar power?

Supported the closure of very efficient coal fired plant several years away from the end of its design life?

Contributed to the 50 year Nuclear power paranoia?

If you've done any of those, then you are partly responsible for much of the increases we are currently seeing, and the well above inflation increases which are built in for many more years.

pooch

onzey wrote: »

Just spoke to my energy company who were unable or unwilling to tell me the reasons for the latest price hike over the phone.

Who is your current energy supplier?

baby_boomer

How can an energy company possibly know my consumption for the next year?

I could have been unemployed, sitting at home over a cold winter, and suddenly landed a job as a travelling salesman or gone to work abroad.

If it switched me to the wrong tariff I would have the right to complain and get compensation. As is the norm in our culture. Adding to the bills of the energy companies as they desperately compensate everyone who whinges in order to avoid an expensive visit to the Ombudsman / Regulator.

And the required correspondance will put up bills for everyone, as is always the case with government interference, conbined with humungous postage increases last year.

This Cameron announcement is nonsense and populist politics at its worst. Another example of policies made up on the hoof.

Besides, it'll leave us regular switchers out of pocket!

Good for Bercow, though. The speaker calling ministers to Parliament to account for stupid populist announcements by the PM will lead to more considered and better government in the long term.

The only sensible government policy would be to insist on a communication to consumers to say that the company thinks that you might save by switching to a different tariff.

Only in a nanny state should we be switched automatically.

MillicentBystander

baby_boomer wrote: »

How can an energy company possibly know my consumption for the next year?

I could have been unemployed, and suddenly landed a job as a travelling salesman.

If it switched me to the wrong tariff I would have the right to complain and get compensation.

And the required correspondance will put up bills for everyone, as is always the case with government interference.

This Cameron announcement is nonsense and populist politics at its worst. Another example of policies made up on the hoof.

Besides, it'll leave us regular switchers out of pocket!

Good for Bercow, though. The speaker calling ministers to Parliament to account for stupid populist announcements by the PM will lead to more considered and better government in the long term.

He's a genius at such things. Will go down in history as a disastrous PM.

Dave_save

Well I'm sort of ignoring Cameron's 'foot in mouth' error! He obviously hasn't got a clue as to how the energy market works. In his feeble mind, he thinks he can now regulate a deregulated market and allow competition to flourish.

On a wider note, does anyone here have any knowledge of who exactly (named individual or department within a supplier's organisation) is negotiating with wholesalers to get the best prices for energy supplies? Isn't this the expertise we are paying for? What incentive does, say, British Gas have for agreeing a better deal with the wholesale market? Any innovations in this area?

Le73Uq86Uv

Why don’t the government make a law that you have to be transferred to the lowest cost provider and let the suppliers fight it out to who gets all the UK business.

Then after 12 months offer it out again to the lowest bidder.

I will put my fag packet down now.