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MSE News: Government's cheap energy plan unveiled

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Comments

  • Consumerist
    Consumerist Posts: 6,311 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    rogerblack wrote: »
    Is there any consultation into this, or details as to when and how it's to be introduced?
    This is all part of Ofgem's <Retail Market Review>, from which :-
    1.46. We anticipate our proposals could be implemented from summer 2013, on a phased basis, with certain elements of the package needing more time than others for associated systems changes and communication with customers to take place. We are seeking views on the potential implementation lead times for our package of proposals, and would welcome views from respondents to this consultation. Similarly, we believe suppliers should consider whether they are able to move ahead with any of these proposals ahead of potential implementation.
    The consultation is open until 21 Dec 2012.
    >:)Warning: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
  • backfoot
    backfoot Posts: 2,700 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Wywth wrote: »
    Or lets say a more realistic 3000 sign up, 10% actually go on to accept a deal (that'll be 300) and you can see why these are currently a flop.

    Just follow Martins advice, consult a comparison site and see how much you could possible be saving :)

    Martin has blogged on this subject today, recognising there may be a growth in collective switching.

    http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/
  • I really cant see the point of this. I read an article recently which suggested most companies are already offering less tariffs.

    Also on the subject of dead tariffs npower was branded petulant when it took customers off old (cheap) tariffs based on their interpretation of an ofgem rule.

    Now is ofgem saying that was wrong or right?

    Wish i had gone for a longer fix now to put this off for longer.

    Its reassuring to know ofgem will enforce the licence conditions just like they do now by... Actually there is somewhat of a crisis in terms of licence conditions as evidenced by the thread on edf direct debits.

    Underwhelming cack handed intervention by people with no clue who want to be seen to be doing something.

    Ps for the record ive been speaking to a whole hell of a lot of people who ARE asking for the best tariff so it would seem the changes come when the message is finally getting through.
    Mixed Martial Arts is the greatest sport known to mankind and anyone who says it is 'a bar room brawl' has never trained in it and has no idea what they are talking about.
  • patman99
    patman99 Posts: 8,532 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker Photogenic
    People are whining that having 'just' 4 tariffs for each energy provider will push up prices. Well, I switched to The Cooperative for my energy. They have 1 tariff for standard users and 1 for those with E-7.
    They have just dropped their prices by 2% as they are owned by their 'customers', so are guided by what the customers want.
    Never Knowingly Understood.

    Member #1 of £1,000 challenge - £13.74/ £1000 (that's 1.374%)

    3-6 month EF £0/£3600 (that's 0 days worth)

  • I really cant see the point of this. I read an article recently which suggested most companies are already offering less tariffs. . . .
    I think, perhaps, that some suppliers have reduced the number of tariffs on offer because they have been aware that the Retail Market Review was going to require it by regulation in due course.

    The rate at which new tariffs were being generated before the RMR started suggests that the number would have continued to escalate without regulation.
    >:)Warning: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
  • patman99 wrote: »
    People are whining that having 'just' 4 tariffs for each energy provider will push up prices.
    In fact, the proposals are to "Limit each supplier to 4 tariffs per fuel, per meter and per payment type" so that will mean far more than 'just' 4 tariffs from each supplier.

    It will be interesting to see how other small suppliers respond to the new regime.
    >:)Warning: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
  • Terrylw1
    Terrylw1 Posts: 7,038 Forumite
    backfoot wrote: »
    Martin has blogged on this subject today, recognising there may be a growth in collective switching.

    http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/

    I've always viewed collective switching as a bit of a gimmick...the industry just isn't set up for (from an operational point of view) and unless the numbers represent a significant % of each suppliers portfolio, they don't care as they can make it back.

    By restricting the market, this is very likely to push collective switching forward.

    Another issue is that as part of the RMR, Ofgem have submitted 2 options to reduce the difference between regional pricing. This might make collective purchasing more reasonable if purchasing in volume.
    :rotfl: It's better to live 1 year as a tiger than a lifetime as a worm...but then, whoever heard of a wormskin rug!!!:rotfl:
  • thor
    thor Posts: 5,497 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Wywth wrote: »
    Maybe Pehrhyn did not wish an inconvenient truth to get in the way of his propaganda?
  • penrhyn
    penrhyn Posts: 15,215 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Truth and political parties are strange bedfellows. I would be equally cynical about schemes promoted by other political parties.
    I'm not happy to supply details to the proposed MSE switching scheme either.
    If your happy for all your personal details being collected then go right ahead.
    There is the distinct possibility, no matter what the T&Cs say that they will be flogged off and you'll be bombarded with spam, marketing calls and bumph though the post.
    That gum you like is coming back in style.
  • Consumerist
    Consumerist Posts: 6,311 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 22 November 2012 at 2:17PM
    keith1950 wrote: »
    Hi, approximately 15% of us bother to switch and can save up to 20% so we will end up paying more for our utilities - the savings pot will basically be the 20% we save shared out between everyone so 15% of that 20% will roughly equate to around 3% saving .
    Which means the average saving will be less than £40 per year/ £3 per month. The average punter won't even notice the difference !!
    I've been thinking (apologies for that) about this statistic and I'm not sure it's necessarily quite as bad as it seems.

    Ofgem makes the observation that switching has generally decreased in comparison to previous years. Although this may be factually true, it seems to me that is only to be expected.

    The major savings made by a switch usually materialise from the first switch. In subsequent years the savings are likely to be relatively small by comparison so reducing the incentive to switch again.

    When I first switched I saved around £300 in the first year. In subsequent years I have compared the market but have not actually switched again because the current supplier, whilst not necessarily the very cheapest, has suited my requirements at an acceptable price.

    The falicy in the bare statistics is that I, and others like me, have not been included - even though we have compared the market but have pro-actively decided not to switch.

    The important statistic is, surely, what percentage of customers have never switched. According to Ofgem's <Energy Affordability> document :-
    3.9. Of particular concern is the growing complexity of pricing information and the high number of sticky customers. Sticky consumers are those who choose not to switch, cannot switch due to their circumstances, or are put off switching due to other features of the market such as tariff complexity. We estimate that around 40-60% of customers in the energy sector are currently sticky (although we recognise that they may have switched in the past) and that vulnerable consumers are likely to be disproportionately represented in this group.
    If we assume, say, 50% of customers have never switched then the 20% savings will be spread over double the number of customers. i.e. a 10% saving (on standard tariffs) all round. I think the average customer is likely to notice that.

    So, in my view, a more likely outcome of the proposed changes is that the "winners" might save around 10% on their bills and the "losers" might pay around 10% more.
    >:)Warning: In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
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