MSE News: British Gas profits 'to keep prices down' – for now

Former_MSE_Helen

"Energy giant British Gas is pledging to use increased profits from the bitter winter to keep prices on hold..."

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British Gas profits 'to keep prices down' – for now



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DragonQ

Haven't wholesale prices dropped though?

zennith

British Gas raised prices by 6% in December 2012, just before the cold weather set in. All the big six energy firms hiked prices last winter, and more rises have been predicted for later this year. :mad:



The company says it gained 28,000 customers during that time. :eek:

Butterfly_Brain

The only way that the customer will benefit is when these thieving cartels are renationalised.

rogerblack

Shows them at an all-time high over the past couple of months - apart from a one week spike in Feb 2012.
From Jan-Now - prices in 2011 averaged about 57p, rising to 62p in 2012, and 78 now.

dude89

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

The only way that the customer will benefit is when these thieving cartels are renationalised.

Any proof that this would benefit the customer? What if the government ran an energy company so inefficiently that prices rose even further?

davidgmmafan

I agree with dude89. Nationalization gets trotted out all the time as if it somehow ends the discussion and incontrovertibly is the one best solution.

There are issues with the energy market, I accept that (though personally I feel Ofgem is part of the problem rather than the solution) but nationalization would do nothing to protect us from increasing worldwide demand or the frankly bonkers amounts of money being pumped into so called cheap (???) green (it needs a distinctly not green backup supply) energy.

Perhaps we should make a pact not to trot out this tired old line until the government decides to run an energy company in competition with the other suppliers to demonstrate how efficiently they can do it.

The fact is energy supply is NOT the hugely profitable avenue that people think it is. This is why the media refer to the parent companies profits. Sadly most people don't read beyond the headline.

With the recent fuss about tax nobody seems to have batted an eyelid that a major supplier here in the uk made a loss in two years I think. I believe E.On are also not doing so well.

I think whether there were private companies or not the costs would be going up. People just aren't comparing like with like.

Besides I'm far more concerned about the exorbitant cost of petrol (driven by taxes!) both from a selfish point of view and in terms of the economy and wider society. It cannot help the poorest to jack up the costs everyone has to pay. That goes for energy and fuel, since it has an impact on the cost of everything.

Rant over, as you were

Pincher

This is a democracy, so people can vote the ruling party out that raised prices, for whatever that is nationalised.

It will just ends up like Greece, where the government keeps borrowing money to fund low prices, in order to stay in power. Unlike Greece, which has EUROs, we can keep printing sterling to pay for stuff, which leads to hyper-inflation: this is no problem for people with no savings, but people with pensions will cry a lot, before starving to death.

They will wish they had spent it on a cruise thirty years ago, when people could still get out alive, without a happy go lucky captain running the ship aground buzzing an old friend, or get food posioning.

Here's an interesting money saving approach:

An old Chinese ex-labourer did a robbery, specifically so he could go to prison. He said to TV that he was starving, but after a few months on prison food, he has put on 10kg, and is much better off. Les Miserable is as relevant as ever.

alinwales

Don't most of the companies make their promises about now to 'keep prices fixed until ~November' in order to make us feel all snuggly and loyal to them and that they're being really kind and generous... then they hike in time for the cold months.
It's the same every year.
It's just a way to get their names in "News" articles on such sites as MSE.

Butterfly_Brain

dude89 wrote: »

Any proof that this would benefit the customer? What if the government ran an energy company so inefficiently that prices rose even further?

Do you have shares in these cartels by any chance?

Cardew

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

The only way that the customer will benefit is when these thieving cartels are renationalised.

Would you care to give an estimate of how much prices for the average household would reduce if the companies were nationalised?

Or the companies were forced to operate without making a profit - like Ebico?