MSE News: Energy firms should be clearer about their profits, MPs say 29 July 2013 at 10:47AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Energy 18 replies 2K views

Former_MSE_Darryl

"Trust in the energy market is being undermined by a lack of transparency about the profits being made by companies, MPs have warned."

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Energy firms should be clearer about their profits, MPs say



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penrhyn

Who gives a flying [email protected] about how and where the energy companies make their money.
The government is hell bent on bending to the will of the EU and Ecoloons which results is green taxes being applied to our energy bills.

What we want is cheaper energy pricing, unfortunately, for some obscure reason we are expected to subsidise the stupid by having a reduced number of tarrifs.

Rant over, now how much money am I making from my highly subsidised solar panels?

[Deleted User]

There is absolutely no competition in the market where we are. npower are always the cheapest by miles year after year... Nothing to be gained by switching... The govt wants people to switch more but if there is nothing to be gained by switching why bother...

theblagger

Angela Knight, chief executive of industry trade association Energy UK, defended the profits the sector makes, saying they were necessary so companies could invest in infrastructure....The same woman who defended the banks when the credit crunch came....

Again no-one really getting to the heart of it...just spouting hot air (which we should harness) believe it when I see changes

penrhyn

Angela Knight one time Tory MP for Erewash has made a career defending the indefensible, used to be a spokesperson ( BBA Chief Executive) for the banks.

Not a fan.

Pincher

I think Angela Knight was some kind psychological experiment from the Cold War era, like the Ipcress File. She was brainwashed as a propaganda weapon, but the ending of the Cold War means she was out of a job, so she has been deployed in another field instead.

sheffield_lad

We seem to be no cheaper or more expensive than any other country regardless of if the country has privatised or state run energy. France & Germany both pay more.

Energy firms seem like great targets to politicians and the press but the issue is really the era of cheap energy is over unless of course we frack.

DragonQ

Nuclear is still cost efficient but of course has a huge outlay and governments find it difficult to take long-term decisions due to wanting to get re-elected a few years down the line. Same goes for most renewable sources.

sheffield_lad

DragonQ wrote: »

Nuclear is still cost efficient but of course has a huge outlay and governments find it difficult to take long-term decisions due to wanting to get re-elected a few years down the line. Same goes for most renewable sources.

The problem with both nuclear and renewables is you only cover 40% of the problem. Most homes are heated with gas building more nuclear or wind turbines will have little effect on this. We had our own supply for years but now we buy it on the open market.

Fracking is the only way of having any control over future gas prices.

dogshome

When the entire privatisation issue was started by the tories, at least they understood how business works.

They hived off each section of the Gas & Elec supply industry into Power Generation, Power Distribution and area by area Retailing, with the vital proviso that no company in one area of the business could own/operate in any of the other two - As a business orientated party they were very aware that 'Vertical Integration' where companies own the Production, Distribution and Retailing of a national product, is a licence fudge Buy/Sell costs and increase profits.

Along comes Tony Blair who declares open season for every which way you can, no doubt helped along the way by the industry lobbyists - It's no surprise that the BIG names in the industry are now n'power, Scot Power/SSE and EDF, who although starting out as Power Generators, now Make it, Distribute it and Retail it

Before I get get trolled I would add that I've been a socialist all my life, but would admit that even I couldn't bring myself to vote for Gordon Brown

rogerblack

sheffield_lad wrote: »

The problem with both nuclear and renewables is you only cover 40% of the problem. Most homes are heated with gas building more nuclear or wind turbines will have little effect on this.

It would be comparatively inexpensive to replace all heating with electric.
Indeed, if prices of electricity dropped significantly, this is what people would do without any subsidy - given a strong signal that prices would remain low in comparison to gas.

Indeed - drop it far enough, and all of the fixed thermal industrial loads for coal, oil, and gas heating go over to electrical too, leaving the only uses of fossil fuel as transport.