Trying to freeze utility prices - can a labour supporter please explain how?

dryhat

The energy market, along with every other market and sector of the economy, is rigged.

grizzly1911

Whether we agree or disagree judging by the number of posts it has certainly created discussion and perhaps that isn't bad thing.

Energy supply and retail is up a creek and it needs the boat re-floating and redirecting.

wotsthat

dryhat wrote: »

The energy market, along with every other market and sector of the economy, is rigged.

..apart from Bitcoin obviously.

antrobus

michaels wrote: »

Read my post above - in the run up to the election prices will be rising quickly as suppliers anticipate of the cap and Labour will be promising to fix them. The proportion of the electorate this is aimed at will not be interested in the logic of what is going on only that they are struggling to pay the electic bills and labour are promising to stop the increases....

So "in the run up to the election prices will be rising quickly as suppliers anticipate of the cap"? So your time machine clearly works then. Or is it a crystal ball?:rotfl:

Milibean's whole thesis is that the energy market is defective and that the big six suppliers are operating a cartel and making 'excessive' profits. (That does rather pose the question of why a certain Secretary of State for Energy didn't do something about it when he had the chance. Perhaps we should ask him sometime.:))

Let's for a moment assume that is true, and consider actually answering the question posed by Conrad "why the Utility companies want a labour victory"? If the energy suppliers were in possession of all this 'excess' profit, why would they not announce a price cut in the autumn of 2014 followed by another one in say, oh, April 2015?

All you're doing at the moment is constructing an elaborate fantasy in order to convince yourself that somehow all this will work out allright in the end.

michaels wrote: »

...As noted elsewhere with a strong UKIP performance Labour can win a parliamentary majority with 33% of the popular vote.

Not much of a political strategy for an election is it? Reminds me of the kind of thing going around in Labour circles in 2010. (All we have to do is hold on to this number of seats, and we'll do a deal with the LibDems. The LibDems will never do a deal with the Tories. And so forth.)

movilogo

If people think that politicians will deliver their promise after they have won the election, need to have their heads examined.

Loughton_Monkey

movilogo wrote: »

If people think that politicians will deliver their promise after they have won the election, need to have their heads examined.

Well just read his letter to the energy suppliers. See if you can understand what this drivel means.....

"In recent years we have discussed the need to rebuild public trust in the energy market many times. I think we all agree on the importance of that objective if we are to build a market that both delivers for consumers and underpins the investment in future clean energy capacity that we all want to see.

"Our intention is to now reset the market that has consistently failed to secure the confidence of the public or the investment Britain needs. Doing that requires two steps. First, it means legislating to build competition and transparency into the market, with a trusted regulator standing behind the system. Second, it means ensuring that in the time it takes to put a new system in place, up to the start of 2017, we ensure the prices paid by consumers do not rise.

A fairer market for consumers must be matched by a better deal for investors. So we have also committed to set a 2030 power sector decarbonisation target; hold to the system of contract for difference in the Energy Bill; create an Energy Security Board with responsibility for identifying our energy needs and providing a clear framework to deliver this; and give the Green Investment Bank borrowing powers to support investment.
We believe that this framework will create certainty and attract the range of domestic and international investors we need in the years ahead.

I appreciate that you will not welcome all aspects of this package. But it is my firm view that without resetting the market we are not going to see the public consent that is required to underpin the scale of taxpayer backed guarantees for which you have argued.

I am prepared to make the case for sharing the risks of such investment, but that must be against the backdrop of a market that customers believe works for them.

You and I know that the public have lost faith in this market. There is a crisis of confidence. We face a stark choice. We can work together on the basis of this price freeze to make the market work in the future. Or you can reinforce in the public mind that you are part of the problem not the solution.

This is a genuine opportunity to reset the energy market in the interest of consumers and investors. Caroline Flint and I stand ready to work with you on these proposals in the months ahead. I look forward to continuing to discuss them with you."

The penultimate paragraph is clearly a threat, which will hopefully be matched by the energy companies replying....."Either you withdraw this ridiculous attack on our integrity, or we write to all our customers setting out and reinforcing why you will be 100% responsible for turning the lights off."

antrobus

movilogo wrote: »

If people think that politicians will deliver their promise after they have won the election, need to have their heads examined.

Which is why, as a general rule, if you're a politician who wants to win an election, it's a good idea to make as few promises as possible, in order to minimise the disappointment.:D

wotsthat

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Energy supply and retail is up a creek and it needs the boat re-floating and redirecting.

I'm coming to the end of a fix and have just got a new one. I'll be paying 4% more for gas and electricity for the next year if consumption remains the same.

I really don't know what the fuss is about.

grizzly1911

wotsthat wrote: »

I'm coming to the end of a fix and have just got a new one. I'll be paying 4% more for gas and electricity for the next year if consumption remains the same.

I really don't know what the fuss is about.

Aren't you clever, timing is all important..One increase out of many doesn't make a trend.

They will now doubt be able to afford the investment that they seem to have overlooked for soo many years.

smartn

I'm interested as to what margin of profit is acceptable for a gas/electricity supplier to make. I got the impression although the numbers sound huge that the actual profit made out of an average customer is less than a hundred pounds a year which doesn't leave a lot of scope if the wholesale market price increases and they are not able to pass on rises to customers.

Whether we like it or not we need the energy suppliers to be moderately successful to encourage them to invest to maintain future supplies. Miliband isn't going to help with crackpot ideas like this.