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Fuel bills - Transparency
Like me I'm sure many of you have been following the story of the Ed Milliband wanting to force energy companies to freeze prices if Labour come to power.
I don't want to discuss the pros and cons of this but there is one thing I do think the electricity suppliers could do to help us decide who we buy our supply from.
I use EDF as my supplier of electricity and on the monthly bill it shows a breakdown of how the total cost is arrived at i.e. cost of delivery (the network) 23%, VAT 5%, operating costs (call centre and admin) 16%, social and environmental (whatever that is) 8% and wholesale cost of electricity 48%
The one thing they don't show is the precise amount of what percentage of the bill goes towards subsidising the development of renewable energy and the cost of any electricity they purchase from those sources.
I wrote to EDF 4 months ago asking that they consider showing at least the percentage of the bill that goes towards subsidising renewable energy developments but apart from an acknowledgement they have remained unsurprisingly quiet.
I believe that to enable us the consumer to be able to make a reasoned choice on how our money is spent particularly when it comes to paying subsidies through our bills, we should be better informed and more transparency on the part of the electricity suppliers on this issue would enable us to make those decisions based on whether we want to pay those subsidies or not.
At the moment we don't have that choice because they the suppliers choose not to let us have that information!
Sorry for rambling on but I get browned off when politicians come up with their grand ideas on how they think they can improve the energy supply industry, energy prices and how the industry can be improved generally.
All I want is openness and transparency to enable me to make the choice that suits me best and if we all make those choices based on real facts rather than the manipulated facts we get fed, the energy supply market would find its own level after a period of competition for our business.
I don't want to discuss the pros and cons of this but there is one thing I do think the electricity suppliers could do to help us decide who we buy our supply from.
I use EDF as my supplier of electricity and on the monthly bill it shows a breakdown of how the total cost is arrived at i.e. cost of delivery (the network) 23%, VAT 5%, operating costs (call centre and admin) 16%, social and environmental (whatever that is) 8% and wholesale cost of electricity 48%
The one thing they don't show is the precise amount of what percentage of the bill goes towards subsidising the development of renewable energy and the cost of any electricity they purchase from those sources.
I wrote to EDF 4 months ago asking that they consider showing at least the percentage of the bill that goes towards subsidising renewable energy developments but apart from an acknowledgement they have remained unsurprisingly quiet.
I believe that to enable us the consumer to be able to make a reasoned choice on how our money is spent particularly when it comes to paying subsidies through our bills, we should be better informed and more transparency on the part of the electricity suppliers on this issue would enable us to make those decisions based on whether we want to pay those subsidies or not.
At the moment we don't have that choice because they the suppliers choose not to let us have that information!
Sorry for rambling on but I get browned off when politicians come up with their grand ideas on how they think they can improve the energy supply industry, energy prices and how the industry can be improved generally.
All I want is openness and transparency to enable me to make the choice that suits me best and if we all make those choices based on real facts rather than the manipulated facts we get fed, the energy supply market would find its own level after a period of competition for our business.
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