Do you believe fracking in the UK will bring lower consumer energy costs?

PollySouthend

Wondering what people out there think.

Andy_WSM

No.

Now the gas / oil companies know how much they can take us for they will continue to take us for as much as they can. We can't really shop around as the big 6 pretty much set their prices against each other. While the market is in the poor state (for the consumer) that it is we just have to live with being ripped off.

Yolina

Nah, they'll just go with same prices and bigger profit margins. Though they may just have a cut initially to have something to brag about and then swiftly bump things back up.

Edit: I would however be very happy to be proven wrong :cool:

matelodave

cynical lot, aren't we?. Or is it that we've all lived long enough to know how it works?

Cardew

If not reduce, it should at least stabilize the price of gas, and given the large number of gas fired power stations, that will affect electricity prices.

It will largely depend if North America start exporting huge quantities of 'fracked gas'. If they do it will drag down world prices.

This is an indication of gas prices in the USA:

http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm

mi_jardin

They still have us over a barrel, so it wont ever go down.

Gra76

I've clicked no, mainly because I believe that any token drop in prices will go back up soon after. We'll all get sucked in and think we're getting a good deal. They'll have a load of excuses ready to justify the price going back up again. The cartel that sells us gas won't allow their obscene profits to dip.

scaredofdebt

It will lead to less price rises or smaller rises but no actual discounts as such. Any benefits will largely be seen by the shareholders of the major utility companies.

samizdat

It's early days, but I'm very optimistic fracking will lead to lower gas and electricity prices in the UK.

It has in the USA, so why not here? I don't believe the so-called Big 6 have anything like the market dominance people here seem to think they have, and even if they do, this will not survive if a huge new source of cheap energy can be tapped here.

Farway

I'm with the rest, no chance of it coming down, they will use the cheaper energy reason to get fracking permission but like Gra76 says, will have a zillion reasons why cost does not go down

The only up side would be we have our own gas, on our own soil again and not subject to whoever turning of thew gas tap

victor2

No fracking chance.