MSE News: SSE to raise energy prices by 8.2%, as first of the big six to hike

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

NittyGritty wrote: »

what would be intresting is for those who are actually on SSE variable deals at the moment, is for them to check their old tariffs, and compare them with the new unit prices when they get the letters through the door (price hike of 8.2%) and actually see if its 8.2% or if indeed its a Much higher figure,

I suspect it will be a lot higher than 8.2% for most, and it wouldn't surprise me if its near double the 8.2%

Indeed

MillicentBystander

I was starting to miss Wywth's caustic humour but now we have Bluebirdman to fill the void. Job done.

verydeeppockets

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Interesting. Last year's SSE rise was 9.6%. Care to tell us which political figure was to blame for that one? In fact, if we were to adopt the same thinking as the anti-Milliband lobby, maybe him putting a spotlight on this horrible industry has caused the suppliers to actually reduce the previously planned increases?

I'm no more anti-Miliband than anybody else in his party.
But seriously, if you ran a business and were told you would have your sales prices capped by law in the future, with no control at all over your free market supply costs and had 18 months notice of the cap...what would you do??
Horrible nasty energy companies.

Guess whose quotes these are... a clue... his policies put our bills up a damn sight more than 8.2%...

November 19th 2009

“It needs a willingness to take the argument to people about the tough choices involved in tackling climate change. This is the starting point: a willingness to engage with people on, for example, the fact that to deal with the problem of climate change, energy bills are likely to rise.”

And

“We need to be candid about the issue because it is a very big challenge. The pressures on energy prices will be upwards in the coming decade’”

January 2010:

“Yes, there are upward pressures on energy bills, and that makes life difficult for people, including those in fuel poverty, but it is right that we go down the low-carbon energy route.”

Fact of the matter is this - supply costs are rising, bills all include green taxes, all 3 main parties support the 11% and 4% levies on electricity and gas bills, and the EU is telling us to shut down various power plants by 2015 in the name of man-made global warming. Investment has been minimal for the past two decades, and any signs of that investment increasing to the point of managing to keep the lights on has just been comprehensively torpedo'd. Prices WILL continue to rise. Just watch.

DragonQ

ihateyes wrote: »

Ebico dont buy from the grid but have a cushy tie in SSE...

i wonder sometimes, if they are a cheap version of SSE, a bit like Plusnet is BT

Depending on who you talk to, Ebico is either an SSE tariff, an SSE subsidiary, or a separate company that wholesales from SSE. In any case, they are definitely closely tied since their prices change in line with each other, and switching from one to the other can be done instantly (still takes 4 weeks but tariff change is backdated). They also share the same call centre.

verydeeppockets wrote: »

I'm no more anti-Miliband than anybody else in his party.
But seriously, if you ran a business and were told you would have your sales prices capped by law in the future, with no control at all over your free market supply costs and had 18 months notice of the cap...what would you do??
Horrible nasty energy companies.

It is hard to have sympathy for an industry that shouldn't even exist. Oh no they can't make quite as many millions of pounds per year, whatever will they do?

Maybe they should invest some of their profits into new nuclear power plants or renewable energy farms, which would reduce the influence of the global energy market on our prices, instead of waiting for the government to pay for them.

verydeeppockets

DragonQ wrote: »

Maybe they should invest some of their profits into new nuclear power plants or renewable energy farms, which would reduce the influence of the global energy market on our prices, instead of waiting for the government to pay for them.

Having just been told their prices will be capped regardless of free market generation/supply costs, what do you think the chances of any power company investing in the UK are?

DragonQ

verydeeppockets wrote: »

Having just been told their prices will be capped regardless of free market generation/supply costs, what do you think the chances of any power company investing in the UK are?

True, I think Ed Miliband's pledge is hugely stupid and won't help anyone. Not my fault though.

On a related topic, every single time there's an energy price rise, BBC News has an article or two providing tips for saving energy. For me it's pretty depressing to know that there is literally nothing I can do to save energy aside from changing my habits, e.g. sitting staring in the dark rather than watching TV or listening to music. I've actually tried to go into work more often (I work from home quite a lot) to both save money and get more exercise (cycling).

I can't get insulation (flat), I have a brand new efficient boiler, all of my bulbs are energy-efficient, I take quick showers, I try to do washing up after showering to avoid heating the water twice, I only ever boil as much water in the kettle as I need, I turn off everything at the plug when I don't need it (except fridge, server, etc.), I fill up water bottles and keep them in the fridge to avoid waiting for the water to run cold every time, etc.

DragonQ

sheffield_lad wrote: »

What choice do energy firms have when you look at the reasons why?

SSE said that for a typical dual-fuel customer, wholesale energy prices had gone up 4%, paying to use delivery networks was 10% more expensive, and government levies were 13% higher.

If the market was truly competitive then the companies would absorb some or all of the increased costs, in order to out-do each other and win new customers (which would outweigh reduced short-term profits). That's what happens in an economic downturn - companies' profits generally reduce. Yet, somehow, energy companies still maintain or increase their profits. Also, wholesale prices are the same now as they were in 2009 - any short-term rise is irrelevant.

An SSE spokesman on BBC News said their profit margin is 5% which is "fair", and isn't rising. Well great, but why isn't it falling? If it's their policy that their prices will always be changed to make sure they always make 5% profit, then why did they only drop prices by 5% two winters ago when wholesale prices dropped far more than that? Also, their advice of "use less energy" is pointless because if everyone's energy use dropped say 10%, they'd just increase prices to get their 5% margin back.

It's a total joke. Either make it actually competitive or re-nationalise the energy industry to make it non-profit. Anything else is criminal.

sheffield_lad

DragonQ wrote: »

Also, their advice of "use less energy" is pointless because if everyone's energy use dropped say 10%, they'd just increase prices to get their 5% margin back.

It's a total joke. Either make it actually competitive or re-nationalise the energy industry to make it non-profit. Anything else is criminal.

You make some good points but the above is incorrect. If usage drops so does the cost of supply. In other words their costs go down. Just assuming lower usage = high costs is inaccurate.

Energy costs in the UK ARE competitive. We have some of the cheapest gas/electric in the EU. If you compare us to our closest neighbours (population/GDP), France & Germany we are cheaper than both. Not forgetting France has a nationalised energy industry.

sheffield_lad

A spokeswoman for Energy UK said: "Britain's domestic energy prices are still relatively low compared to most European countries. We have the cheapest for gas prices and are the fifth cheapest for electricity in western Europe.”

lstar337

sheffield_lad wrote: »

Energy costs in the UK ARE competitive. We have some of the cheapest gas/electric in the EU. If you compare us to our closest neighbours (population/GDP), France & Germany we are cheaper than both. Not forgetting France has a nationalised energy industry.

What are the fuel poverty figures for France and Germany?