MSE News: Government 'wants big six energy firms to hold prices' 29 November 2013 at 10:34AM in Energy 41 replies 3K views

Former_MSE_Helen

"The big six energy firms are being urged by the Government to hold prices until the middle of 2015..."

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Government 'wants big six energy firms to hold prices'




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Andy_WSM

It really has little to do with the Government and hasn't since they chose to Privatise the industry. If they want prices kept down then they need to stop increasing green taxes also. Easy to blame each other, but that's not helping the consumer.

zennith

Milliband wanted to Force the Companies...... Cameron is aking them nicely....... :think:

It'll be Brilliant...... IF they'll take any notice? :whistle:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25148069

The government is asking the big six energy firms to hold prices until the middle of 2015, barring any major increase in wholesale fuel costs.

The government wants to avoid another round of price rises that could be blamed on government green levies.

Labour has promised to freeze energy prices for 20 months if it is elected.

The government has described that as a "con", saying that governments in general cannot control the international price of fuel.

But this move, if agreed, could keep tariffs on hold for at least 18 months, that could ensure there was no increase in energy bills ahead of the next election.

Pincher

If Vladmir Putin was in charge, he wouldn't have gone in for all the namby pamby green non-sense in the first place. Let's vote Communist next time, but only if he promises to share the Russian oil and gas.


And to promise to keep the Monarchy as a tourist attraction. They spent billions on restoring St Petersburg to draw tourists, so maybe we could get them to do the same for all the draughty National Trust castles: the solid wall insulation will cost a bomb.

Atidi

When is a price freeze not a price con?

Presumably when the person calling it a con, decides it might be a good idea afterall if he wants a chance to be in government next time.

:cool:

So this government is calling for a price freeze until mid 2015.
Next general election date: 07 May 2015.

:cool: :cool:

sheffield_lad

We all talk about the big six but I don't think there are just a big six anymore. The figure normally banded around is 98% big six but that works out at only 2 in 100 people on another provider that has to be wrong I know plenty with utility warehouse, M&S etc.


Maybe it's easier to blame 6 over many?

MillicentBystander

Utility Warehouse has (or shortly will have!) 770,000 customer accounts (this doesn't mean individual customers but all their gas and electric accounts, which is the way the Big 6 measure such things) and apparently has just 1.5% of the market. And they are by far the biggest supplier outside the Big 6 (next one down is F:U with 190,000) so I reckon the 98% figure isn't too wide of the mark.

The punters with resellers like M&S etc may be like Utility Warehouse was previously before spending a not inconsiderable £218 million to buy back its independence - managing the customers on behalf of their wholesale partner so their 'customers' would be included in their wholesale (Big 6) partner's figures, basically.

Atidi

From last month:

Prime Minister David Cameron has criticised Labour's plan to freeze energy prices, but maintains he wants to see low energy bills for 20 years to come.

...

"I want to see energy bills low not just for 20 months, I want to see them [STRIKE]low for 20 years[/STRIKE] not go up again for 18 months," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24481656

Well they do say a week is a long time in politics ... :cool:

jamesd

So, what to do about rapacious firms like "Good" Energy that rely on large subsidies from tax payers or bill payers for their business?

MillicentBystander

Atidi wrote: »

When is a price freeze not a price con?

Presumably when the person calling it a con, decides it might be a good idea afterall if he wants a chance to be in government next time.

:cool:

So this government is calling for a price freeze until mid 2015.
Next general election date: 07 May 2015.

:cool: :cool:

Great minds and all that...;)

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4833618

This shambles of a Govt couldn't come up with an original idea if it tried...

Atidi

sheffield_lad wrote: »

We all talk about the big six but I don't think there are just a big six anymore. The figure normally banded around is 98% big six but that works out at only 2 in 100 people on another provider that has to be wrong I know plenty with utility warehouse, M&S etc.


Maybe it's easier to blame 6 over many?

I'm pretty sure M&S energy is/was just a tariff supplied by one of the big 6 suppliers, SSE.

But looking at their latest terms & conditions,
https://www.mandsenergy.com/uploadedFiles/CoreMarketingSites/Assets/Documents/MandS/MAndSEnergyGeneralTermsAndConditionsTandCsPage.pdf
perhaps new M&S customers are supplied by Ebico (See references to Ebico tarrifs Equigas & Equipower)

Or maybe its just a mistake and they've carried over Ebico's terms and conditions, because even Ebico use SSE as their supply partner as well as for all metering, billing and front line customer services.