Oil below $50 a barrel - can someone explain why my bills are not reducing?

elpico

Hi all,

This may be a daft question given our dependence on gas but I would have expected by now that electricity costs would have significantly dropped by now - anyone know why not? If no good reason can we kick off a campaign to get the prices down asap?

It would be typical if just as we hit spring that prices start to drop - after the peak usage period...

Thanks!
e

elpico

Hmmm found this article in the guardian so seems I'm on to something.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/07/bix-six-energy-household-bills

I'm not with the big 6 rip off companies though but I haven't seen any of the smaller companies drop their tariffs either...mass profiteering at our expense methinks...

tberry6686

Blame Millibean for his daft statement that they would freeze energy prices if they get into power. Any company which reduces prices before then would be at risk of bankruptcy when the wholesale price goes up if Labour get in.

There is also the point that the energy companies (in general) will have purchased the gas, oil that they are currently using months ago when the price was higher.

The energy supply companies in the UK make a surprisingly small percentage profit compared to most industries.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

elpico wrote: »

Hmmm found this article in the guardian so seems I'm on to something.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/jan/07/bix-six-energy-household-bills

I'm not with the big 6 rip off companies though but I haven't seen any of the smaller companies drop their tariffs either...mass profiteering at our expense methinks...

Prices have been creeping down for some time on fixed tariffs - headline rates on Standard tariff simply will not go down until the uncertainty caused by Red Ed abates.

gardner1

Energy companies will say they bought gas up to 2yrs ago.........which should mean lower prices in a year or two
Also if oil price drops by 20% it means your energy bill will drop by about 5_7% according to some expert on the radio yesterday

Andy_WSM

gardner1 wrote: »

Also if oil price drops by 20% it means your energy bill will drop by about 5_7% according to some expert on the radio yesterday

So oil HAS dropped by 50%, so we can be expecting a 20% reduction in bills approximately.

It won't happen. Millipede has seen to that.

I've had a good look around and I can't find any deals cheaper than the one I am on from 6 months ago, so they're not really dropping at all, are they? They may be down on what they were a few months ago, but they're certainly not bucking the historic upwards trend.

elpico

Nuts that Labour made this statement when we are seeing massive drops in the price of oil - he needs to shift this statement or we all lose out (at least in the short-term!).

Maybe I should send a bill to labour for 20% of my electricity bill

lstar337

elpico wrote: »

I'm not with the big 6 rip off companies

Rip off?

When I do a comparison on my usage, 4 of the big six are cheaper than any of the smaller companies. How are they ripping people off?

Andy_WSM

lstar337 wrote: »

Rip off?

When I do a comparison on my usage, 4 of the big six are cheaper than any of the smaller companies. How are they ripping people off?

It really depends on the region you live in as that's not the case here either.

lstar337

Andy_WSM wrote: »

It really depends on the region you live in as that's not the case here either.

I don't live that far from you Andy.

I know it is dependant on a factors (region, usage, etc.), but that wasn't my point. My point is that the Big 6 are not a 'Rip-Off' because for that to be true they would have to be significantly higher priced no matter where you live or what you use.

My point is that they can be the cheapest under the right circumstances, therefore they cannot be a 'Rip-Off'.

Diychap

If eventually gas prices come down, the isn't it mad to go for the fixed price deals, like the new coop fixed price deal that is being pushed as a great deal?