Energy news in general

[Deleted User]

brewerdave said:

So the toothless OFGEM has issued another "improvement" report.
Cost of living: Energy suppliers failing struggling customers - Ofgem - BBC News

The performance of OFGEM's Director of Retail on GMB this morning was appalling - made politicians look straight forward !!

Many of the findings are not very severe at all - things like "the supplier's subcontractor doesn't have a process for maintaining their own priority register" - I know everyone is out to find people to blame, but there's not actually a lot there.

brewerdave

The OFGEM Retail Director was asked three quite direct Qs that he danced around -
 1. HOW do customers who have had their power cut off due to the switch to PAYG deal with the issue ? His answer repeatedly -contact your supplier EVEN THO' many of the complaints concern the almost impossible task of getting hold of anyone ! 
2. What is going wrong at the suppliers -no answer to that one!! How about an honest answer -not enuf bodies in Customer Services perhaps?
3.What will OFGEM do if they don't improve ? At the 3rd attempt he said they could be fined or even lose their supply licence -but thru gritted teeth .

[Deleted User]

brewerdave said:

The OFGEM Retail Director was asked three quite direct Qs that he danced around -
 1. HOW do customers who have had their power cut off due to the switch to PAYG deal with the issue ? His answer repeatedly -contact your supplier EVEN THO' many of the complaints concern the almost impossible task of getting hold of anyone ! 
2. What is going wrong at the suppliers -no answer to that one!! How about an honest answer -not enuf bodies in Customer Services perhaps?
3.What will OFGEM do if they don't improve ? At the 3rd attempt he said they could be fined or even lose their supply licence -but thru gritted teeth .

Two questions that aren't actually to do with the regulator and one that doesn't really matter?

1.  If you've been cut-off because you were on prepayment and credit has run out - the only answer is to top up your meter.  There's nothing much a supplier is going to do.  You think they should suddenly start extending additional credit to people that have a debt problem?

2.  Perhaps some of the problems have been because of several changes in instructions, regulations and legislation in rapid succession, combined with vague information provided by the government, irrelevant soundbite headlines, and tens of thousands of people trying to contact their supplier for no real reason?

3.  What do you expect them to say?  "Sack the board and burn the office down"?

Spies

From that BBC article:

He said that an elderly man's energy supply was simply cut off through the smart prepayment meter and he was left for almost two weeks without any power.
"He didn't know what was going on," said Mr Brearley. "He thought he was experiencing a blackout."

How do you even come to that conclusion unless you literally are the only house in the middle of nowhere!

superkoopauk

Controversial - customer credit balances not to be ringfenced under new Ofgem proposals

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63756303

[Deleted User]

superkoopauk said:

Controversial - customer credit balances not to be ringfenced under new Ofgem proposals

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63756303

They aren't now - so all this is saying is that "we're not going to start ringfencing".

I don't have much of a problem with that.  I don't expect my deposit in the bank to be ringfenced, so why should I expect the credit in my energy account? 

superkoopauk

At the moment which of those is more likely to go bust though  

QrizB

As widely expected, now that winter is here wholesale gas prices are rising again. Here's the latest chart from Trading Economics (which charts the price of gas for delivery in the following month):

70sbudgie

It seems a lot longer ago, but last week OFGEM announced their final determination for the distribution networks next price control period. This is relevant as it impacts how much electricity bills pay towards the distribution network operators from 1 April (from what I've understood so far, in general that % will reduce. But there is a lot of information, so apologies if I've not got it right).

It will also affect what happens to the electricity distribution network over the next 5 years. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-confirms-local-electricity-networks-price-control-2023-2028

[Deleted User]

Seems to suggest that the investment allowances are staying broadly the same as they are now.