Energy news in general

Sea_Shell

On last night's show, Martin Lewis said how much account credit was being held by energy companies, and it ran into billions.  6? 

Now, I know that this time of year is the normal time for ones account to be in credit, so I don't how much of the credit held could be described as "excess" that would be due back to customers, if requested (he didn't clarify).*

But could there be unintended consequences, for the market generally, if everyone requested back what they are owed? 


*ETA - doesn't that work out at only £200+ per household?   "Nothing to see here" 😉

ArbitraryRandom

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

The question is if social landlords (likely with subsidy/central funding), for example, should have a duty to upgrade housing stock to allow those on lower incomes to equally benefit from things like solar and heat pumps and if there should be (centrally funded) schemes to help people on lower incomes with disabilities afford ev cars to maximise the benefit of ToU, etc. 

Increased regulation is apparently hitting smaller landlords forcing them out, large companies will take their place

They'll take as much as possible whilst giving as little as possible back and due to their size will have some influence over government to limit further regulation. 

I have mixed feelings about that... some smaller landlords are great - but as we see here and on the housing board repeatedly, a number are 'accidental' landlords who don't seem to understand that renting out your property means you're running a business. And it's hard to catch them at it because they tend to only have one or two properties (often on the cheaper end with tenants who either don't know their rights or are also playing fast and loose). 

Large companies will do the minimum... but by and large they will actually do the minimum, and larger portfolios are easier to audit.

Gerry1

Sea_Shell said:

But could there be unintended consequences, for the market generally, if everyone requested back what they are owed?

We wouldn't have had all these problems with dodgy Ponzi companies going bust with huge debts if dozy Ofcom had done its job properly.

That means mandating that all suppliers must offer Monthly Variable Direct Debit and making it the default option.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

ArbitraryRandom said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

ArbitraryRandom said:

The question is if social landlords (likely with subsidy/central funding), for example, should have a duty to upgrade housing stock to allow those on lower incomes to equally benefit from things like solar and heat pumps and if there should be (centrally funded) schemes to help people on lower incomes with disabilities afford ev cars to maximise the benefit of ToU, etc. 

Increased regulation is apparently hitting smaller landlords forcing them out, large companies will take their place

They'll take as much as possible whilst giving as little as possible back and due to their size will have some influence over government to limit further regulation. 

I have mixed feelings about that... some smaller landlords are great - but as we see here and on the housing board repeatedly, a number are 'accidental' landlords who don't seem to understand that renting out your property means you're running a business. And it's hard to catch them at it because they tend to only have one or two properties (often on the cheaper end with tenants who either don't know their rights or are also playing fast and loose). 

Large companies will do the minimum... but by and large they will actually do the minimum, and larger portfolios are easier to audit.

Unfortunately it's very difficult.

To give a comparison, in Victorian times bread was often found to contain things such as ash, sand and chalk. That would not happen now and any small rogue bakery would hopefully be closed down very quickly. 

On the other hand massive food companies such as Mondelez profit to the tunes of billions partly off the back of the exploitation of those in poorer countries, including child labour, as well causing environmental devastation.

Individual landlords may be great, they may be terrible, large companies will abide by the law but have an advantage of influencing that law to their favour.  

Similar with energy supply, a handful of suppliers hold the market and as a result they have more influence over government to attempt to gain access to taxpayer cash and to tailor regulation. 

No easy answer really. 

I think energy should be free, to a limit with excess paid for, but I don't see a way that idea fits with our current system of existence. 

MultiFuelBurner

Sea_Shell said:

On last night's show, Martin Lewis said how much account credit was being held by energy companies, and it ran into billions.  6? 

Now, I know that this time of year is the normal time for ones account to be in credit, so I don't how much of the credit held could be described as "excess" that would be due back to customers, if requested (he didn't clarify).*

But could there be unintended consequences, for the market generally, if everyone requested back what they are owed? 


*ETA - doesn't that work out at only £200+ per household?   "Nothing to see here" 😉

If this is the article that was doing the rounds here many weeks back that 6 billion also includes business customers holding credit.

RG2015

£8.1 billion being reported by the BBC on 7 October, but no specific mention of business customers. Could include them but the inference is that it is just domestic customers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66992865

£200 per domestic customer is not as dramatic but then again it would be an average.

I am currently £7 in credit and my DD went out today.

ArbitraryRandom

It's also worth saying 'one size doesn't fit all'

Someone might not want the supplier 'holding on to their money'; other people (like me) would feel very uncomfortable going into winter without a decent (£5-600) credit in their account to cover the expected higher bills... 

So saying companies should be forced to do x/y/z - needs to be careful that they're not limiting customer choice to manage their account the way that works best for them. 

michaels

They could simply mandate that suppliers had to pay interest on credit balances as Ovo already do.

Gerry1

michaels said:

They could simply mandate that suppliers had to pay interest on credit balances as Ovo already do.

Not any more: only if you signed up to an eligible tariff before 27 Sep 2021.

In any case, it doesn't stop the Ponzi problem and customers of other companies then having to foot the bill when they go bust.

PennineAcute

My spreadsheet balance is £189.44 in credit.  As I am on Tracker for my electricity, winter prices are an unknown. At current prices, I am looking at a combined £85 a month for both gas and elec, with a DD of £95.45.   £189.44 is a reasonable amount to be in credit coming up to winter.