Petition to regulate energy price rises

Cardew

amtrakuk wrote: »

Every time there is criticism over the price rise we always hear the same excuse, "The price of wholesale gas has increased" and the government and the regulators are accepting these reasons.

Who's running Britain as it isn't the regulators nor the Government. With every price rise, the energy providers profits rise. Perhaps some sort of profit capping should be put in place as the providers nor share holders aren't feeling the pinch of the energy crisis!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7256096.stm
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-1306253,00.html

The complication where profits are concerned is that these companies all have interests in the production of gas and oil which is where the huge profits are being generated.

The wholesale price of this Gas and oil is making countries that produce it very wealthy - e.g. Russia and Arab states.

If a company like Centrica can get the world market price for its products, then it is not going to sell them to BG for less.

The much praised Ebico is a non-profit making organisation and yet its prices are on a par with those charged by the rest of the industry. The point being that it is not the distribution side of the business that is the major reason for high prices by taking huge profits; if it were then Ebico would be able to undercut them by a large margin.

SwanJon

Comments earlier in the thread about the difference in prices between the UK and europe.
Found a comparison (compares Petrol, diesel, gas & electricity).
The UK is the cheapest in Western Europe for gas and in the middle of the table for electricity.
http://www.energy.eu/

amtrakuk

Just heard on 5 news the energy companies are being asked to justify the 40% rise forecast for this year as well as disclosing their fat cat bonuses. About bloody time too. Guess what the answer they all gave. The price of wholesale gas - again!

Mazio_2

Did anybody else get an email from the Prime Ministers Office reguarding the petition

You signed a petition asking the Prime Minister to "regulate domestic
energy prices."

The Prime Minister's Office has responded to that petition and you can view
it here:

http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page15815.asp

Prime Minister's Office

We received a petition asking:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to regulate domestic energy prices."
Details of Petition:
"The energy form nPower has this week increased electricity prices by 12.7% and gas prices by 17.2%. This is despite current wholesale prices being lower than 2 years ago, while prices charged to consumers are already more than 60% higher than they were in the same time frame. Energy companies have failed to cut prices when their costs have dropped but never failed to pass on increases. It is apparent the free market does not work with respect to domestic energy prices and we contend that the government needs to regulate prices. Price competition in the domestic energy market is limited since all providers follow the leader on each price move."

• Read the petition
• Petitions home page

Read the Government's response

Ofgem's analysis and the Government's internal analysis suggest that recent rises in prices to consumers are primarily due to global demand for fossil fuel pushing up wholesale prices. Globally, prices have reached record levels. Since the start of 2007, UK wholesale gas and electricity prices have doubled.
While our competitive supply markets have delivered benefits for consumers in the past, in comparison with less competitive markets in some countries, they cannot protect the UK entirely from the effects of global demand.
The relation between retail and wholesale prices depends on a number of factors, including suppliers' buying and pricing strategies. Retail prices did fall in early 2007 in the UK, following falls in wholesale prices. It is noticeable that prices did not fall in some EU countries with less competitive supply markets during the same period.
However we believe that it is vital to ensure that our markets continue to remain competitive so as to deliver for consumers. Ofgem is responsible for competition in the energy supply markets. Ofgem announced on 22 February that it has launched a probe into the energy markets in electricity and gas for households and small businesses. The Government welcomed Ofgem's action, and we look forward to seeing the results.
As set out in the Energy White Paper 2007, the Government believes that to deliver energy security and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy requires urgent and ambitious action at home and abroad. We need to:

• save energy;
• develop cleaner energy supplies; and
• secure reliable energy supplies at prices set in competitive markets.

Our strategy continues to be based on the principle that independently regulated, competitive energy markets, are a more cost-effective and efficient way of delivering our objectives than by regulating energy retail prices.
The UK is also linked to European gas and electricity markets. The Government strongly supports the measures put forward by the Commission's Third Legislative Package to improve competition. We expect to reach agreement on the Third Legislative Package shortly. The legislation should deliver significant improvements in the functioning of the internal market, with improved competition putting a downward pressure on prices. We will continue to work with the Commission, other Member States and the European Parliament to ensure the proper development of the internal energy market.



Petition information - http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/energypricerise/