British gas has announced profits of well over fifty percent, and are trying to console us with the fact that they have reduced our rates by seven percent, but when asked why they have not been reduced more, considering that the wholesale price of gas has been coming down steadily for the last year and a half, we are told the same pathetic old story.
They buy their gas supplies around two years in advance, trying to make out that when they purchased it, it was bought at a high price.
If this WAS the case, then we should expect our rates to come down steadily over the next two years, but as we all know, when winter comes around next year our rates will be at their highest point to coincide with the time we use the most gas. So when do we ever benefit from the cheaper wholesale prices?
During the summer when we use the least, will be their war cry, but the problem I find with that is, we will not have used up all of the cheaper gas by the time they hike up the prices for winter.
I can never recall a time when the consumer ever benefited from the cheaper gas, not even when wholesale gas was being given away FREE not so long ago.
The other war cry when all else fails is that they have shareholders to think about, and future investments in green energy, and I do realise these things have to be considered.
That was all taken in to consideration when the government controlled energy companies were privatised, so if they did not think they could make a go of their business, without fleecing the public, then they should never have undertaken the enterprise in the first place.
I have to ask the question again. Where or rather when does "OFGEM" earn their salt as it is they that are supposed to look after the consumers interests, looking at the wholesale prices, when that gas is introduced to the system, regardless of how much they cost the energy companies, and make sure the energy companies are charging us accordingly.
So far "Ofgem" have been getting paid for sitting on their thumbs, it's about time they got off their backsides and stood up for us, and forced the energy companies to charge us according to the price they paid for the gas, WE are buying from them, instead of letting them hike up the price every winter to suit themselves.
Here we go again the same old story, from the energy companies, winter approaching, and the threat of big rises announced. Ofgem announced today that the cost of gas and electricity could go up by as much as sixty percent in the next decade, the excuse being that British resources in gas are dwindling, and the big companies have to fork out for new sources like wind power etc. We import enough gas from Norway to feed the whole of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and we import from other sources in Europe to meet our other needs, so why are they using this as an excuse? We have been selling electricity to other countries for years, but it never made it any cheaper for us, especially in Scotland where we have generated enough hydro power to sell to other countries, and still do. Its the same with the oil, it was never any cheaper here just another source of income for the government in two ways. One was the tremendous revenue it took directly from the oil companies, the other of course was the ridiculous tax charged at the pumps plus added VAT. If the energy companies want to progress into wind farms, solar power, or the waves the sea provides, they should be using the enormous profits they are making now to expand into other fields, not rip off the consumer to pay for their ambitions.
OFGEM is supposed to be working for the consumer, NOT the energy companies, but it was them and not the big companies who announced the usual rip off we have come to expect at this time of year, with a different excuse each time.
I have to ask the question, is OFGEM working for us or the energy companies? If they are working for us as they are supposed to be, then why are they not putting a stop to this rip off year after year, instead of helping the rip off merchants to announce their scam? It appears to me that they are doing more for the energy companies, so therefore they should be paying their wages instead of the taxpayer, after all they are absolutely of no service to us. Other businesses only branch out when they can afford to, so why are this lot being allowed to take liberties every year. Changing over to green energy is just an excuse to make money for nothing, and the government is as guilty as the rest, as they too are using it as an excuse to line their pockets. Its all very well thinking of the planet, of that I agree, but to go to the extremes this lot are going to just because they see an opening of backing from a percentage of the public who are genuinely concerned, there is no need to pretend that slapping tax on everything is the answer to the problem. That is the answer to every problem in the world today slap a tax on it, raise the price and put it out of reach of the poorest, and the most needy. Who do they think they are kidding, for every idea like these, they jump on the bandwagon, and rub their hands, thinking they have the backing of the population, and once again they can fleece us, this time with the very things that concern us.
Its time we were looking at solving the problems of the world in a realistic way, by getting to the root of it, NOT by extorting money. We have come to a point where all the money has BEEN extorted from us so they will HAVE to try something else, the power companies included, until we get on an even keel again. Every household in the land will have to tighten their belts, a favourite saying rammed down our throats by governments when things get tough, and a saying THEY will have to take heed of. WE will get by with thrift, and its about time they all did the same. The energy companies to expand when they can afford it, the government to cancel THE TRIDENT MISSILES, and IDENTITY CARDS to name but two items that would save billions. Go ahead when we can afford them, if they are wanted then, but forget about them now. Most of us think that both of these items are unnecessary but as usual we will be ignored by the people who we put in power to look after our interests, the same people who refused us the vote on the Lisbon Treaty, and the same people who dug this hole we now find ourselves in.
Whatever way we look at it the future is far from rosy, be it greenhouse gasses or the gasses spouted by our politicians, it will be a long while if ever before there are any green shoots of recovery for the working man.
If the government is playing games with where to make the best cuts in order to gain votes to try and dig them out of the hole they have buried themselves in over their dying months, then they need look no further than the regulator "OFGEM" as their lack of authority in "regulating" the "big six" power companies makes them even more useless than the government. They can point out to the main energy suppliers that they are fleecing the public, but can do nothing about it.
As the price of energy is supposed to be regulated by the price of oil, and as the price of oil has fallen, the rip off merchants are still telling us that prices will go up rather than down, giving us the excuse that the energy we are buying now was purchased at the higher rate. The regulator accepts these lies without question, and never asks for an explanation on how the bills never come down when the energy bought at the cheaper rate comes into the equation.
We do not need to waste money on OFGEM if that is the only control they have over the "big six", as the general public are a lot quicker off the mark in noticing these rip offs given the fact that it us that has to worry about meeting the extortionate bills.
If the government are looking to make cuts, then this is one company that won't be missed, unless they give them the power to do something about the "regulating" in their job title, otherwise why spend the money on them.
It might not be much of a saving, but as the saying goes, "look after the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves." Their are enough people getting paid for doing nothing in this country without this farcical company, who are as much use to the public as an ash tray on a motorbike.
These days when one of the main concerns is climate change we are looking at new energy sources and the predominant ones seem to be wind farms and solar power. I agree that these two sources should be utilised but not at the expense of the natural beauty our countryside has. The ugly windmills that deface our hillsides have taken away not only the beauty of some panoramic scenes but interfere with nature itself. The shear size of these monstosities also interfere with our roads because even if they start their journey to coincide with minimum traffic,by the time they are approaching their destination the commuters are already out and about and are drastically delayed by the police escorts who have to safeguard the low loaders that transport them by keeping the normal traffic at bay until they pass. This causes far too much disruption especially on the narrow country roads they have to negotiate when nearing their destination. Not only do they take up valuble police time but congest and damage the roads they have to travel and regardless of what the pro wind farm people say this is not the way forward. In a world where everything in the technical side of things are getting smaller surely research and progress could find a way to minimise the size of these things while making them more efficient, this way we might find then more acceptable. As for solar power,here we have the perfect source of energy but we have not yet mastered how to utilise it to its full effect. In years to come the future generations will look at the rusting windmills and compare them to the efficient replacements they will have and wonder why a nation that had so many brilliant inventors could come up with these monstrosities.
In the news today we here of another energy company reducing the price of their gas and electricity while trying to kid us on that it is in our interest. The reduction does not take place till the end of March when most of the severe weather has passed leaving us no better of, as their last increase was 29.2% on gas and 19.2% on electricity covering the coldest period of winter and as there meagre reduction is only 6% and 4% covering a time when we do not need it so much they are getting more than their pound of flesh. In my case I was not informed of the increase until three months after the rise giving me no chance to adjust my usage accordingly but when they give us a slight decrease they tell us beforehand and go public to the media looking for praise. It is time the energy watchdogs started doing the job they were hired for and the power companies brought to boot for the way they conduct their services. When the price goes up they give us the excuse that they bought their supplies at the high price but when the prices drop (rapidly at the moment) they do not drop their prices accordingly even though they tell us they can only buy so much at a time as they can only store so much. The proof of the pudding is when they always come in at the end of the year with disgusting profits by creaming their customers through the winter months with no thought for the pensioners who freeze (some die because of them) and the other poor off who just cannot afford these prices even with the meagre help they receive from government.
Author based in Scotland.
After years spent at sea as a commercial fisherman I witnessed spectacular sights in the night sky while waiting for daylight to break.
After I retired I decided to write on the subject.
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