By Torcuil Crichton 20 Feb 2013 07:46
ENERGY watchdogs’ boss Alistair Buchanan warned households to prepare for higher bills as oil and coal-fired power stations close.
OFGEM were blasted yesterday after admitting higher energy bills were on the way – and offering no plan to help struggling customers.
The attack came after the energy watchdogs’ boss Alistair Buchanan claimed “life could get tight and uncomfortable” as oil and coal-fired power stations close and foreign gas supplies shrink.
Glasgow North West MP John Robertson, who sits on the Energy select committee, said it was unacceptable customers should carry the can for the energy gap.
He added:
“Ofgem have made a grand announcement about rising energy bills as though they can’t do anything about it.
“Ofgem are there to make sure we get value for money – if they think bills are going to go up, they should be fighting the manipulative energy barons now to stop that happening.”
And he slated the government and Ofgem for not doing more.
He said:
“We cannot just sit back and expect the 40 per cent of the population in fuel poverty or struggling to pay bills to pay for government’s bad planning.”
Earlier, Buchanan warned of higher energy prices, adding:
“Avoiding power shortages will also carry a price.
“If you can imagine a ride on a rollercoaster at a fairground, then this winter we are at the top of the circuit and we head downhill – fast.”
Ofgem have warned that delays in building nuclear and replacing old coal and oil power stations will lead to energy firms having to shop for gas supplies against competition from economies such as China.
Buchanan said:
“There is no new nuclear, no new clean coal, no new carbon capture this side of 2020.
“So we’re going to have to go shopping round the world.”
Ofgem have been attacked as toothless by Labour who have called for them to be replaced.
But Buchanan said Ofgem would not let firms take advantage of consumers, adding:
“I’m encouraged by what the industry is doing – they are carrying forward a lot of retail market reforms.”
See also:
Fury as energy firms British Gas and Npower announce massive price hikes to fuel bills : THE shocking rise will see an £80 increase on some annual bills despite companies having posted massive profits.
17 Responses
A good percent of energy price rise is down to “green taxes” and I put that where it belongs at the door of the EU.
This is soft touch Britain,foreign owners of British energy companies and whilst our government does nothing about building more power stations we the public are held to ransom over power bills.
The energy market is effectively a closed shop, despite the promises of deregulation.
How many times were we told over a “simple” thing like bus deregulation that there would be so many on the road with different entertainment on offer, that if you didn’t like the TV / radio channel on the first one, there would be another along very close behind it.
Because of the close ties now between the generators and suppliers (often owned by the same parent company or controlling interest), by reducing capacity in generation, they’re making themselves more money, not less – it’s a monopoly, and by reducing production at one end, they can charge what the hell they like at the other citing shortage of supplies hiking prices.
As these same companies are also now operating “separately” per government dictate (all part of the “free market” malarkey”), they have to provide profits from every tier of the system, and each is also expected to increase revenue year on year.
So, when generation has to make another 5% profit, the next tier has to cover that 5% to break even, and then their expected revenue increases, rinse and repeat through all the different layers.
Generation, transmission, the local distribution companies, and last but not least the suppliers are part of the feed chain to drive profits and the cost to the consumer ever upwards.
The big six energy providers fund ofgem. What do you really expect if this is the scenario?.
Ofgem is not there to criticise its backers, its purely a puppet in camouflage.
Have you noticed that its always ofgem that makes the announcements that energy bills are going to rise, thats their only role. They are a barometer of the mood of the people and report back to say ” its alright to increase costs again because they havent taken to the streets yet”.
Its not only the government who are the root cause of deaths in our communities, its also this cosy relationship between supplier and so called, adjudicator.
Lord Mogg, the guy at the helm of ofgem gets around £180, 000 a year! Cameron gets £142,000.
HOW DOES SOMEBODY WHO ONLY WORKS A 3 DAY WEEK GET MORE THAN THE P.M.?
With more than 6.5 million in fuel poverty, who are these bastards who are taking the piss big style?
One day the electorate will wake up and ruffle a few collars or take to the streets. Until this happens we will carry on with this hooray henry filling his pockets and doing f*** all.
While our pensioners and poorest are dying these arseholes are popping champagne corks!
OFGEM is like all the other toothless watchdogs, a fucking joke!
Wherever shareholders and directors come first, obviously, the users come second.
Any watchdog must be totally independent of the organisations it represents. The only true move would be to re -nationalise.
AND AS FOR LORD MOGG………….
AN APT NAME FOR A FAT CAT!
The Gulf between Rich and Poor in the United Kingdom is Diabolical
Rich Selfish Politicians are More the Problem than the Solution
It Truly takes the Piss It Truly Calls for National Revolution which will Establish
Price Controls upon the Maximum Cost of Fuel and Energy Prices
People Must Bloody Wake Up
The UK is a Nation of Zombies at Present
Renationalise, renationalise, renationalise.
………what a marvelous country we live in……..
……. Every time you flick a switch, turn a tap, either gas or water, somebody fills their pockets…….
How can this be legal?……
………What makes it so distasteful is the persons responsible for this, purported to represent the views of the nation……
……Sadly this will never happen……
……Ever……
Organization
For
Getting
Extra
Money
A KILLERWATT takes away vulnerable pensioners lives…..
Whilst OFGEM allows them to do this……
Isn’t Angela Knight, the former tory mp, head of Ofgem – says it all.
What gets me is that Christopher Booker in the Sunday Telegraph has been predicting this for years, but the Governments of all parties have kept insisting on those pointless windmills, instead of replacing aging power stations.
The coldest days in this country are those days when the wind doesn’t blow, so when we most need power the windmills don’t produce any, and what they do produce costs twice as much.
So to make up for the lack of power we have to have traditional power stations running continuously at full speed ready to generate but not producing so they can produce when the wind stops.
So the cheapest, most efficient, and in the long-term greenest solution, is to let the back-up power stations produce power from their continuous running and scrap the windmills.
For anyone who thinks that windmills are green, they are only built to last 5 years, and the carbon footprint of producing the materials that go into them NEVER gets covered by the power they produce. It would take 25-30 years to cover their carbon footprint, so 5-6 times as long as they actually last!!!!!
But of course, with 100% subsidies private companies make a massive profit at our expense.
[…] Ofgem blasted as they warn energy bills are set to soar yet again Posted on February 20, 2013 […]
If it was possible to harness all the hot air generated by parliamentarians we wouldnt have an energy problem……….
What happened to the private sector investment that was the only way we could afford to renew the power stations according to the evil witch Maggot Scratcher ?
Noone should be allowed to make money from something that people can’t do without.
Ofgem stands for the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets and it is the government department given the task of regulating the gas and electricity markets.
Ofgem’s key concerns and priorities therefore involve protecting consumers by ensuring that they are not being taken advantage of by energy suppliers. It will also attempt to ensure that a certain amount of the profits made by the energy companies will pay for the safe supply of energy and that greenhouse gases are reduced as much as possible.
WHAT A LOAD OF DRIVEL………………….
they stand for one thing only, taking the lining from your purse or wallet and handing it over to the shareholders and jolly up execs…….
“Revealed: The figures that show just how badly rising energy bills have ravaged household budgets over the last decade”
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2571969/ONS-data-shows-true-impact-rising-bills-household-budgets.html