#OFGEM

[eaglesnick]

“The increase in the price of electricity will not affect the poorest. Their electricity has already been cut off.” ― Ljupka Cvetanova, Yet Another New Land

The energy suppliers of Britain, we are told, are “owed” £3 billion in unpaid bills. Ofgem, the energy watchdog - working “to protect energy consumers” – has therefore decided that those of us who are paying our energy bills should be  charged an extra £16 pear year on top or our regular bills in order to help suppliers recoup their losses.

£16 isn’t very much, but it is the principle rather than the cost which is deeply concerning. End Fuel Poverty Coalition coordinator Simon Francis had this to say:

“This outrageous tax on energy consumers is simply not fair...  Energy suppliers have posted billions in profits already this year while millions of people struggle in cold damp homes. The record levels of energy debt are due to Britain’s broken energy system, not the fault of the hard-pressed public.”  (Guardian: 15/12/23)

It is a very strange logic that demands customers pay off a companies debts when they supposedly make a loss but refuse to share dividends when in profit.

EDF, for example made a profit of £1.12 billion for the period 2022/23. Shell, not only a producer of gas and oil but also a domestic supplier of energy, made an overall company profit of £32.2billion in 2022. Is it too much to ask that any loss they may have made selling domestic energy be off-set against their massive global profits? Why are we subsidising the shareholders of such a hugely successful company? Meanwhile hard hit Centrica, owners of British Gas, only made £3.3 billion in profits for the year 2022. They obviously need our help!

Even the minnows of the energy supply industry made money. Octopus Energy Group made a profit of 1.6% ( £203 million) according to its own published  results, with revenues tripling from “ £4bn to £13 billion”.

Have we all fallen down the rabbit hole? When did it become acceptable for the paying public to make up the “losses” of private enterprise, especially when the overall arm of those enterprises are making billions in profit? The world just gets curiouser and curiouser.

[kamalkafir-blog]

UK household energy bills to fall after Ofgem lowers price cap 7%

[TECH AND FINANCIAL] Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the UK energy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Britain’s household energy bills are set to fall in the summer after regulator Ofgem lowered the price cap by 7 per cent, in a boost to Sir Keir Starmer’s government as it tries to tackle the high cost of living. Ofgem on Friday set the price cap for July to…

[newstech24]

UK family power payments to fall after Ofgem lowers value cap 7%

Keep knowledgeable with free updates Merely signal as much as the UK power myFT Digest — delivered on to your inbox. Britain’s family power payments are set to fall in the summertime after regulator Ofgem lowered the worth cap by 7 per cent, in a lift to Sir Keir Starmer’s authorities because it tries to deal with the excessive price of residing. Ofgem on Friday set the worth cap for July to…

[chainreactionpodcast]

Understanding the Rising Costs of Living: Energy, Water, and Council Tax in Focus

In recent years, households across the UK have faced growing financial pressures, with energy costs, water utility prices, and council tax emerging as significant contributors. Here’s a deep dive into these escalating expenses, what’s driving them, and the steps stakeholders can take to address them. The Rising Tide of Household Costs Energy Costs Energy prices have been on a steep incline,…

[everything-is-interesting-ldn]

How solar energy could provide all your electricity, over a 25 year span, for an upfront cost of around £7,000.

[timelessnewsnow]

The energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, imposed the energy price cap, which caps the amount that gas and electricity companies can charge. The average yearly payment for a dual-fuel family paying by direct debit is now £1,717 after this maximum was recently raised by over £150.

Know more 👆🏻

[creativemedianews]

Ofgem approves Britain's largest grid investment for 'electricity super highway'

Ofgem approves Britain's largest grid investment for 'electricity super highway' #climatetargets #EasternGreenTwo

[iphijaania]

i have like 700 words of my essay on regulatory law and rationales left to write and i have plenty of time (ish. its due tomorrow but i wanna finish it tonight) it's just so fucking boring that i can't work on it for too long or else i begin to feel my brain actively turn into cottage cheese

[ur-mag]

Energy bills will rise again in the new year as Ofgem price cap increases | In Trend Today

Energy bills will rise again in the new year as Ofgem price cap increases Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[the-crystal-femmes]

Mentions

[ pt: mentions /end pt ]

A post for a list of things our frequent fronters would appreciate being tagged in / mentioned (@).

Host

[ pt: host /end pt ]

Any of his kintypes, especially those she may currently be shifted to

Steven Universe posts

Posts of Pearl and other partners

Vaporeon posts

Nostalgiacore

Anything that may remind you of it :)

Pearl

[ pt: pearl /end pt ]

Posts of source

Posts of partners, especially host and Greg

Birds :)

Violent text posts

Macaroni and Cheese (silly, I know.)

Other blogs we can be tagged from:

ofgems-andpearls - for selfshipping content, run by our host

anxietypilled-insomniamaxxer - Pearl's blog, but requests only mutuals who have access to this blog to tag that blog instead of our main.

[chainreactionpodcast]

Understanding the Rising Costs of Living: Energy, Water, and Council Tax in Focus

In recent years, households across the UK have faced growing financial pressures, with energy costs, water utility prices, and council tax emerging as significant contributors. Here’s a deep dive into these escalating expenses, what’s driving them, and the steps stakeholders can take to address them. The Rising Tide of Household Costs Energy Costs Energy prices have been on a steep incline,…

[freenorthnow]

Ofgem are allowing companies to force people onto pre-payment meters again. They're hoping we won't notice when this leaves vulnerable households without power.

We'll keep saying it because it's true, energy companies should be nationalised.

[eaglesnick]

“Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent” –John Maynard Keynes

Last year (September 2023) the Labour Party set out its plans to create Great British Energy:

“…a new publicly-owned clean energy company (which will) save £93 billion for UK households”

And more recently,

“Labour will work with the private sector to double onshore wind, triple solar power, and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.” (Labour: 'Make Britain a clean energy superpower’. 2024)

Bravo! Who doesn’t want, cheaper, cleaner energy production and a move away from reliance upon fossil fuels other than the big oil companies? But did you spot the possible contradiction between the two statements?

In the first statement Great British Energy was to be publicly owned and in the second Labour is going to work with “the private sector”.

How will Labour square the circle of private sector involvement coupled to public ownership? Your guess is as good as mine. Here is what the Financial Times had to say:

“Plans are light on detail. But the party has said it wants to co-invest alongside the private sector…The terms at which it will invest are unclear. (FT: 06/07/24)

What we are not going to get is an entirely state-owned energy company like EDF in France which generated 139.7bn euros  in revenue for the French government in 2023.

So before we get too excited we should remember Britain’s railways are organised within a mishmash of private and public ownership, and have been described as “broken" and “no longer fit for purpose”. Is this going to be the case for Great British Energy?

Even if Great British Energy is 100% publicly owned, and the cost of renewable energy is brought down there is still the small problem of how the price of generated electricity is artificially pegged to the cost of gas. Nowhere have I seen Labour promising to fix this unfair practice.

The UK already produces over 41% of its electricity through renewable sources and private companies buy and trade energy at the market price. This market is different to the energy provider market where you and I buy our energy, which is controlled by OFGEM.

The energy generator market operates on the principle of marginal cost pricing which has nothing to do with competition or the cost of renewable generation.  Marginal cost pricing is where ALL units of electricity are sold at the price of the most expensive unit needed to meet demand at a particular moment in time.

The most expensive units of electricity are gas turbine generated. In other words, cheap renewable energy is sold at the same price as that produced by the most expensive gas plants. Until this artificial pricing structure is replaced by something fairer, the price you and I pay for electricity, whether renewable or not, will remain artificially high.

[sataniccapitalist]

“Pensioners across the country are facing a bleak winter, as Ofgem increased its price cap meaning average household bills could rise by £149 from October. For the older generation, this financial blow follows Rachel Reeves’ decision to means test the winter fuel payment for pensioners…”

[ukdailymail]

Energy bills shoot up by 10 per cent as Ofgem announces new price cap