Energy Firms – Summary
I am delighted to see that Energy Suppliers must now let their domestic customers know what their best deal is, note:
- This only applies to domestic energy customers.
- It is claimed that 7 out of 10 of customers are on the wrong energy tariff and pay too much.
- The crazy thing is, customers rarely switch when they could save up to £100 per year.
- Advice is that, despite the new measure, you should still shop around.
For domestic customers wanting to switch energy suppliers you may like to watch the following French and Saunders Video:
French and Saunders – Switching Energy Suppliers
The following article from the BBC is worthy of reading in full.
Energy Firms To ‘Guarantee Best Deal’ On Tariffs
11 April 2012
Energy companies will be required to let customers know what their best deal is, in a move which ministers say could save households up to £100 a year.
Firms will be obliged to tell people about the most suitable tariff for them and to offer it if they request it.
Announcing the move, Deputy PM Nick Clegg will say seven out of 10 people have the wrong deal and pay too much.
Labour have accused energy firms of “ripping off” people and said there must be more competition in the market.
Environmental campaigners have dismissed the initiative – to be announced by Mr Clegg in a speech in London – as “tinkering” and are calling for far-reaching changes to how energy is produced and consumed.
Most customers saw increases of between 15% and 18% in their gas bills in the autumn, while electricity bills also rose sharply, a move energy firms blamed on rising wholesale energy costs.
Leading firms cut their prices earlier this year – reflecting what they said was a dip in commodity prices and the mild winter – but not by enough to compensate for the earlier rise.
Ministers have been under pressure to do more to help people with the squeeze on their living standards caused by pay freezes, tax rises and above-inflation increases in energy, fuel and transport costs.
‘Landmark deal’
Following talks with the UK’s six biggest suppliers, Mr Clegg is expected to say the government has secured a “landmark deal” under which customers will be guaranteed an offer of the best tariff open to them depending on their needs and energy use.
The companies concerned – British Gas, E.On, NPower, Scottish and Southern Energy, EDF and Scottish Power – will have to tell their customers once a year what their best deal is.
“Right now, seven out of 10 customers are on the wrong tariff for their needs so are paying too much,” Mr Clegg is expected to say.
“Yet people rarely switch, despite the fact some families could save up to £100 a year. As of this autumn, your supplier will have to contact you with the best tariff for your needs – and if you call them, they’ll have to offer you the best deal too.”
The guarantee is expected to apply only to tariffs offered by a customer’s existing supplier and people will still have to “shop around” if they want to try to find a cheaper deal with another provider. Ministers have told firms to simplify their tariff structures and billing details to encourage people to look around.
Consumer Focus said the move was a “welcome first step”, as customers coming to the end of a fixed-term contract would be able to move on to the cheapest deal rather than the more expensive standard rate.
“That is long overdue,” said the organisation’s director of energy Audrey Gallagher. “But this is probably only going to work if this is part of a much wider strategy to really help people engage more effectively with their energy bills, really cut their costs and get the best out of the energy market.”
There was an onus on customers to shop around for the best deal and to think more carefully about how they conserved energy, she added.
Labour have called for the cheapest tariffs to be guaranteed for the over-75s and said firms should be forced to sell energy to new providers, such as retailers, to open up the market.
“Six months ago, at the energy summit, Labour called on the government to get tough with the energy giants – but all ministers could do was get the energy companies to write to their customers telling them to shop around,” said shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint.
“Our energy market needs a complete overhaul, but this government is only fiddling at the margins.”
‘Green champion’
Greenpeace said any move to bring down bills was “good news” for thousands of households but it did not go far enough.
“It is good to see Nick Clegg taking an interest in the plight of people who are feeling the pinch,” said the pressure group’s head of energy, Jim Footner.
“But tinkering around the fringes of the overly gas-dependent energy sector simply won’t be enough.
“If Nick Clegg wants the Lib Dems to be seen as a green champion, and a friend of the billpayer, then he is has got to take on the Big Six energy companies by reforming the industry. He has got to make sure that we become far less reliant on expensive, imported gas while also backing cutting-edge, home-grown renewable energy.”
Christine McGourty from Energy UK, which represents energy companies, said consumers needed to shop around to get the best deal.
She added: “There are many different ways people can manage their energy bills, whether by changing tariff, method of payment or installing energy saving measures such as insulation.”
Energy regulator Ofgem has accused the largest six firms of having a “stranglehold” on the market but they say competition is the strongest in Europe.
Source – BBC News
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