Utility companies increasing their prices

[Lucifer]

What do you use to make electricity in the UK?

 

Do you rely heavily on nuclear power? (Like the French, who have the cheapest electricity in Europe do?) Electricity shortages have been forecast for many years. How many new nuclear stations have been built recently?

 

Do you import gas through the interconnector at Bacton? How can Cameron (or anybody else in the UK) control the prices charged for imported gas?

 

Does the UK import oil? - Again, how can Cameron or anybody else control the base price of the oil?

 

Is the UK moving towards 'Green' energy from wind turbines and domestically- produced energy from PV arrays? Are the electricity companies paying a generously high feed-in tariff? - Who do you think is going to have to pay for that? The customers.

 

The government could, of course, re-nationalise (buy back) the utility companies. They've got loads of spare cash, haven't they? They would probably have to pay in Euros, because most of the utility companies are foreign owned. Why are they foreign owned? Could it be that when they were offered for sale the British people weren't prepared to buy them?

 

 

 

If they're not run as profit-making companies, where would the government obtain the tax revenues they no longer generate? Where would the government obtain the money to provide subsidised (and that's what you'd need) electricity, gas and water?

 

 

 

Isn't there a body called Ofgem which monitors (and limits) what the gas and electricity companies charge?

 

 

 

Really? I thought the net profits went to the shareholders and the taxes on those profits went to the government. Can you produce evidence to support your claim that the profits go to the board of directors?

 

Where is the government going to get the money to buy back British Gas? Should they make some more (really drastic) cuts?

 

 

 

Perhaps that will happen - or perhaps not. How are the people going to raise the money to pay the subsidies they want?

 

Supposing that the people re-nationalised the utility companies, then the people would be stuck with the bill for doing so. Where would they get the money to do that?

 

I suppose they could print it. No doubt then the rest of the world wouldn't have much faith in the Pound. If you print as much money again as there is in circulation nowadays, each pound would be worth half as much - so the cost of all your imports would double or maybe be even higher.

 

I agree with everything youv'e not said:huh:

[Vague_Boy]

I have just read about the water companies warning they are going to be putting prices in April, one company going up by up by almost 8%. Why are these companies allowed to get away with it? It's not just water though is it, they all do it, gas and electric as well.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of stagflation, last experienced in the 1970s.

 

With even official RPI inflation at 5.1% what do you expect? It's little more than a cost of living rise as real inflation is at least 1.5% higher than the official figures.

 

(I don't bother with the CPI measure as it excludes "trivial" things like housing costs and heating/lighting [PDF link], great if you're a down-and-out, not so useful for the rest of us).

 

Sheffield Homes are raising rents by 6.8% this year. Are they profiteering? Or are they just facing economic reality?

 

The more widely recognised measure of Inflation RPI stood at 5.1% and real inflation at 6.6%, as the official inflation indices have been systematically doctored to under report real inflation by successive governments for several decades resulting in serious and compounding under reporting of the real rate of inflation as experienced by the British population.

 

LINK [Market Oracle]

 

Unusually low interest rates and money printing (quantitative easing) are inflationary factors. Or did you think that there was such a thing as a free lunch?

[Vague_Boy]

I agree with everything youv'e not said:huh:

 

Quiet Lucifer, grown-ups are talking.

[iansheff]

I don't want to upset your rant but the price rises are the ones agreed between the utilities and the previous government. Trouble is they have probably got shares in the companies and don't want to lose their dividends, or their rich backers.

 

So we have to blame labour then, just like everytime the Condems open their mouths saying we didn't know what we were inheriting. Just remind me who privatised all the utilities these companies.

[melthebell]

So we have to blame labour then, just like everytime the Condems open their mouths saying we didn't know what we were inheriting. Just remind me who privatised all the utilities these companies.

 

the old saying

 

WHOEVER you vote for, government wins

[Chris_Sleeps]

Do you rely heavily on nuclear power? (Like the French, who have the cheapest electricity in Europe do?)

Which the French State has a huge share of.

 

I'm no expert on nationalisation of utilities, but there seems a brutality in profiteering off of a basic need.

[Bassman62]

Yet this Government wants more public services transferred to the private sector. Nice profits, naff service.

 

That was the genius of Thatcher when she sold off the utilities, she sold us something we already owned.

[Rupert_Baehr]

That was the genius of Thatcher when she sold off the utilities, she sold us something we already owned.

 

And the money she got for it (from you) she spent on you.

 

And once you'd gained ownership of the companies, what did you do with them?

 

Did you look upon them as a worthwhile investment?

 

No. - You sold them to foreign companies so you could have some money to spend.

[anywebsite]

What do you use to make electricity in the UK?

 

Do you rely heavily on nuclear power? (Like the French, who have the cheapest electricity in Europe do?) Electricity shortages have been forecast for many years. How many new nuclear stations have been built recently?

 

We have some nuclear power, no new stations built recently, but they keep talking about it. most of our electricity is from gas or coal.

 

You realise that EDF is a nationalised monopoly, has been since the war? This is why France doesn't have any problem generating lots of cheap electricity.

 

Do you import gas through the interconnector at Bacton? How can Cameron (or anybody else in the UK) control the prices charged for imported gas?

 

Does the UK import oil? - Again, how can Cameron or anybody else control the base price of the oil?

 

We became a net importer of oil & gas a few years ago, but I think there's still a bit left in the North Sea.

 

Is the UK moving towards 'Green' energy from wind turbines and domestically- produced energy from PV arrays? Are the electricity companies paying a generously high feed-in tariff? - Who do you think is going to have to pay for that? The customers.

 

The government could, of course, re-nationalise (buy back) the utility companies. They've got loads of spare cash, haven't they? They would probably have to pay in Euros, because most of the utility companies are foreign owned. Why are they foreign owned? Could it be that when they were offered for sale the British people weren't prepared to buy them?

 

The taxpayer pays the generously high feed in tariff. It's a government subsidy. The energy companies are good at getting government subsidies, despite their huge profits.

 

They should never have been sold, the lack of investment is because the market system doesn't function correctly in that sector of the economy, due to the high overhead costs & natural lack of competition. We've got private monopolies running our energy, with weak government regulation, it's almost the worst possible situation.

 

If they're not run as profit-making companies, where would the government obtain the tax revenues they no longer generate? Where would the government obtain the money to provide subsidised (and that's what you'd need) electricity, gas and water?

 

From energy bills? No need to subsidise it, they just don't need to make excessive profits & refuse to invest.

 

Isn't there a body called Ofgem which monitors (and limits) what the gas and electricity companies charge?

 

[Bassman62]

And the money she got for it (from you) she spent on you.

Rubbish she spent it on lower taxes for her kind