Energy costs for home

[Deeranged]

Finally. A couple of weeks ago there was an article in the Sunday Times newspaper where the owner of Octopus energy stated that he was still using energy that he purchased two years ago. If correct then Octopus customers are being ripped off as he is charging a far higher price for their energy than he paid for it.
Ofgem should be demanding that all the electricity and gas billing companies state when they purchased their gas and electricity and what price they paid for it.

Surely they have to charge the going rate regardless of when the energy was procured? Otherwise they can't afford market price to replenish resulting ultimately in them running out - that helps nobody.

[BCram]

Surely they have to charge the going rate regardless of when the energy was procured? Otherwise they can't afford market price to replenish resulting ultimately in them running out - that helps nobody.

Exactly. Price cap system useless.

[islaydarkblue]

Exactly. Price cap system useless.

If the energy price cap was not in place we would be paying around £6,000 per annum for electricity and gas.

[islaydarkblue]

Surely they have to charge the going rate regardless of when the energy was procured? Otherwise they can't afford market price to replenish resulting ultimately in them running out - that helps nobody.

So you are happy to pay 26p per unit for your electricity which has previously been purchased by electricity billing companies like Octopus for half the price namely 13p per unit.

[Deeranged]

So you are happy to pay 26p per unit for your electricity which has previously been purchased by electricity billing companies like Octopus for half the price namely 13p per unit.

Not really but I don't want my provider to turn round six months from now and say they're out of business because they haven't been able to replenish stocks.

Exactly the same happens when diesel and petrol prices go up - barrel price goes up by $X.xx the pump prices don't follow when stocks have been depleted do they? They go up at the same time because if the retailer runs the tanks down to zero the customer goes elsewhere when they close the gates and put the 'no fuel' signs up. Then they don't have enough cash to buy the next delivery.

Do supermarkets put the price of existing stock up when suppliers tell them the next batch is going to be 10p more expensive when they order it? Too right they do, they need that money to afford the next batch.

It's not rocket science Islay.

[The AuldYin]

So you are happy to pay 26p per unit for your electricity which has previously been purchased by electricity billing companies like Octopus for half the price namely 13p per unit.

I buy and sell at a profit every day is that not the point of being in business?

[BCram]

If any energy supplier thinks that the public will use the same amount of energy this winter they are kidding themselves. There will be many fewer hours of central heating used and the temperature on thermostats will be turned right down. Single living room heating like we used to have before the days of gas central heating might become the norm.
Europe is talking about energy rationing. Seems a sensible response to the price rises.

[BCram]

So you are happy to pay 26p per unit for your electricity which has previously been purchased by electricity billing companies like Octopus for half the price namely 13p per unit.

Islay, the point being made by Deeranged is that this is absolutely standard commercial practice. I think there will be a massive drop in demand for energy and there will be some spare capacity as a result. The prices I gave for gas, current price about 4p per kwhr, then 46p then a drop down to 26p just shows the volatility. I think the government should limit dividend payments to the level that energy companies per paying pre covid and it would be interesting to see what might happen if ceo and boardroom pay was controlled to restrict it to the percentage pay rise paid to their workers.

[islaydarkblue]

Islay, the point being made by Deeranged is that this is absolutely standard commercial practice. I think there will be a massive drop in demand for energy and there will be some spare capacity as a result. The prices I gave for gas, current price about 4p per kwhr, then 46p then a drop down to 26p just shows the volatility. I think the government should limit dividend payments to the level that energy companies per paying pre covid and it would be interesting to see what might happen if ceo and boardroom pay was controlled to restrict it to the percentage pay rise paid to their workers.

As a result of the Covid pandemic in 2020 the dividend payment made by BP fell by more than 50% due to the price of oil falling at one point below zero as demand for petrol and oil collapsed.
People of working age should remember that £1 in every £7 of BP dividend payments is made to pension funds. If the U.K. Government decides to continually clobber the major oil companies for windfall taxes they will move their headquarters overseas and not bother spending money trying to find oil in U.K. waters.
They will go elsewhere in the world to look for oil and gas.
In 2016 Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government begged the U.K. Government to reduce the taxation charged on oil companies due to a slowdown in the North Sea oil production and now the same SNP controlled Scottish Government are wanting to increase the taxation paid by oil companies because the oil industry is booming worldwide.

[islaydarkblue]

Not really but I don't want my provider to turn round six months from now and say they're out of business because they haven't been able to replenish stocks.

Exactly the same happens when diesel and petrol prices go up - barrel price goes up by $X.xx the pump prices don't follow when stocks have been depleted do they? They go up at the same time because if the retailer runs the tanks down to zero the customer goes elsewhere when they close the gates and put the 'no fuel' signs up. Then they don't have enough cash to buy the next delivery.

Do supermarkets put the price of existing stock up when suppliers tell them the next batch is going to be 10p more expensive when they order it? Too right they do, they need that money to afford the next batch.

It's not rocket science Islay.

If your electricity billing company goes bust then your account will be taken on by another electricity billing company.