SMOKE AND MIRRORS -ENERGY MARKET

I don't use a lot of Gas or Electricity over a year so my energy bills are quite manageable. My house is not a big house but it's double glazed, wall insulated, along with the loft and roof and even without the heating on is, to me, a warm house. I use [but don't like] low energy bulbs for lighting and nothing gets left on standby and all sockets with appliances plugged in them get switched off so no power is going to them.
Like all of us I would rather keep my money in my pockets than give it the Energy Companies who have the same low standing as Politicians etc to the British Public. So when today my present Energy "Supplier" sent me a letter informing me my present contract for dual energy was ending next month and presented me with new tariffs [inevitably higher] I went looking for another "Supplier". I found that I could save £206 annually by switching to one of another company, [one of the smaller ones], so I have.....as I said "better in my pockets than theirs".
My problem is that being Human [quiet in the back row please] I don't understand how the supply of Gas and Electric has been so complicated, twisted, and mutated. I know why it has.......so that more profit can be made by confusing the customer by a supposedly greater choice of indecipherable tariffs, conditions, etc.
When the date comes to change over officially to the new Energy Supplier is their Van going to appear at my house and unplug my Gas and Electric from the old "Supplier's" connections and plug into theirs???.............No, of course not. So it's going to be the same Gas and Electric with me paying a differently named bill every month. Okay, if you listen to the Energy Companies they tell you about buying "futures", how they have to buy years ahead, the complicated Energy Market, the competition from Global pressures, maintenance and investment, etc, your eyes will start to glaze and you will feel a headache coming on and you will stop asking, which I guess is good for the layers of Energy Dealers and Speculators.
Gas and Electricity is sold, resold and resold again so many times before it even reaches a pipeline.....all of that speculation, profit, and high price made in a world where they never even see the product and we end up paying the end price.
The Electricity Producers in this country sell the electricity to another company which belongs to them, which sells it to other companies [some of which still belong to the Electricity Producer] who then sell it onto to other companies. So there's a lot of selling and reselling going on in order to increase the profit and price.
My question is, and obviously a lot of others are asking the same question, why is this situation being allowed to continue to exist with such a vital resource and why it is not be simplified?...........Oh, yes, I know profit is more important.

 

Some things should never have been privatised - water, gas, electricity, transport infrastructure to name but a few.

 

Hi Roders, I was going to change to 1st Utility as the rates were good....BUT I checked on their customer reviews and couldn't find one good review. I have never seen such bad reviews for a company of any sort as those for 1st Utility so I've balked at going with them as they seem to be a nightmare for billing and getting even the name of the customer correct!!!! The OVO Energy Company seems to have good reviews with only one or two complaints against a majority of praises.

I agree. We must also stop the practice of raising profits by selling on energy from a parent energy producer company to a company within it's group, who then resells to another company within the same Company group, etc.
One of my clients was a global phone company who bought mobile phones and accesssories by the million from China literally for pennies. The phones had no software on them so the Parent company would sell them onto another company within the Parent Group, they would put some software in and then sell it onto another company within the Parent Group, that company would put some more software in and sell it on to another company within the Parent Group, then that company would do the same, put in some more software and sell it on to another Group company. That would happen 5 times until the final 6th company would sell the different major brand phones to Phone Dealers who would sell them onto retail outlets. All those companies within the same group were in fact in the same building so it was just a case of passing the phones onto onto the next floor or even next work desk. So in every case of reselling to another company the price of the phone went up 5 times from the original "for pennies" price to hundreds of pounds for an individual phone......all without the phone leaving the building.
I won't go into the Tax dodges that they also used!!!

 

Just don't hold yourself to ransom and resell to yourself

 

Ah, but did you take into account productions costs that should be off-set against your tax bill?

Not least - raw materials (food, beer, alcohol [home made or otherwise]); administration charges (mobile broadband contract to allow you to keep abreast of the markets), and of course health and safety (requirements for shelter from the elements - a caravan should be enough) as you cannot have electricity being produced in an unsheltered environment.

And what about your carbon footprint - you have to take into account your emissions you know, especially as you are on a veggie and alcohol diet!

 

You really, really, don't want to know about Ziggy's "emissions", especially after a Vindaloo curry [which should be renamed Findaloo] or/and a session of his Home Brew.

 

Well, to be honest, pete, nobody know "exactly" how much you will save by changing the name of the "Supplier" as some of it will depend on your usage during the following year of the contract. Some Suppliers lower the price of the units of energy but raise the other charges such as standing charges etc. So you have to check not only the price of the gas and/or electric units but the other "service" charges as well. There are companies that supply energy at lower rates and service charges and lets face it less money given them is more money for you.

The first I doubt greatly and the second is up to you......but saving money is a good motive!!

 

Yep, I use uswitch.com and it's very quick and easy. All you have to do is put in your Post Code, the present Supplier, and your usage either in units or how much you pay a month. You then get given a comparison of about 20 cheaper Suppliers...........try it. If you just put in on the Net Search "Cheaper dual energy".....or just "cheaper energy" that will bring up different comparison sites for you to choose from.

 

I've used First Utility in the past, they were fine. The thing with online reviews is that only people who have a gripe go on and complain, you don't see the other 90 odd percent of people who are content. Same goes for a lot of consumer products, cars in particular, I don't think anyone would buy a single car if you googled <'ford/renault/etc' 'mondeo/clio/etc' problems>, it's scary.

Anyway I switch each year to the cheapest, using advice from Martin Lewis, all the lastes advice is discussed and condensed to a few single steps. I'm not saying I always end up with the best deal in the long run but at least going via a cashback site (like quidco) I feel as though I'm doing the best I can in a very confusing marketplace.