Press Release
MP Claims Energy Firms Are Greedy
Local MP Tom Clarke accused energy firms of being ‘greedy’ and ‘draining the lifeblood out of every low-income household in Britain’ during a recent debate in Parliament on the ever increasing domestic energy bills for consumers. He secured the backing of MPs from all the main parties who joined forces in Westminster to demand that suppliers should act now by cutting their prices to consumers.
In the Debate the MP said:
“I want to discourage energy companies from using the fluctuations in wholesale prices as an excuse for unacceptably high domestic energy bills. The issue affects every household in my constituency, particularly pensioners and families on low incomes with young children, and it causes financial misery to consumers. Greedy energy firms have driven millions of households into a desperate choice between heating and eating. Yet while hard-up customers struggle to make ends meet, suppliers are reaping the rewards of lower costs. The wholesale price of gas has plummeted 60% since last summer but none of the firms has yet passed on the savings”.
“I can reveal the up-to-date figures, which have been provided courtesy of Energywatch show that, since 2003, the price of electricity has risen by a staggering 60% and the price of gas has risen by an outrageous 94%. As a consequence the average family are faced with an annual bill of more than £1,000”
Ofgem, the energy regulator, warned Britain’s gas suppliers about failing to pass on to consumers the recent drop in the cost of wholesale gas. Its chief executive, Alistair Buchanan, said:
“Going forward, as prices are falling and we have this uncomfortable lag between the wholesale price and the retail price. Ofgem warned companies that if prices do not come down during 2007 and they keep some of the ‘jam their fingers’; Ofgem have very stringent powers under the Competition Act”.
The MP poured scorn on Ofgem’s aim of bringing choice and value to all gas and electricity customers by promoting competition and regulating monopolies, when he said:
“I have to say that the expression “jam on their fingers” is far too polite and does not reflect the fuel poverty suffered by low-income pensioners, low-income families with children and people with special needs. I am in constant touch with ordinary decent people in my constituency who are struggling against extraordinary energy price increases. Consumers need energy to keep themselves warm and to cook meals, and they need hot water. Despite the fact that the wholesale price has fallen, consumers are still faced with the sheer brutality of the power that is exercised by energy companies. If my finger is on the pulse of the public mood, as I believe it is , I am right to go further than Ofgem’s comment about energy companies having jam on their fingers: it is far more appropriate to accuse them of draining the lifeblood out of every low-income household in Britain”.
The MP concluded:
“It is my intention to explore every avenue with all relevant bodies. I have written to Ofgem, which has a duty to consumers, and to the Office of Fair Trading, which has a duty to ensure that a cartel is not operating against the public interest. The problem that I am raising awareness about will not simply go away, and my activity will continue until pressure is brought to bear on energy suppliers to reduce the inflated prices unfairly charged to all households”.