Utility news
On this page you will find industry news about electricity, gas, water, fixed and mobile telecoms, and other stories. Our news is updated once per month. We cover items such as developing technologies, price changes in the utility markets, takeovers and company collapses, changes in tariffs, the results of investigations by the regulators and market trends.
Please take time also to visit our Business Cost Consultants news page, where we will keep you up to date with developments in Business Cost Consultants, and coverage we have had in news and trade press.
If you would like to be kept up-to-date with utility news, you can join our list of free monthly newsletter subscribers; just go to the Newsletter sign-up page. You can unsubscribe at any time.
- See the Newsletter sign-up page.
Industry news
Energy watchdog says price increases 'unjustifed'
Monday, January 28, 2008
Energy companies such as British Gas which have increased household bills by over 15 per cent should be referred to the Competition Commission, according to consumer watchdog Energywatch.
In the past month, British Gas, EDF Energy and Npower have all increased utility bills, hitting more than two-thirds of UK households. The average annual bill is now over £1,000, double that of 2003.
Scottish Power and Eon are also expected to increase prices soon while Scottish and Southern Energy has promised to freeze prices until April.
Speaking on BBC News yesterday, Allan Asher, chief executive of Energywatch, said the energy market was uncompetitive and the price rises were unjustified. 'Sadly the market is not working well and that's leading to consumers paying much, much more than they need to,' he said.
This month regulator Ofgem was forced to assure Gordon Brown that energy suppliers were not colluding on price rises. Energywatch questions why companies are so slow to pass on savings from lower wholesale gas and electricity prices but so quick to increase bills when wholesale prices rise.
Permanent link for this article
