Tim Yeo, the chairman of the energy select committee says the upcoming investigation should be extended to cover the gas sector as well. The Competition & Markets Authority is currently investigating into possible tacit co-ordination between the big six energy suppliers in relation to their price changes. The last 3 years have seen all of the major suppliers raise prices … Read More
British Gas profits down due to mild weather
Energy giant Centrica reports operating profits drop of 35% for the first half of 2014. Centrica, owner of British Gas has reported a group-wide drop in profits to £1.03 billion. Profits at the residential arm of British Gas fell by over a quarter to £265 million in the same period.
Gas prices could rise due to Russian embargo
Ukraine has had its gas supplies from Russia cut off due to the ongoing dispute between the two nations, which could lead to a Europe-wide shortage in the coming months. Gazprom is Russia’s government-owned gas giant, and has now informed Ukraine that it needs to settle its debt and pay for any future gas supplies upfront. All supplies passing through … Read More
Iraq conflict could push energy prices up
Concerns regarding security of supply have driven Brent crude prices up 3% and US crude up 2% in the wake of recent developments. Crude oil prices have risen sharply due to the uncertainty in Iraq. Prices for Brent crude futures have risen to over $113 per barrel, the highest price for almost a year. Iraq is the second-largest oil producing … Read More
SSE announce annual profits rise of 9.6%
Scottish & Southern Energy announce pre-tax profits of £1.55bn for the year to 31 March. In a time when customer bills are being constantly increased, the energy giant and member of the Big Six announced a significant increase in profits during what it called a “challenging” time for the sector. Earlier in the year, the company announced the longest energy … Read More
Scottish Power fined £750k for price variations
Ofgem has fined the energy giant for charging an unfair amount to many of its customers, simply because they paid using a different method. Energy company Scottish Power is the latest of the Big Six to be fined by Ofgem, following an investigation by the industry regulator. Utility companies can charge different amounts to customers depending on their payment method, … Read More
BBC survey: energy consumers confused
A survey commissioned by the BBC has found that almost half of domestic energy users don’t know how their bill is calculated. Although Ofgem has simplified tariff structures in recent years, and limited the number of tariffs suppliers can offer, many still find their energy bills confusing, the survey found. The survey discovered: 51% of consumers have not switched energy … Read More
British Gas unfairly stopped business transfers
The UK’s largest energy supplier will be penalised for not letting customers know their contracts were coming to an end, and even preventing them from switching to alternative suppliers. The energy regulator Ofgem has handed down a massive fine to the Centrica-owned British Gas of £5.6m, after concluding that it had wrongly objected to businesses switching suppliers due to computer … Read More
Big Six to face competition enquiry
The industry regulator Ofgem has called for an inquiry into “possible tacit co-ordination” of price rises by the Big Six. The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is being called on by Ofgem to perform the investigation over the next 18 months amid fears that the energy market is not competitive, with price variations between suppliers at a minimum. Suppliers have … Read More
SSE freezes domestic prices until 2016
The freeze will affect 5 million UK households, and will be financed by £100m of cost-cutting measures, including 500 job losses. The UK’s second-largest electricity and gas supplier, Scottish & Southern Energy, has announced the domestic energy sector’s longest ever ‘unconditional price promise’ at 26 months, having last raised its prices in November 2013. The company says the move will … Read More