Ofgem enforces energy regulation, Ofcom monitors telecoms regulations and Ofwat runs the roost in the water industry, but who is keeping an eye on the regulators themselves?
My work with Ofgem since August 2021 has taught me that we, the consumers, are meant to be regulating the regulators by getting involved in their consultations on every single decision they make. But they make these things so complicated that no one can understand.
That's where I come in. On this channel, I explain the basics of every consultation each regulator is going through, how their decisions will influence our bills and how we can get involved in each to tell them our thoughts. Follow me to take control of this ridiculous financial crisis we've been forced into.
It's far colder in Scotland and yet we pay the highest standing charges in the UK - London and the SW pay the lowest - despite producing most of the renewable energy.
Grid balancing is the key part of our energy security, and therefore national security, so should be in public hands. By which I mean nationalise all the gas fired power stations, this was actually something suggested by National Grid a couple of years ago.
Provided your current supplier gives you 30 days or more of your new prices for the contract renewal, you have time to research the market. The choice is yours
In the US defense industry Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) works just like this. The contractor does things that normally would not make sense to increase costs, which translates to more profit. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost-plus_contract
Monopoly essential services like this should be owned by the public - that means us. There can be no competition in these cases - like water, railways, health etc.
I'm not sure you're right about some of this?. Energy supplier's can be talked to directly at least at my workplace, but you may not get a good price. The brokers we've used have not as far as I'm aware tried to con us, but have advised in some cases to lock in when coming to the end of a prior contract. We get regular calls from energy brokers and supplyers. But at the end of it it's down to the business to make the decision, If you could predict how it's going to go that would indeed be an interesting skill. Has OFGEM, whom I interact with on occasion, grown because of things like administering the RHI, renewable and lower Carbon electrical generator's?
Richard, you make no mention of exported energy prices. We have installed solar PV and receive 15p per kW from Octopus Energy for units exported to the grid. This means that the price comparison sites are not so relevant. Grateful for any thoughts you may have on this please.
Solution:Re-jigg the system so that the gas powered stations output is used, off-peak, to charge storage e.g. lakes like Bala and the new compressed gas storage systems and nationalise the latter two sources, but have the existing operators run them as contractors. Not forgetting, of course, that UK, as part of the shenniganns to get Hinckley 'C' built, uncle Dave Cameron regime, agreed to pay £93 per megawatt hour generated to EDF. I note that, at the end of last year, French consumers were paying on average 20% less per Kwh than UK consumers. UK consumers wouldn't be subsidising the French . . .would they. ? Perhaps that EDF deal needs to be re-negotiated . . .perhaps UK could trade UK Gas generation output, both off-peak and peak, for more French nucleur peak generation capacity. The over-capacity in the French system at their on-peak times becoming the UK's hedge against peak demand. After all, isn't that what the various interconnects are used for at the moment, albeit on a smaller scale, . . . taking advantages if the time differences in winter. Has anybody considered coastal defence arrangements also acting as energy generators . . . La Ranche style . . . two birds, one stone !
Ofgem is answerable to the secretary of state for energy, now Ed Milliband. Take your complaint to him, particularly if Ofgem has not responded adequately to your complaints
I get around paying for energy by making my own with solar panels and storing it in a battery, well I expect to in a few years, when I have paid off the initial investment, so I am part of the problem. I have generated 3 mWh (3 thousand kilowatt hours) in the first 8 months of 2024. Octopus Energy tell me that I have exported about 2.5 mWh back to the grid, and used about 140 kWh from the grid so I've had about 360 kWh of home generated free electricity. Then there's the standing charge for about 250 days. So, when the price goes down, as it did in July, then I make less per unit generated, and when it goes up this winter, I assume I shall balance that with greater profit per kWh I feed into the grid. If there are enough of us domestic generators, and we don't swamp our local urban electricity infrastructure with too much generation, then electricity prices should drop for all of us. So I'd recommend home owners look at becoming generators. Octopus Energy give a referral credit to both the referrer and referred customers of £50 each, when the new customer has been with them a month, so if you are interested in changing to Octopus Energy, my code for referral is: share.octopus energy/oak-sun-957
Our energy system is one of the best in the world. Except that most of it is owned by multinationals who only care about profits and shareholder dividends.
It's just intentional convolution to fake competition. How about we all stop wasting our time and be honest. It doesn't work. You can't arbitrary circle a system and say yeah that should generate profit. Delusion.
I have been banging on about how corrupt and unaccountable Ofgem is for the last 10 years to no effect. Our "unique" energy regulation systemhas has not been copied by any other nation - I wonder why? Time and time again Ofgem is shown to be the "cause" of our "eye wateringly high" energy prices but no one seems to have any power against this slimy, corrupt organisation.
Nobody is mentioning the elephant in the room - the failed boomerang sanctions of mass self-destruction supposedly against Russia. Cheap Russian energy wasn't a bad thing thing
No, it was too much of a good thing. Cheap, reliable energy - too easy to become dependent upon it. Enjoy the economic benefits. Until it comes to light that the source of that energy is using the profits to fund not just a war of expansion, but one characterised by brutal war crimes. And a war of expansion which may, one day, become a serious threat to European stability. Continuing to buy Russian gas might have looked cheap, but the real price isn't paid in currency - it's paid in self-respect, moral authority and long-term strategic interests. It's paid in blood - just not our own.
Mobile phone companies don't have a standing charge to cover the cost of sending the phone signal. The Distribution Network Operators (DNO) should pay for the upkeep of power transmission lines etc from the electricity generation companies, who in turn charge the electricity providers. The electricity providers make enough profit from the end users to negate any need for an additional standing charge. The same goes for gas. It's just sheer greed. To say that the DNO or whoever needs to cover the cost of providing power to new homes, then it is the house builders who should foot the bill, not everyone else.
Richard its great that you are seeking to reduce standing charges however it is key to address the geographic inequality of standing charges across the UK - the further north we are the more we pay, despite the fact that Scotland produces most energy - renewables, gas and oil. Please please please adress this in your videos and response to Ofgem.
Thanks for helping us to understand this issue in greater detail Richard. Ofgem need heavily fining and a form of control of law set against these diabolical increases. In fact ofgem need an overt investigating full stop. I hope the problems we have with higher energy costs along with other increased costs especially in the supermarkets. Imo ofgem are worse than some jailed criminals.
All participants in the communications with Ofgem, will be inadvertently deemed as consenting blanketly, to any blanket decision made by Ofgem in the future, whereas there has never been any consent by the people for charges to be made, yet enforcement by police, locksmiths and bailiffs without any authority of any court was deemed sufficient State Terrorism to invoke confiscations by the Law Commission Report on Confiscations dated Nov 2022. Ofgem are in trouble because the increase in technology, means gas, electricity and water, being natural resources, belonging to earth, could never have been charged for in the first place let alone increasingly. Refunds are due going back 60 years. Damages also from sheer poverty and deaths of elderly from freezing to death. Many diseases from sewage and lead found in tap water. Fluoride poisoning. Male sterility from oestrogen poisoning.
Whilst I don’t really object to standing charges - it does have a cost to deliver the gas or electricity to our homes, I really do object to the publicity and actuality of ‘reducing the cost of energy’ is balanced out by the concurrent over inflating the standing charge by all proportion. Is giving with one hand and taking with the other. Yes costs have universally go up for all of us, BUT the cost of the standing charge has only gone up, not down. The profits to shareholders have remained constant not reduced with higher prices. We are all paying added costs to keep profits inflated. I also object to the price cap - being used as a target by the energy companies not as a cap or ceiling. A friend runs a small business from their home and can only have punitive business rates for their energy and cannot reduce their bills in any way at all, the expensive standing charge sees to that. Thank you for taking this on
Hi Richard just to say I've sent mine and bcc'd you in I have added some of my own comments but I do have to say I whole heartedly agree with you!! Thank you for everything you do!! Caroline
Gas is bought 5 years in advance, so WHY are we being charged extra when the price was known Five years ago. This is fraud, they want you cold and skint, many will suffer including myself this winter but this Stasi Starmer government don’t give a toss about the people of this country as they remove the winter fuel allowance that is vital to so many homes that are just above the benefit level. We pay for the illegal immigrants to have heated hotel rooms and three meals a day, they have never payed into the system and never had to fill in a 42 page questionnaire in order to access help. Disgusting politicians with their second homes will get their energy cost met without having any lift a finger. Reinstate our energy allowance immediately before people start to freeze to death.
I'm tempted to 'fix' with E.onNext; and I could save over £100 per year. However, they insist that I must agree to have a Smart Meter. I phoned a while ago to ask E.onNext if Smart Meters were mandatory with them and they said they were not. Now it seems to get a Fix (and a discount) I HAVE to have a Smart Meter. (I don't want one as, in the past, they caused me a lot of problems and didn't work properly.) Any suggestions? It seems like 'bribery' to get us to agree to a Smart Meter.
As a single person, and reducing my usage anyway, it doesn't make sense to opt in on a fixed rate deal. I wish that these fixed rate deals were beneficial for all energy users. 🤔
