Energy suppliers will be forced to tell customers cheapest tariff
Energy suppliers will be forced to tell customers the cheapest tariff they offer, it was revealed today.
Ofgem has pledged to make the system "simpler, fairer and more competitive" in a bid to end the confusion over complex tariffs which often put off customers switching their supplier.
The watchdog is also proposing to ban multi-tier tariffs to help users find the cheapest deals across the market.
Ian Marlee from Ofgem said they hoped to introduce some of the reforms by the middle of next year.
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Mr Marlee said there would be no more than four tariffs for both electricy and gas.
And Ofgem is considering proposing a scheme where suppliers offer vulnerable customers and those who have not switched for some time an estimate of the cheapest tariff across the market, including their rivals.
He also revealed the watchdog was proposing to force the energy giants to include personalised information on bills and statements, telling consumers if they were on the cheapest deal and how much they could save if they switched.
He said suppliers presented information in different ways and Ofgem wanted this simplified so customers "can compare like for like".
"We have the right to put in place licence conditions to make the market simpler," he said.
"We think this will improve competition in the market to keep the pressure on suppliers to keep prices low."
Comments
by Stork
Friday, October 19 2012, 5:22PM
“As far as domestic customers are concerned. Electricity and gas, are just that, electricity and gas. Power stations don't have a recipe book on generating different types of electricity at different times and on different days. The generators spin around, and produce "juice". If more or less is required, they just turn the "wick" up or down. When you buy your electricity from Scottish Power. The electricity is not delivered from some Scottish power station, it probably comes from Aberthaw, near Barry.
The same applies for gas. Gas is gas. When gas is pumped ashore into East Anglia, or Milford Haven. The gas doesn't go into the distribution pipelines with the customers or suppliers' names somehow written into it. The gas just goes into the pipelines. There's no difference between Scottish Power gas and EDF's gas. Therefore, the cost of transporting all this gas and electricity around the UK should be the same per unit cost.
I read today that wholesale gas prices were less 4 years ago than they are today, yet the energy companies are charging 25% more for their retail electricity than they were 4 years ago. The energy companies plead that they are hardly making any money, and they are investing heavily on this and that. However, when their profits are published, there's a full scale damage limitation excercise to throw consumers off the scent. We have an energy cartel in the UK, and so far, the Government have done nothing to bring the suppliers' to heel.”
by Neathboy234
Friday, October 19 2012, 11:39AM
“This will simply mean an end to cheap tariffs, and everyone paying the average price. But at the end of the day oil and gas prices are just going to keep on going up.
When asked where to invest money Mark Twain ones famously said "Buy land because they aren't making any more". No doubt if he were alive to day he would say buy oil and gas for the same reasons”