LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL...

Profits before people

One of the real long lasting legacies from the blighted wasted years of Conservative and New Labour rule in the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's is the fact that the members of the 'Big 6' energy (cartel) companies can continue unchecked to fleece their customers with little or non existent regulation. Ofgem (which nominally regulates the energy industry) has produced statistics that show that members of the 'Big 6' have more than doubled their retail profit margins over the last 18 months and are earning an average of £95 pound profit per household on those who hold dual fuel bills (a 7% profit on previous figures). Ofgem estimates that profits per household will reach or pass the £100 pound mark within the next 12 months. Recently acquired statistics from EDF, British Gas and the rest of the cartel members show that their profit margins from power generation, which is run as a separate operation form the business of energy sale to customers, came in at around 24% in 2011 and has risen since. Ofgem revealed that the average profit margins for energy generation within the cartel rose from 18.4% in 2010 to 24.4% in 2011. All of the 'Big 6' cartel members ramped up their energy charges between October 2012 and January 2013 to squeeze as much as they can from their customers. Even the members of the 'Big 6 ' energy cartel are perhaps getting a little embarrassed by their own blatant profiteering and their own management bonus culture as save for via Ofgem and the press it is becoming increasingly difficult to find just how much they are squeezing from us.