Is It Fair To Ask Energy Firms To Reduce Their Margins In Troubled Times?
As the debate about the UK energy sector continues to rage there are growing calls for energy companies to reduce their profit margins in times of trouble and assist their customers as much as possible. However, when you bear in mind that these companies have been privatised and are now operating in a free market, is this really a reasonable thing to expect?
One of the problems which the government has at the moment is the fact that all energy companies are working to the letter of their various regulatory obligations. They are investing money in new projects, improving the older supply lines and paying taxes to the UK authorities - what more can the government really ask?
They have been able to justify their recent price increases with movements in the energy markets and they also have an obligation to their shareholders to produce a return on capital investment. The idea of a wind fall tax is also a very strange idea in that why don't the government instruct the energy companies to give a rebate directly back to their customers?
Surely if the government was only looking out for the interests of energy company customers they would look to return funds to them directly?
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