Energy firms inject competition into the market
The last few weeks have seen the likes of British Gas and Scottish & Southern reduce their energy rates for the UK consumer. While many have still criticised the size of these reductions, compared to the massive increase we saw last year, they have been well received in the main by struggling households. However, thankfully it appears that competition is set to return to the sector with more and more energy companies looking to grab the attention of customers looking to switch.
In the hustle and bustle of these headline grabbing reductions it is easy to forget that energy rates across the board are still significantly higher than this time last year. There is still concern amongst consumer groups that a number of energy companies in the UK are still maintaining their significant profit margins at the expense of the UK consumer. Whether the UK government has had a hand in the moves by British Gas and Scottish & Southern remains to be seen but there is still much to do to get the UK public back onside.
Thankfully the Russian gas disagreement seems to have died down and there are hopes that supply will be back to normal in the short term.
Share this..
Related stories
Is it fair to subsidise the energy industry?
After issuing a warning that UK consumers and businesses can expect to see energy costs increase because of the need to invest into a new breed of nuclear energy plants, the UK government has prompted the question - Is it fair to subsidise the energy sector?
The problem is, as we touched on in one of our earlier post, the vast majority of UK energy companies are owned by foreign par...
Investors take a back seat as risk factor grows
Investors in the worldwide stock market appear to be sitting on the sidelines waiting for definitive news on the direction of the worldwide stock market. This comes just months after many investors believed that the worldwide economy had turned the corner and was moving back towards a growth phase. So why have investors suddenly turned negative? One major issue appears to be sovereign debt in E...
Read MoreGovernment backed payment scheme failing small businesses
14/10/2013 The prompt payment code, backed by the UK government has been failing it’s objectives of ensuring that small suppliers are paid on time. Around 1,500 firms signed up to the scheme when it was originally set up in December 2008 in order to facilitate a need for small suppliers to recover over £30.2 billion in owed payments. However, it seems that the scheme, despite being supposed...
Read MoreCash for gold firms to be investigated by the OFT
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has today announced an investigation into the various cash for gold firms trading in the UK. Since the price of gold hit record highs we are seeing more and more adverts on the TV and in the popular press offering the chance to sell unwanted gold jewellery for cash. However, recently the OFT has received a spate of complaints about the price some customers have rec...
Read MoreGovernment lip-service to public sector reform revealed
The Press Association has today issued the details of a research project carried out over the last few weeks into public sector bonuses. In a damning indictment of the UK government's promise to reform the public sector it reveals that almost £130 million has been paid out to civil servants in the UK over the last year. This equates to almost £2.5 million a week on "performance related bonuses"...
Read More