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Energy Crisis

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    Another day, another failure of regulation.

    Energy companies are obliged to take on customers who are having a completely new supply.

    https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...isis-in-market

    Sarah Greaves*, a single mother who has spent the last six months renovating a home near Stroud, was left facing a winter without proper heating because no energy supplier was prepared to take her on as a customer and install a meter. <snip/>
    ​​​
    As part of the plan to modernise her home, Greaves asked builders to rip out the old, inefficient electric storage heaters and replace them with gas central heating. While the house is set to be connected to the mains at the beginning of December – with most of the building work finished about the same time – she says there is no prospect of having a working gas supply any time soon.<snip/>

    She says she first approached SSE, which already supplies the property’s electricity, but was told that it was not currently taking on new customers because of the “strain the fuel market is under”. Since then she has approached British Gas, Ecotricity, E.ON, EDF, Octopus and two smaller suppliers, which have all refused.<snip/>

    After Guardian Money’s intervention, SSE, which is now part of Ovo, told Greaves that it will now connect her home, and install the meter on 10 December. It is also reviewing why her request was not escalated to the correct team internally, and the messages she was sent.

    An Ofgem spokesperson says suppliers are obliged to take on customers when requested: “We’ve been clear that suppliers must comply with licence conditions despite the challenging market situation.
    "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

    Comment


      British Gas and Eon think they can charge customers what they like.

      https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b...ules-jrvjpb8bf

      Britain’s biggest energy companies have been threatened with fines of up to 10 per cent of their revenue after charging customers hundreds of pounds over the price cap.
      British Gas and Eon face the prospect of an investigation by Ofgem, the energy regulator, after only allowing households to apply for packages that are £700 more expensive than the level of the cap, which was put in place by Theresa May in January 2019 to protect consumers.
      "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

      Comment




        Bulb gone!


        https://www.theguardian.com/business...administration
        Bulb Energy has collapsed into administration, the company said on Monday.

        The energy regulator will rescue Bulb’s 1.7 million customers after drawing up plans over the weekend to put the company into a special administration.

        A Bulb spokesperson said: “We’ve decided to support Bulb being placed into special administration, which means it will continue to operate with no interruption of service or supply to members. If you’re a Bulb member, please don’t worry as your energy supply is secure and all credit balances are protected.”
        "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

        Comment


          https://www.theguardian.com/business...-supplier-bust
          Another two UK energy suppliers have gone bust after the collapse of Bulb Energy earlier this week, bringing the number of households affected by a supplier failure since August closer to the 4m mark.

          The energy regulator confirmed that Orbit Energy, which supplied 65,000 households, had shut down alongside Entice Energy, which had 5,400 customers.

          That brings the total number of suppliers that have failed to 24 in fewer than 12 weeks, as record energy market prices have taken their toll amid a global gas supply crunch.
          "You’re just a bad memory who doesn’t know when to go away" JR

          Comment


            Private sector utilities only survive if they can increase profit year on year without significant investment or reserves. Because any money left over is paid out to shareholders, not reinvested.
            selling off public utilities to the private sector is a great way of generating short term income for a government who are no longer around (or blamed) for future problems.
            …Maybe we ain’t that young anymore

            Comment


              Originally posted by SueEllen View Post
              Another day, another failure of regulation.

              Energy companies are obliged to take on customers who are having a completely new supply.

              https://www.theguardian.com/money/20...isis-in-market

              Sarah Greaves*, a single mother who has spent the last six months renovating a home near Stroud, was left facing a winter without proper heating because no energy supplier was prepared to take her on as a customer and install a meter.
              ​​​
              As part of the plan to modernise her home, Greaves asked builders to rip out the old, inefficient electric storage heaters and replace them with gas central heating. While the house is set to be connected to the mains at the beginning of December – with most of the building work finished about the same time – she says there is no prospect of having a working gas supply any time soon.

              She says she first approached SSE, which already supplies the property’s electricity, but was told that it was not currently taking on new customers because of the “strain the fuel market is under”. Since then she has approached British Gas, Ecotricity, E.ON, EDF, Octopus and two smaller suppliers, which have all refused.

              After Guardian Money’s intervention, SSE, which is now part of Ovo, told Greaves that it will now connect her home, and install the meter on 10 December. It is also reviewing why her request was not escalated to the correct team internally, and the messages she was sent.

              An Ofgem spokesperson says suppliers are obliged to take on customers when requested: “We’ve been clear that suppliers must comply with licence conditions despite the challenging market situation.
              SSE are a bunch of totally useless bastards. I recently moved two small shops into one big one, all in contract with SSE.
              I was told I wasn't allowed to advise them of vacating the premises in advance and it could only be done on the day or afterwards.
              Contacted them on the day, with meter readings for final billing. They then refused to send the final bills to any address other than the supply address.
              No matter how many times I phoned or emailed (2 weeks generally to get an email answered), they would not forward a bill to either my home address or my remaining premises (despite supplying that as well). The fact that I would never see their final bills was totally lost on them. I gave up in the end and now owe them an indeterminate sum that they won't tell me about.
              When freedom comes along, don't PISH in the water supply.....

              Comment


                Zog gone...
                https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59488818

                (Meanwhile OutfoxTheMarket have just put my DD up again)
                …Maybe we ain’t that young anymore

                Comment


                  A driver has fainted after delivering a thousand Duracell batteries to a shop.

                  Flip me, another energy supplier collapses.
                  Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by WTFH View Post
                    Zog gone...
                    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59488818

                    (Meanwhile OutfoxTheMarket have just put my DD up again)
                    Nooo I loved Zog. I was customer number 213! And I am with OutfoxTheMarket. I'm guessing that it's better for them to put their prices up (yes, again!) rather than go bust?
                    Last edited by kloos; 1 December 2021, 15:22.

                    Comment


                      FYI for those wanting to know what to do:
                      www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/what-happens-if-your-energy-supplier-goes-bust

                      They are the 27th energy company to go bust this year.

                      Comment

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