General Chat

"There is no simple link between crude oil prices and retail prices on any given day."

Umm yes there is....as Maggie said....when their costs go up the pump price rockets up immediately....when their price goes down it eventually goes down at the pumps....tried to keep it simple.

That's the article Kense.

Yes, prices were dropped - but not by anything like a similar percentage to the drop in their costs.
Indeed, the article says, people could save money by changing provider - one can only assume from that, that Scottish Power are happy to rake in profits and give their customers a 'token' reduction.

Don't know about where you live, but around here, it took weeks before Petrol prices dropped. Seems that when prices go up, this immediately shows at the pump.
When the price of crude goes down, it takes weeks to take effect :-(

This seems to be the news about Scottish Power's profit in 2015.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-31522742

In fact they do seem to have dropped prices as a result of that. Also some 7% of the profit was due to the weakness of the euro against the pound, so thanks to Brexit that will cut their profits this year.

As for fuel, Iooking at the rates I have paid over the last three years it seems to follow the price of crude oil quite well. There don't seem to be any instances where the price has risen when the price of crude has fallen.

Gosh, a simple question, yet it apparently necessitated patronising 'mansplaining'.

Amazingly, I'm well aware that tax and VAT are most of the price of fuel - but nonetheless fuel prices go down as well as up - haven't you noticed?
So, IF crude oil prices went down and pump prices went up, would you think that fair, would you be happy with it?

Okay late in the day but heyho.....Rollo do stop trying to prove you're better than some of us....it's rather stinking of look at me look at me.

So if Labour wins on Thursday what position will dear old Diana hold?

As for fuel.....so will Labour reduce the tax on fuel?......they need all the money they can get to pay for all the things he's promised.

Energy companies rely on most consumers not looking for better deals each year.

They penalise those who have struggled with payments or who are in rented properties by the installation of meters which cost far more per unit used than those of us on monthly/quarterly billing.

I have no problem with them making a good operating profit but not by penalising the poor and less savvy.

Can't answer again?
Have to resort to insults (yaaawwwn)?
Shame........
I'm waiting with baited breath for the next 'pearl of wisdom' from your oh! so amusing repertoire.

Why do you say that, Rolo?

Is it because neither you nor IGP can be bothered to read anything properly, and you believe an insult is better than a reasoned argument?

It's acceptable for a corporation to increase it's profits on the backs of it's users is it?

Let's use a commodity you may understand.
How about Petrol prices?.
Oil prices plummet to half, yet the cost of petrol stays the same.
You'd be happy would you?

That would be the Diane Abbot who all the Labour lovies will be voting in on Thursday would it, along with her best mate

..You missed the bit about the profit being because of LOWER WHOLESALE COSTS

...so they didn't bother lowering energy prices for their customers then?
They wouldn't have made zero profit at all, and reducing bills as their costs were lower is just being HONEST.

But, according to you, more than doubling your profit on the backs of your customers is 'acceptable' in corporate finance? Really?
You're happy to be ripped off for the sake of the Company?

You really have no idea about corporate finance. £114 million profit for a company this size is nothing.

If they made zero profit by reducing prices, how much would it reduce their consumers bills by? Hardly anything perhaps £10 - £20 per year?

...so you didn't bother reading the list of 'cons' then?

Utility companies aren't making huge profits? (edit:information from the BBC)
Scottish Power's Spanish parent company, Iberdrola, said their profits rose from 37m euros (£27m) to 156m euros (£114m) between 2014 to 2015.

That's not a huge profit??????
and:
"Much of the increase was due to lower wholesale energy costs"

..as for your comment : "Much of these overheads are taken up by staff costs so perhaps we should look at putting some of them out of work".

Overheads? A problem, with a yearly profit like that?
And, of course, we could really do with more people out of work!!
After all, they're not 'executives' so their lives don't matter do they?

Just because Malcolm has a problem it doesn't mean that Smart Meters are rubbish.

There are several millions of other households out there whose meters are working perfectly well.

The main reason for installing them is to get regular and more accurate readings and to eliminate the meter reader which is an expensive overhead. As Rollo has already pointed out, they will join the ranks of lamp lighters, clock setters, railway guards and crossing keepers, piano tuners and shorthand typists.

The optional monitor you get is an added bonus. If you don't want to check it then don't bother, but you are missing out if you have high energy appliances that you are not aware of.

There is also the popular view that utility companies are making huge profits at the expense of the consumer. Actually the figure is small, around 1% which is around half what the big supermarkets make.

So, even if profits were reduced to zero, then the annual saving to a household would be insignificant.

That's not to say that prices should come down but the problem is not necessarily with excess profits, but rather with high overheads on top of the wholesale cost of the fuel. These are the main areas that need to be scrutinized.

Much of these overheads are taken up by staff costs so perhaps we should look at putting some of them out of work.

So true Zzzz - and we're all paying for it - apparently (at the moment) £6 a year.


Smart meters however are not without their criticisms. Here's a roundup of the cons:
•Costs outweighing savings: The savings linked to smart meters could take a number of years to offset against the costs applied to energy bills to help with implementation.
•Delays to rolls out: Since the roll out project begun in 2013, there have been a number of technical setbacks, suggesting the 2020 goal is unrealistic.
•Compatibility between devices: Each provider has its own implementation programme and some testing has shown there is difficulty linking the technology between providers.
•Data concerns: Smart meters mean that energy companies will have more data than ever before and security breaches could pose a risk to personal data.


(From Moneysupermarket.com)

Being forever cynical if we manage to reduce usage and so pay less the companys will put the price up anyway, we aren't going to be better off in the long run. :-0

Thank's Maggie, my supplier has told me they aren't getting a reading, Yes i know it SHOULD be sending readings BUT NOBODY IS DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. After two & a half years i guess they are not interested as they have got their money for just fitting them.

Rolo, Malcolm's meter is obviously NOT sending readings automatically.
Anyone can say it SHOULD be sending them automatically, it patently isn't.

If the gas company is using incompetent fitters - why?
Why has no-one gone back to fix Malcolm's oh-so-smart meter?

Could it be because the gas/electricity companies are raking it in.
Smart meter installed - tick box- receive dosh - move on.
Smart meter? No it's a pile of poo. What do they care, they've got their money.

I feel another 'McNicholas' scheme here.
That government funded caper was to fix cable TV installation bases in to every house, at a hidden cost to all.
I've never met anyone who has actually HAD cable TV - or at least not that attached to the boxes McNicholas installed..
As soon as they'd finished, SKY came about.

Your smart meter should be sending gas/electric meter readings automatically at whatever interval you have chosen. That is the whole point no more estimated bills no more hanging around for the meter man.

No more cheating either.

If the gas fitter is incompetent that is hardly the fault of the SMET technology. Apparently the govt does intend to make smart meters compulsory when the installed base is high enough. New and replacement meters must be smart2 by end 2018.

A smart prepayment ststem used in Northern Ireland is to be rolled out in the rest of the UK.

Had the new meters fitted Dec. 2015, two days later gas leaking from a fractured pipe could of blown my house-up, no heating for to days. Had that fixed, six months later it was not sending the reading, so an engineer came & fixed it, BUT I STILL HAVE TO SEND MY READINGS TO MY SUPPIERS. New meters!!! a waste of time & money.

The only gas we have is the boiler for the central heating (in the garage), no gas actually in the house. Our walls are insulated, as is our loft, we have fairly new double glazing and I think, our monthly bills are quite good. £78 a month for a 4 bed house with two TVs,Two desk top PCs, tumble drier, electric cooker, microwave, washing machine fridge separate freezer and the gas CH, I don't like the cold so the heating is kept reasonably high in cold weather.