Energy suppliers going bust

Paddy O'Dors said:
Tbf the government price cap shows they have little faith in the free market, just like they've had to appoint a regulator and an Ombudsman for the industry.

Energy is pretty much an essential service, not a luxury and companies know this.
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It should be nationalised in my opinion, it's a necessity to life, not a luxury. People can't live without heating, water, electricity.. it shouldn't be left to the open market.

Or somehow have a nationalised basic service, like we pay NI for the NHS (if my understanding is correct) , but retain private suppliers for those people who want or need specific serviced - as we have in the private healthcare sector

Admittedly I haven't thought this through
 


AndrewP said:
I didn't realise, what brought you back?
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I was a foreign student paying top dollar for course fees for the equivalent of GCSE's, while waiting for my green card application to be processed. It eventually came through after 9 years of waiting. When I got it, I'd long since moved home (ran out of money after 4 years) and I had a son on the way in the UK.

My mother, brother and sister are naturalised and all live on the outskirts of Dallas so I visit regularly.

Therefore the user name still applies.
 
TexasMackem said:
I was a foreign student paying top dollar for course fees for the equivalent of GCSE's, while waiting for my green card application to be processed. It eventually came through after 9 years of waiting. When I got it, I'd long since moved home (ran out of money after 4 years) and I had a son on the way in the UK.

My mother, brother and sister are naturalised and all live on the outskirts of Dallas so I visit regularly.

Therefore the user name still applies.
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Di you still have the green card then?
 
AndrewP said:
Di you still have the green card then?
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No. I did return for a few months to sort out all the paperwork, social security number etc. but under the terms of the green card you can't (or couldn't) leave the US for 12 months or more without special dispensation, which I didn't have. I had to make the choice between being a dad or an American.
 
TexasMackem said:
No. I did return for a few months to sort out all the paperwork, social security number etc. but under the terms of the green card you can't (or couldn't) leave the US for 12 months or more without special dispensation, which I didn't have. I had to make the choice between being a dad or an American.
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Only one winner there then!
 
tunstallhill said:
It should be nationalised in my opinion, it's a necessity to life, not a luxury. People can't live without heating, water, electricity.. it shouldn't be left to the open market.

Or somehow have a nationalised basic service, like we pay NI for the NHS (if my understanding is correct) , but retain private suppliers for those people who want or need specific serviced - as we have in the private healthcare sector

Admittedly I haven't thought this through
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So should households be able to use as much gas, electric and water as they want all paid for out of taxes? That wouldn't be good for encouraging people to be energy efficient.

Even if you want the government to be the sole supplier and people pay for usage then we are still at the mercy of the international markets.

Food and clothing are also essential but we leave those to the open market

Once you have a well through through solution then let us all know.
 
Darlo1973 said:
So should households be able to use as much gas, electric and water as they want all paid for out of taxes? That wouldn't be good for encouraging people to be energy efficient.

Even if you want the government to be the sole supplier and people pay for usage then we are still at the mercy of the international markets.

Food and clothing are also essential but we leave those to the open market

Once you have a well through through solution then let us all know.
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No, maybe just have one nationalised energy company that is ran not-for-profit. I'm not a politician or an economist but I am entitled to have ideological driven opinion. I do believe if a government wanted to do it, they could

We also have charities that are widely used that supply people with food and clothes and other essentials when they can't afford it, so your comparison isn't entirely water tight
 
tunstallhill said:
No, maybe just have one nationalised energy company that is ran not-for-profit. I'm not a politician or an economist but I am entitled to have ideological driven opinion. I do believe if a government wanted to do it, they could

We also have charities that are widely used that supply people with food and clothes and other essentials when they can't afford it, so your comparison isn't entirely water tight
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The energy suppliers are essentially "not for profit" now. They are going bust because they cannot make a profit so I can't see a state run energy supplier being much cheaper.

Idealistic ideas are fair enough but politicians and economists are needed to make them workable.

Yes, why not involve charities? Help the Aged could become an energy supplier.
 
Darlo1973 said:
The energy suppliers are essentially "not for profit" now. They are going bust because they cannot make a profit so I can't see a state run energy supplier being much cheaper.

Idealistic ideas are fair enough but politicians and economists are needed to make them workable.

Yes, why not involve charities? Help the Aged could become an energy supplier.
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No they aren't non-profit. They have shareholders who take home millions in dividends when business is going well, and get bailed out by the government when it's going not so well

My ideals apply to the healthcare and education and work relatively well, I don't see why water and warmth can't be classified as a necessity to life just like education and healthcare
 
Darlo1973 said:
So should households be able to use as much gas, electric and water as they want all paid for out of taxes? That wouldn't be good for encouraging people to be energy efficient.

Even if you want the government to be the sole supplier and people pay for usage then we are still at the mercy of the international markets.

Food and clothing are also essential but we leave those to the open market

Once you have a well through through solution then let us all know.
Click to expand...

When they were nationalised previously you still had to pay for your usage and was billed for it.
 
Darlo1973 said:
So should households be able to use as much gas, electric and water as they want all paid for out of taxes? That wouldn't be good for encouraging people to be energy efficient.

Even if you want the government to be the sole supplier and people pay for usage then we are still at the mercy of the international markets.

Food and clothing are also essential but we leave those to the open market

Once you have a well through through solution then let us all know.
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Aye but transmission and transport costs will come down and therefor fuel prices the amount of companies that are involved before you pay for your gas off your supplier is ridiculous. If it was all privatised then all this profits and therefore costs would disappear
 
tunstallhill said:
It should be nationalised in my opinion, it's a necessity to life, not a luxury. People can't live without heating, water, electricity.. it shouldn't be left to the open market.

Or somehow have a nationalised basic service, like we pay NI for the NHS (if my understanding is correct) , but retain private suppliers for those people who want or need specific serviced - as we have in the private healthcare sector

Admittedly I haven't thought this through
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It's a good point, every country should be self sustainable with the basics.
 
tunstallhill said:
It should be nationalised in my opinion, it's a necessity to life, not a luxury. People can't live without heating, water, electricity.. it shouldn't be left to the open market.

Or somehow have a nationalised basic service, like we pay NI for the NHS (if my understanding is correct) , but retain private suppliers for those people who want or need specific serviced - as we have in the private healthcare sector

Admittedly I haven't thought this through
Click to expand...

That's not the case, the NI you and your employer pay goes into the same big pot as most other taxes and can be used for whatever purposes the goverment feel like. What makes NI special is to the individual contributing as it entitles you to the following benefits depending on how long you have been paying it:

Bereavement benefit
Employment and Support Allowance
Jobseeker's Allowance
Statutory Sick Pay
UK State Pension
 
Darlo1973 said:
And if you didn't like your supplier you had no choice of changing.
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I had Southern Electric/British Gas (the only suppliers I could have) when I had my first place and can honestly say I never had a problem in those 10 years. Prices never spiked, customer service was great.

It's ironic you mention changing providers but the number of small suppliers is one of the current problems. I worked in the distribution side for SSE for a few years and could see all of these problems building up with small suppliers and their inability to be able to buy large amounts of fuel a year in advance. Their small customer base and the promise of unicorns to try and help them build it quickly means their business model is built on sand.

FWIW I've had my current place since 2002 (when the supply market was deregulated) and have always been with one of the bigger suppliers. This current situation is not the first time this has happened in the last 10 years (smaller scale obviously) but the warning signs have been there for a while with small suppliers unable to hedge on the wholesale markets.
 

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