The Sun and Citizen’s Advice are absolutely right to scrutinise profits made by energy companies and Ofgem controls will get tougher
Under the regulation of Ofgem, energy costs have fallen by 17 per cent and power cuts have halved
THE Sun and Citizen’s Advice are quite right to scrutinise the profits of network companies.
It’s the job of Ofgem — which regulates these monopoly businesses — to ensure consumers get value for money as well as a good service.
Under our regulation, costs have fallen by 17 per cent and power cuts have halved.
But in many cases, network companies’ profits are higher than expected.
These companies have benefited from rock-bottom interest rates, making it cheaper to invest billions in the network.
Ofgem has been encouraging some firms to make voluntary contributions to consumers.
Yesterday SGN became the latest to respond.
Voluntary commitments so far will result in more than £650million being returned to consumers through lower network charges on energy bills.
But not all have acted.
We hope Northern Gas Networks and Wales & West Utilities will do the right thing.
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Ofgem is planning for the next price controls starting in 2021, when we decide how much companies can spend.
The next controls will be tougher with lower overall returns — giving consumers a better deal.