Today’s report for the UK predicts that electricity bills for domestic consumers will rise again in the near future, over and above the increases already announced this year, with serious consequences for millions of households.”
Last week, energy providers in the UK started what is expected to be a new round of price rises increasing bills by ten per cent. The typical family bill is now more than £110 a month for the first time. Industry experts believe that prices may have to rise by twenty per cent to reflect the latest global increase in oil prices.
Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, should be “very watchful” amid fears that the market is being dominated by a handful of firms. The report says there are “concerns that the UK’s energy markets are not functioning as efficiently as they should”.
The UK Government is criticised for failing to invest enough in the infrastructure renewable energy by means of wind power which would make British consumers less exposed to global price rises.
It also draws attention to the large windfall gains made by energy firms from a new EU-wide system for trading emissions which is thought to have been overly-generous to the utilities.
It is clear that there are very real problems in the energy markets at all levels, and “Ofgem is going to have to demonstrate a rather greater sense of urgency than has been apparent so far.”
“Currently, with more than one in three pensioner households likely to be in fuel poverty by the end of the year, the Government and energy companies are clearly failing to protect older people from the impact of price hikes.”