Pass The Hot Water Bottle

Photo by David Ritter.
Photo taken from http://www.sxc.hu/

So much for the much heralded Energy Summit where, we were promised by Head boy Cameron, the Power Supplier would be brought to book over their rocketing prices and excessive annual profits. These have spiralled from fifteen pounds per household to an electrifying one hundred and twenty-five pounds in the last six months, when wholesale energy costs have, in fact, been steadily falling.

According to Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, it’s our fault for not shopping around to get the best deal and not paying by direct debit. So much for coming to the aid of the hard-pressed consumer then.

With over forty different tariffs available, all based on an unintelligible formula which would baffle even the brightest maths graduate, selecting the best option for you is nigh-on impossible, whilst people on pre-pay meters are out of this savings loop altogether.

As for paying by direct debit, some twenty percent of the population – principally the elderly and low paid – do not have access to a bank account that enables them to take advantage of paying in this way.  What’s more, if they are largely reliant on the vagaries of Government benefit payments or have a shaky credit history, no matter how many years ago, banks are generally reluctant to accept them as a customer.

Photo by Graham Briggs.
Photo taken from http://www.sxc.hu/

If you do succeed, the maximum seven and a half percent annual saving you can expect pales into insignificance against the eight hundred percent profit trousered by suppliers from your payments.

So where to now? Update your heating system and improve home insulation.  Fine, if you are an owner or rent from a responsible local authority. But private landlords, even if they let property through a local authority, are not obliged to carry out these improvements: Nor are they likely to unless they are allowed to hike rents to unacceptable levels to pay for these costs.

So, for several million of the most vulnerable in our “Big Society” its time once again to pull on another sweater, blow on your hands and move further to the back of the queue.

R. A. E.