British Gas slashes electricity bills
May 22, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Frustration regarding the apparent unwillingness of energy companies to pass on savings to customers feeling the financial impacts of the credit crunch has been mounting for several months now. It is therefore nice, to say the least, to see British Gas announcing a ten per cent reduction for its customers in the United Kingdom.
This reduction represents the largest cut in energy prices so far this year and approximately one in every four households is set to benefit from the price decrease. British Gas currently provides electricity to 4.5 million customers and this latest news is likely to be music to their ears.
British Gas customers, until this latest move, had been provided with more reason than most to complain. Providers including E.ON, Scottish Power, NPower, and EDF Energy, had all introduced reductions of various degrees this year but British Gas had decided not to make a move with regards to its electricity prices until now (although the company did cut its gas charges by ten per cent in February).
The managing director of British Gas, Phil Bentley, stated that the company wishes to do what it can for its customers. He continued to reveal that the company is happy to be “able to cut an average 10 per cent” from their standard electricity prices and “continue to help” customers during the credit crunch.
British Gas has been quick to point out its view that this latest reduction makes it the cheapest supplier in Britain on average. There are some who still believe the reductions are not large enough but, at the moment, any price decrease is welcome to homeowners feeling the pinch.
Smart Meters planned by 2020
May 15, 2009 at 4:27 pm
The days of a man knocking at the door in the middle of the day to check the meter might soon be a thing of the past. Our electricity and gas meters are to enter the 21st century, which will mean no man at the door, no inaccurate estimated bills, and a much more energy efficient system overall.
Smart meters are the future of energy in the homes. Unlike the existing meters, which have the little numbers ticking around like something out of a museum, the new meters can be remotely recorded by your energy providers, so you don’t have to let someone into your house when you’re eating your dinner. They also have a rather clever display on them so customers can monitor exactly how much gas and electricity they are using.
The individual energy companies will be in charge of installing the new meters into their customers’ homes and the estimated total cost will be £7 billion, which is £15 for each of us. But then don’t gasp at this figure quite yet because the savings will more than make you smile. Predictions are that £10 from that sum will be knocked off by the energy suppliers due to the savings they will make on their services such as staff that read the meters and call centre workers. The Smart meters are much more energy efficient so it’s thought customers will also save up to £35 on their annual bills. By the end of it all we could each be in profit to the tune of about twenty quid.
Not only is this good for our wallets but it’s good for the planet. 2.6 million tonnes of carbon will be saved from simply installing these gizmos. It’s all good news for everyone apart from the man who comes to read the meter.
£5000 for those of you who get an electric car
May 11, 2009 at 2:47 pm
The UK is aiming to lead the world in the quest to make electric motor vehicles the norm. The transport secretary, Geoff Noon, and the ubiquitous Peter Mandelson have, this month, sent a charge through the UK’s electric car industry with a planned £250 million injection. Plans have been drawn up and will take effect in 2011, which will see a maximum allowance for carbon emissions from our cars here in the UK. Getting people to make the switch and consider electric motors is not going to be easy, so the government have come up with a £5000 carrot to dangle in front of their eyes.
The money will help fund the purchase of a new electrically powered car, which at the moment is quite limited in choice and numbers. One of the most popular and widely known models currently in the marketplace is the G-Wiz, which retails at around £8000. But the running cost of an electric car is a million miles away from that of a petrol or diesel car. The annual charge will be only £180 and you don’t pay road tax, congestion charges, or parking in built up city area such as Westminster either.
Sadly it’s the price of fuel at the pumps and cash incentives such as the £5000 that will sway most people to go electric, rather than the obvious environmental benefits. The electric car cuts the carbon emissions down by two thirds and that figure is bound to improve. Part of the £250 million is going to be put towards dozens of charging points all around London so people can top up. It will also be dotting 200 vehicles around the capital for people to try before they buy. In the last year there have been financial incentives for scrapping old cars across Europe, but will £5000 be enough to make us plump for the battery-powered car in the UK?
1 in 3 in the UK are getting the wrong electricity bill
May 1, 2009 at 4:22 am
It is bad enough when the bills are right, so the last thing poor energy customers in the UK need these days is for their bills to be wrong or to receive the same bill twice. This seems to have been the case though for 1 out of every 3 living in the UK and no one seems to be doing much about it.
According to uSwitch.com, over a third of households in the UK are suffering at the hands of the Scrooges at the energy companies who supply our gas and electricity. They have been pulled up about their behaviour over the last three years but time and time again have proved unable to get the right readings or direct debit deductions. They are even worse than the water companies (who have been dragged through the mud of late in relation to wrong meter readings), the banks, the local councils and even the lovely boys and girls from the Inland Revenue. Over nine million people have had to flag errors in their energy bills over the last year according to the figures from uSwitch, which is just unacceptable.
There are 11 million people finding alien bills landing on their doormats with figures they know nothing about. It seems estimated bills are just not accurate anymore and many customers are finding themselves with debts they never knew they had. One of the ways energy companies are seeking to improve their services is by adopting a scheme similar to that of water meters and asking customers to text, email or phone in their meter readings so the bills are more accurate. Something needs to be done before we’re all either cut off or bankrupt.
