Following recent and substantial increases in the prices of gas and electricity by ‘the big six’ it has been announced that these energy companies are now making £125 profit per customer – a 3 year high – in contrast to the £15 profit per customer in June of this year.
Tim Yeo MP, chair of the Energy and Climate Change Committee has described this as ’absolutely crass behaviour by the energy companies’. He also predicts that most families will face their highest ever electricity and gas bills this winter.
The findings are based on energy bills remaining unchanged for the next year. Ofgem has predicated that profit margins will reduce to £90 per customer next year, but this would still represent a £75 increase in less than one year.
The average dual-fuel bill is now £1,345 per year following the recent price hikes by the major energy suppliers.
“When consumers face energy bills at around £1,345 they must have complete confidence that this price is set by companies competing in a fully competitive market,” said Ofgem’s chief executive Alistair Buchanan.
“At the moment that is not the case.”
Flash Carbon of the Triple Glazing Superheroes was gobsmacked by these findings, but did offer hope to homeowners across the country: ‘Although there is very little that the average person can do about the prices that energy companies charge, they can do a number of things to ensure that they use their heating as little as possible and do not fill the pockets of their energy supplier.’
‘Loft and cavity wall insulation are great ways to keep heat inside the home, as are triple glazed windows. Windows can account for anything up to 20% of the surface area of a home and poorly insulated windows will undermine the good work done by other products such as loft and cavity insulation,’ he continued.
‘Triple glazing is considerably more thermally efficient than even A-rated windows and – bearing in mind the current cost of gas – could save a homeowner more than £10,000 over the recommended lifetime of the windows.’