Concern over Energy Company Merger
May 24, 2006 at 11:52 am
UK company Centrica have expressed their concern to the European Commission over a proposed merger between Gaz de France and Suez, stating that it may threaten UK gas supplies and see a rise in prices.
Centrica are worried that the combined company would have more control over gas entering and crossing Belgium which then feeds the major pipeline to Norfolk in the UK. This pipeline – the interconnector – is already heavily relied on for our winter gas supplies and the proposed merger would therefore make the UK heavily dependant on Suez-Gaz de France.
Their control over the gas supply could be detrimental for British consumers as if supplies were restricted, gas bills would go up. Industry regulator Ofgem estimated that we overpaid £1.5 million last winter because of the interconnector not working at its full capacity.
Huge Switch Rate from British Gas Customers
May 19, 2006 at 11:19 am
It was announced by Centrica this month that British Gas have lost 350,000 customers this year already. They still do have a large market share with over 17 million customers but have seen 1.5 million move away from their services since significant prise rises began in 2004.
British Gas have increased their bills by a whopping 22% since February this year to try and keep up with the continual rise in the price of wholesale gas. Despite this seemingly huge price rises, it doesn’t seem as if the company benefited from this extra revenue straight away – not feeling the benefit until late March. This was due to a combination of soaring wholesale prices and also additional costs incurred during a particularly cold winter when engineers were in high demand.
Centrica are hoping that current development to improve the reliability of the UK’s gas supplies – for example, new pipelines from the Netherlands and Norway – should contribute towards reducing gas prices in future winters.
Have you been forced to switch energy suppliers because of rocketing heating bills? Have you noticed a difference or are high costs being felt across the board. Leave a comment and let us know your story?
