Following David Cameron’s announcement that he will ‘be legislating so that energy companies have to give the lowest tariff to their customers’ Roger Godsiff commented: “The power supply companies have been ripping off the consumers ever since privatisation took place. Their prices have gone up and up and their excuses are always that their prices have to take into account ‘market conditions’. When, however, ‘market conditions’ indicate that there should be reductions in prices the power supply companies are always very slow to reduce their prices!
The Prime Minister’s off-the-cuff comment has caused confusion with some Government supporters saying that if energy supply companies are forced to ‘give the lowest tariff to the consumer’ that this will mean the end of competition in the power supply market. They are right and I very much welcome this because there has never been any real competition in the energy supply market.”
He went on to say: “What has happened is that, whereas when there was one electricity supplier and one gas supplier prices were overseen by a Government Department which was accountable to Parliament, power supply companies, since privatisation, have introduced highly complicated pricing policies which are almost unfathomable to the average customer but which mean in reality they are charging the same sort of prices albeit under different guises. The one difference, of course, is that whereas when there was only one publicly owned gas and electricity supplier any ‘profits’ went back to the Treasury, the profits which the power companies now make are paid as dividends or to enhance share value in order to justify the executives of those companies earning massive bonuses.
As I have said there is no competition within the power supply industry despite what has been said and if David Cameron’s comments do result in
cheaper prices for consumers then he will have my full support. I suspect, however, that this is not going to happen.

This article appeared in the November edition of Roger's newsletter 'Postcard from Parliament'