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"UK energy companies overcharging"

Friday, 15 January 2016 2:13 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 15 January 2016 2:13 PM ]

A new report says energy companies in the UK are overcharging their clients.

A new report says energy companies in England are overcharging their clients in many cases.

The report by the energy regulator Ofgem said prices failing to fall in line with dropping wholesale costs.

“Domestic gas and electricity prices should be cheaper for the vast majority of people,” Chief Executive of Ofgem, Dermot Nolan said.

He noted that wholesale energy costs make up nearly half of a domestic bill, and have fallen by about a third in the last 12 to 18 months.

According to the state-funded BBC, Energy UK, which represents the major energy companies, insisted that there was a competitive market of 34 suppliers and that people should switch for savings of hundreds of pounds.

“The industry had made mistakes in the past in failing to assist those languishing on variable deals but that the situation had improved alongside increased competition,” Chief Executive of the trade body Lawrence Slade said.

BBC said pressure is mounting on the UK's big six energy suppliers to cut their prices in line with falling costs after the latest analysis showed wholesale gas and electricity prices in the UK hit a five-year low at the end of 2015. Meanwhile, figures published recently showed the cost of energy on the wholesale market tumbled to £36.76 per megawatt hour on the Power Index, compiled by market information provider ICIS.

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