Graph: Competition between the Big Six isn’t working

This very helpful graph from IPPR sets out exactly why the failure of competition between the Big Six energy companies is having such an impact on household energy bills.

This very helpful graph from IPPR sets out exactly why the failure of competition between the Big Six energy companies is having such an impact on household energy bills.

Competition should be keeping the purple sections of the light bulb down, but that isn’t happening.

At today’s Energy and Climate Change Committee the bosses of the Big Six are likely to face a grilling by MPs over recent hikes in customer bills.

IPPR associate director Will Straw said the key question for the Big Six was “why profits of 5 to 6 per cent are acceptable in a competitive market”.

“In 1998, as the market was liberalised the regulator believed 1.5 per cent was an adequate margin for energy suppliers. Profits in other sectors like supermarkets are as low as 2 per cent. Energy companies need to come clean on why their profits have kept rising when consumers are being squeezed by so many other costs,” he added.

4 Responses to “Graph: Competition between the Big Six isn’t working”

  1. mememine

    Why are you news editors concluding on your own that climate change will be a crisis when science has NEVER said it WILL be, only “could be a crisis” for 30 years?

    Science has NEVER agreed it WILL happen because their consensus states nothing beyond “could be” a crisis and have never said a climate change crisis was; “inevitable” or “eventual”. (like they say comet hits are)

  2. treborc1

    I think they do actually say that the climate is getting serious and if that science speak for look out. I can see it in the weather for god sake you have to be daft as a brush not to notice the change in the weather.

  3. Olaya de la Iglesia

    If you think your house COULD fall on top of you and there are steps you can take to prevent it from happening, not doing anything because it might NOT happen is simply idiotic. The problem with people like you is that you do not realise that, in the case of climate change, all our houses COULD collapse and we ALL can do something to prevent it, but those that refuse are screwing the rest of us. When the worst happens ‘sorry’ will not be enough.

  4. swatnan

    Like most disciplines Science deals in probabilities, nor certainties, and in the case of the climate change debate its almost a 99.999 % probability. You’d be silly to ignore it. Gaia didn’t count on human intervention to mess around with the climate by tossing CO2 into the air. The odd forest fire and volcanic eruption and meteorite happen, but the burning of fossil fuels is exponential.

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