Possible Government Intervention on Energy- thoughts?

[ForssAwakens]

The issue here is that the wholesale price of energy is very high - producers are making billions (although it's still a small percentage of their turnover) - but the amount retailers can charge per unit is limited by OFGEM. Retailers are just about surviving (34 went under).

If the retailers were nationalised, then the government department that took over would be buying energy on the same wholesale markets, and trying to sell it at a price which we can afford to pay, and losing billions.

Why would a government - of whatever persuasion - pay money to nationalise businesses that are breaking even at best, and then probably lose loads of money as the wholesale energy price increases. I'm pretty sure Keir Starmer has figured this out.

Is this a joke. The bottom explains the nhs. It’s cost the government billions to ensure its doesn’t cost the people a shed load of money, because it’s a basic need

Why does majority of countries nationalise their utilities. I assume they would face the same problems as our government

You sound like a Tory sympathiser, whether you mean to or not

 

[American_Mary]

Since the late 70's we have asset stripped the country to the point where there's little left of any value and now we face a crisis where the governments means of influence and control are limited, look at the profits these privatised organisations have made and whilst I think the days of nationalised monopolies have passed we should have state owned alternative options competing on the free market, with profits returned to the country rather than the private sector.

Short term solutions to long term issues have been the blight of this country for far too long, a massive overhaul in how we govern and the remit of the Houses of Parliament needs to be undertaken, and certain elements need to be removed from direct government control and placed in the hands of other organisations to undertook long term policy, we do it with the Bank of England, why not follow the same model with energy for example ?

 

[SuperStu]

The issue here is that the wholesale price of energy is very high - producers are making billions (although it's still a small percentage of their turnover) - but the amount retailers can charge per unit is limited by OFGEM. Retailers are just about surviving (34 went under).

If the retailers were nationalised, then the government department that took over would be buying energy on the same wholesale markets, and trying to sell it at a price which we can afford to pay, and losing billions.

Why would a government - of whatever persuasion - pay money to nationalise businesses that are breaking even at best, and then probably lose loads of money as the wholesale energy price increases. I'm pretty sure Keir Starmer has figured this out.

Because energy is something every person and business in the country absolutely needs. If its run at a loss, it's a loss worth paying for - in the same way that our armed forces, police forces, fire brigades are worth paying for.

Besides a single, nationalised retailer could obviously drive a harder bargain with suppliers and get a better deal for energy than umpteen little private suppliers can.

And then of course nationalising the retailers should be a jumping off point. From there we absolutely should be nationalising the grid and the supply. A nationalised body could put the emphasis on renewables and save us all a fortune in the long run. Private companies, by contrast, are legally required to generate maximum profits for their shareholders. Even if they wanted to, they can't invest in renewables.

Finally - "breaking even at best"... b***ks. Do we think all these private companies are just operating out of benevolence? Doing us a favour?

 

[uncle_rico]

It’s the same as this £400 that all households are supposedly getting off their bills over the winter months. The government are just giving your money that you’ve already paid in taxes to these energy companies. Don’t be fooled!

 

[SmallTown]

And

If we had gone earlier on nuclear and fracking we could have provided our energy in house , but our politicians haven’t done any forward planning, so now they have no alternative to intervening and supporting the pubic through the winter. Anything less is to bring on a disaster at the polls.

And accelerated climate change…