Many people may soon be considering how to save money on their energy bills as six major fixed-price tariffs are due to come to an end. Moneysupermarket.com has reported that six offers from the major suppliers are due to end around June this year.
Scott Byrom, utilities manager at the price comparison website, commented: “Languishing on fixed deals could spell bad news for Brits when they come to an end. ”In the worse case scenario, providers could automatically switch customers across to its standard tariff meaning a potential increase of as much as £196 a year if they haven’t taken action to find a better alternative already.”
The energy expert added that “timing is crucial” and encouraged bill payers to look to swap their tariff at least six weeks before the termination date of their current deal in order to avoid complications.
Readers who know our views on energy suppliers and their contract roll overs might be be interested in this update below. British Gas has regularly come under fire over its ‘rollover’ contracts that tie in businesses at a higher rate if they fail to renew a fixed-term contract.
In the utilities sector, contract rollover clauses are something for you to worry about. Rollover clauses are usually termed along the lines of “if you wish to terminate the contract you must contact us in writing no sooner than 90 days and no later than 30 days before the anniversary of the contract signing date”.
These clauses generally sound fairly benign, but they are usually written with the intention of retaining your business for as long as possible or penalising you if you try to cancel the service. They leave you a small window of opportunity to cancel the contract and if you miss it you are penalised. If you are asked to sign a contract with such a clause, read it carefully and make sure you fully understand the implications. Are there penalties if you cancel in the second or subsequent rollover terms?
Utility companies often make matters worse by dressing up their renewal letters to clients so they have the appearance of marketing material, ie: they know that they’ll not be read and simply thrown in the bin. That way, you are more likely to rollover by default and the utility provider retains your business.
Not all companies use these clauses in such an underhand way. We have seen examples where the rollover clause applies simply to ensure continuity of service at the end of a contract, and the consumer may contact the company any time after the rollover date to cancel the contract without penalty. The important thing is that you, the client, understand the particular contract you are holding. If you don’t know – then please ask for professional help.
I feel very strongly that Europeans should be doing all that we can to reduce dependency on Russian gas – I am certain that it will be all to easy to turn off the gas taps when Putin (yes, Putin – not Medvedev) suffer’s another fit of pique at some perceived Western slight. ……….The chairman of Russia’s Gazprom argues plans for renewable energy are irrational and should be replaced by more gas-fired power stations - that’s very reassuring. Russia has Europe by the what-nots as it is….
Plans to build thousands of wind farms in the UK are irrational and should be scrapped in favour of more gas plants, according to the deputy chairman of the Russian energy firm Gazprom.
Alexander Medvedev said the UK and other countries should adopt a more “pragmatic” approach towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions following the impasse at the Copenhagen climate change summit. He argued it would be impossible to meet the UK’s target to generate a third of its electricity from renewables by 2020 without a big contribution from gas. He also claimed it would be three times cheaper to meet emission reduction targets by replacing dirty coal plants with new gas plants rather than wind farms.
“If we do not want to see the authors of the 2020 strategy decapitated in a public square, I do not think they can forget about gas,” he said. “We at Gazprom believe gas should be treated on an equal footing as renewables. I just hope that after the disappointment post-Copenhagen that the decision-makers will take a more pragmatic and rational approach to this.”
Energy companies are sceptical that the UK will be able to meet its ambitious 2020 renewable targets. Gas is increasingly being promoted as a clean fossil fuel and the best way to cut emissions.
Gas-fired power stations, for example, emit approximately half the carbon emissions of equivalent coal-fired ones. Shell last year froze investment in renewables to focus on biofuels and carbon capture and storage. Its new chief executive, Peter Voser, recently said Shell would soon be producing more gas than oil.
But politicians are worried that increasing reliance on gas imports from countries such as Russia is threatening the UK’s security of supply, something Medvedev’s company has dismissed as “Gazpromophobia”. Renewable energy companies are also worried that plans to invest in wind farms could also be scaled down.
Medvedev also revealed today that the company, which supplies about a quarter of Europe’s gas, had concluded negotiations with suppliers like Italy’s ENI and Germany’s Ruhrgas over long-term contracts. Because of the recession, gas demand and prices have slumped, and European firms have been trying to renegotiate their “take or pay” contracts with Gazprom, where they commit to buying a fixed amount of gas over several years.
Medvedev would not reveal the details of the new terms, but indicated that Gazprom had taken into account lower demand for gas, which could result in cheaper gas prices in Europe and the UK.
Source: Guardian
Demand for gas hit an all-time high yesterday during the UK’s longest cold snap for more than 20 years. Demand rose to 453 million cubic metres (mcm), smashing the 449mcm record set in January 2003. And it is forecast to climb to 460mcm today.
The National Grid insisted that the unprecedented consumption levels will not leave Britain short. “We are absolutely not going to run out of gas,” said a spokesman. “The UK is well supplied.” The shadow Energy Secretary Greg Clark stoked energy security fears on Tuesday by claiming that Britain had only eight days of gas left in storage. But the National Grid dismissed the calculation as a “meaningless number” because it ignored both the amount of gas imported and that nearly half of UK demand is met by North Sea production.
At present, more than 200mcm is being pumped out of the North Sea. A further 186mcm is being imported – 129m through European pipelines, the rest as liquefied natural gas (LNG) brought in on ships. Only a small proportion – 60mcm per day – is coming from storage facilities. The largest is still 70 per cent full and has enough gas for another 65 days, even running at full pelt.
UK wholesale gas prices are a little higher than Europe’s, hence the glut of supply, unlike last year, when a spat between Russia and Ukraine restricted gas supplies to Europe, ramping up prices and sucking gas out of Britain despite the cold winter weather. As North Sea supplies dwindle, the UK needs a significant increase in storage capacity to deal with such situations. Only 4.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas can be stored – 5 per cent of annual demand. Germany and France have capacity for more than 20 per cent. Another 4.3bcm of storage is planned, but progress is dogged by financing and licensing difficulties.
Source: Independent