Energy suppliers ripping us off

The Local Government Association, a cross-party organisation representing more than 400 councils in England and Wales, commissioned independent experts SQW energy to investigate the published financial statements of the six major energy suppliers. You can see the results here.
in summary, the analysis found that dividend payments have risen from £1.378 billion in 2006 to £1.635 billion in 2007, an increase of £257 million or 19% and equivalent to £75 per household. Clearly the main energy companies are using their windfall profits, not for investment as they claim but, to raise dividends to shareholders.
Meanwhile, with the record price rises and no extra fuel payments it’s estimated that up to 6M households will be in fuel poverty this winter. The Government must act and Gordon Brown’s response to this crisis will be a key factor in whether or not he survives as Prime Minister.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 1:45 pm and is filed under British current affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Comment

  • Nick
    September 6th, 2008 at 11:26 am

    Maybe the extra profits are being used to raise dividends and investment. The two aren’t mutually exclusive!
    Thankfully, the government has ruled out imposing an ad hoc, retrospective windfall tax that could deter future investment. Energy companies are already taxed. If the government wants to help the needy, why not use some of those bumper tax receipts?