Bulb energy

[ethariel]

The issue being that all the 'Energy Companies' have been taking the consumer for a cash ride for the past couple of decades.

Charging absurd amounts of money on your 'metered unit' compared to the wholesale price and pocketing the difference.

Now that the shoe is on the other foot and the wholesale price is above the maximum allowed consumer unit price and after lining thier pockets for decades and paying off every penny of surplus into dividends and bonuses for board members (not keeping a warchest for hard times) it's far more economical to just fold it all up and let the Gov take the hit. (Then when things stabilise, start all over again when there is money to be made again - rinse and repeat).

Capitalist state at its best/worst

You will probably find the energy companies outside the big 6 that last longest bought options to buy at a specific price point further into the future than the ones that folded early.

Purchasing spot (at the time prices) is often considered risky, so a lot of companies would be purchasing 3, 6 or even 12 months ahead so when that 'relatively cheap 6 month option' runs out it's time to close the doors.

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by Bibio

i thought the uk struck a deal with china for our power. there was supposed to be a deal struck that our wholesale power prices would not rise above £xx.

There was a finance deal struck with China and EDF to build Hinkley Point nuclear power station that guaranteed that the electricity generated would be bought at almost £100/kWatt/hr which was, at the time, outrageously expensive, today it looks like a bargain.

The fly in the ointment is that this 3rd gen (EPR) reactor has never been shown to work and its forerunner at Flamanville has many issues and is 10 years behind schedule and 4 times over budget.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/sci...xpensive-mess/
The Finnish EPR build started in 2005 (EDF again) and won't produce power until 2022.

_____________

I thought Bulb was ethical but from what stories are now emerging they may have been greenwashing some of their environmental claims. Nice website though

[embee]

(ref Etharial's post above)
It's beginning to look like Bulb simply didn't hedge forward far enough (typically 3 months compared to a more normal 12 months for the industry) and sustained gradually increasing losses as a consequence of a flawed business strategy. Giving fixed low price contracts to customers without assuring they could purchase at that price was playing poker.

If it ends up with the rest of us taxpayers footing the bill for £1.7 Bn it will be very reminiscent of the banking crash. Plus ca change ..........

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...edgdhp&pc=U531

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by embee

If it ends up with the rest of us taxpayers footing the bill for £1.7 Bn it will be very reminiscent of the banking crash. Plus ca change ...

...plus the other 22 suppliers that have gone bust. Another success story for privatisation. I guess we'll be heading back to the (mostly) foreigned owned big 6 cartel.
Not only will we have pay to support the SOLR (supplier of last resort) scheme, bail out Bulb but also the Spring price cap rise is going to be huge because the October cap rise didn't fully take in the price rises that were already in the system.

In a twisted kind of way though it is amusing to watch the Conservatives effectively nationalise Bulb. The "Free Market" party who introduced the price cap are now nationalising...

As a Bulb customer, I thought they were a great, ethical business but now it seems they were fly-by-night rogues or maybe just gamblers hoping the natural gas price wouldn't spike.

Edit - another 2 suppliers have gone bust - Entice and Orbit bringing total to 25.

[embee]

I've always thought that privatisation and de-regulation together are a recipe for disaster.
Privatisation per se isn't intrinsically a problem, but the idea that people running big businesses can be trusted to act ethically and honestly without tight regulatory oversight is a joke. Unfortunately the politicians who decide on the regulatory framework look at it with a view to using the system to the advantage of their peers, too many of them (not all) come from the same mould. They do what they think they can get away with, not necessarily what is right, too much lust and greed.
It's only when the stuff hits the fan good and proper that they are forced into looking again at the regulation of sensitive business sectors.

[DJ123]

What they need to do with these sectors is make the people running the company financially responsible. So if the firm goes bust due to poor running of the business and vast sums of cash being drawn out - they (managing directors and the alike) foot the bill from their last pay check/dividend payment/stocks sell off etc. Once they've paid, they get banned from being on a board of directors/company management.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by DJ123

What they need to do with these sectors is make the people running the company financially responsible. So if the firm goes bust due to poor running of the business and vast sums of cash being drawn out - they (managing directors and the alike) foot the bill from their last pay check/dividend payment/stocks sell off etc. Once they've paid, they get banned from being on a board of directors/company management.

no..they should serve a minimum of five years in prison without time off for good behaviour, no iffs no buts, do not pass go do not collect massive payout. if it were the average person in the street they would be jailed without hesitation.

privatisation of services, transport and utilities is NOT WORKING..... it cant. if the Gov were to run the services and utilities like they were private the extra cash the Gov would make would pay off our debt in no time. private health care should also be abolished, that way the NHS would have to be a lot better. also private schooling should also be abolished, again making it all round better and no more "school tie club".

it was greedy individuals that got us in this mess thinking they could make a quick buck by buying something they already owned. idiots...... due to this greed we are now ALL paying for it... thanks a bunch you greedy barstewards.

[Biker Biggles]

Your gonna need a bigger prison

[redtrummy]

In a twisted kind of way though it is amusing to watch the Conservatives effectively nationalise Bulb. The "Free Market" party who introduced the price cap are now nationalising...




Done it with the railways as well!