Energy firms probed over price differences

Two UK energy firms are being quizzed and investigated by regulators over differences in prices in different parts of the country, according to recent reports. Questions are being asked over why the energy providers are charging a particular price in one part of the country and a different price in another part of the country.

Amongst the discrepancies that appear to have been picked up is the fact that the price that the companies are charging in areas where they need to compete more is different to the price being charged in other areas. According to reports the two energy firms, which have not been named, are being asked ’serious questions’ by the UK’s energy regulator, Ofgem.

Ofgem has stated that if an official investigation is launched following the initial questioning then the two energy suppliers will be named. It was announced last year that energy firms could not apply price differences for no reason and that any difference in prices for energy usage had to reflect differences in cost to the actual supplier.

These changes, which were brought in last year by Ofgem, resulted in many energy customers seeing their bills falling, and in recent months the prices for those that were using a prepayment meter had dropped impressively from £111 to £69.

Whilst the questioning of the two energy firms continues industry experts have suggested that consumers who feel that they are being charged too much on their energy usage look into switching to a different provider. Many are surprised to find that when they do this they can get their energy far cheaper than with their current provider.

Christine McGourty, director of Energy UK, said: “Suppliers compete across all payment methods and tariffs, so it is important for customers to shop around to make sure they are on the best deal.”

Tags: energy, ofgem, energy providers, energy regulator, energy suppliers

Energy firm switches customers to higher priced tariffs

German owned energy firm NPower has shifted tens of thousands of its customers onto higher priced tariffs in a bid to retaliate at the energy regulator Ofgem. The move comes after Ofgem said that companies must only offer deals to customers that reflect the actual cost of providing the power.

The requirement was made by the regulator in a bid to reduce the cost of energy for many customers. However, Npower has been described as acting ‘petulantly’ by stating that it works both ways and subsequently moving thousands of its customers onto deals that could see them paying up to 25 percent more for their energy.

The supplier, which has over six million customers, said that the changes that Ofgem has made to its licensing requirements has forced it to cancel the deals that have seen customers moved over to more costly tariffs. Whilst some of the customers that have been switched had come to the end of their special deals, others had taken deals that had no expiry date attached and have simply found themselves simply shunted onto poor value deals.

An official from a popular comparison site said that Npower had turned the tables on the regulator but offering its consumers poor deals as a result of the changes when the regulator had been aiming for consumers to get better results because of the changes that it has put into place.

He said: “This is a petulant move from Npower which demonstrates its disregard for customers who signed up to cheaper online tariffs. Ofgem’s guidelines were designed to encourage energy providers to offer all customers equally good deals, but Npower seems to have turned that on its head and decided to offer all customers equally bad ones.”

Tags: energy, energy providers, Npower, ofgem, tariffs

NPower named as Britain’s worst utility company

The German owned energy firm NPower has recently been named as the worst utility company in Britain, topping the tables as Britain’s worst supplier after the consumer campaign group Which? carried out a poll that involved surveying eight thousand respondents.

Owned by the German company RWE, Npower has around 6.5 million customers in the UK, but the majority of them are not happy customers according to the results of the Which? survey. Only 27 percent of customers with NPower said that they were satisfied with the service, leaving the vast majority of customers unhappy with the service.

Whilst Npower rated the worst in any Which? survey on history, the report also showed that the customer service levels amongst the big six energy suppliers was all inadequate. British Gas received a customer service satisfaction level of just 37 percent, and Eon received a slightly higher 39 percent. Scottish Power received 40 percent and Scottish & Southern Energy achieved a more respectable 50 percent satisfaction level.

Officials from Which? said that the results for all energy providers was poor and reflected a poor level of customers service, adding that customers should be happy with the service that they are receiving rather than just satisfied. He said that the results reflected the poor state of Britain when it came to the commitment of energy firms.

He stated: ‘Our latest survey adds to the dismal picture of Britain’s utilities in 2010.’

However, an Npower spokesman said that the company was committed to its customers and aimed to provide a service that would keep them happy.

He said: ‘Our aim is to see our customers happy, not just satisfied – and we’ve been working really hard to make customer service the focus of our company.’

Tags: worst supplier, Npower, energy, energy providers, energy firms