News Categories
Other stories in Electricity
- Household energy customer satisfaction levels rise by 6%
- National Grid offers early connection dates for 900MW of Scottish wind power
- RWE Npower chief executive to step down
- Offshore wind could meet 10 per cent of demand
- German firms unveil home power plant project
Tagcloud
AEP, anaerobic digestion, Anglian Water, Australasia, belgiam, Benelux, BG Group, billing, biomass, British Energy, British Gas, carbon capture, CCWater, Centrica, CHP, climate change, coal, competition, complaints, connections, Conservatives, Consumer Focus, cost of capital, credit crunch, customers, Czech Republic, debt, Decc, Defra, distributed generation, drainage, Drinking Water Inspectorate, Eastern Europe, eb, economy, EDF, EDF Energy, efficiency, electricity, electricity distribution, electricity generation, electricity retail, electricity transmission, emergencies, emissions, ENA, Enel, energy, energy distribution, energy generation, energy retail, energy services, energy transmission, engineering, environment, Environment Agency, eon, Eon, ERA, Eurelectric, Europe, European Commission, European Union, finance, Finland, flooding, France, fuel poverty, gas, gas distribution, gas retail, gas storage, gas supply, gas transmission, gas transport, Gazprom, GDF Suez, Germany, health and safety, heat, homefeatured, Iberdrola, industrial relations, infrastructure, Infrastructure Planning Commission, innovation, interruptions, Ireland, Italy, jobs, leakage, legal, LNG, maintenance, metering, National Grid, NEA, NI Water, NIAUR, Nordic, Northern Gas Networks, Northern Ireland, Northumbrian Water, Npower, nuclear, offshore, offshore wind, Ofgem, ofwat, Ofwat, Ombudsman Service, operations, ownership, pan-utility, people, planning, policy, pollution, poverty, price review, protest, quality, regulation, renewables, research, Russia, RWE, Scotia Gas Networks, Scotland, Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish renewables, scottish renewables, Scottish Water, ScottishPower, security, security of supply, selling, SEPA, Severn Power, Severn Trent, Severn Trent Water, sewerage, skills, smart grids, smart metering, South West Water, Southern Water, Spain, streetworks, sustainability, Switzerland, tariffs, Thames Water, thames water, trading, unbundling, United Utilities, Vattenfall, vehicles, Veolia, waste management, wastewater, wastewater treatment, Water, water, water abstraction, water distribution, water renationalisation, water resources, water retail, water supply, water treatment, Water UK, Water Uk, weather, Welsh Power, Welsh Water, Wessex Water, Wics, wind, Yorkshire Water
< Supply chain companies and engineers urged to join push for nuclear new-build | Water companies warned over funding challenge >
MPs demand simpler bills and fewer domestic energy tariffs
MPs have demanded simpler and fewer domestic energy tariffs and clearer information on bills.
Those calls came during a parliamentary debate about consumers and energy regulation prompted by Conservative backbencher John Baron who represents Billericay and District in Essex.
He told the Commons that energy companies should be required to include on statements "what the cheapest tariff would be taking into account certain basic assumptions".
He added: "The information could take into account the pattern of a customer's energy use, but it could also reveal how much would be saved if they were to switch and how to go about that."
Baron also suggested it would be a good idea if "the same criteria could apply to those on social tariffs. The energy company could be obliged to state whether a customer is on the cheapest available tariff".
During the short debate in Westminster Hall other MPs lined up to complain about the number of different tariffs available and voice concern that when customers switched they often ended up paying more rather than less.
For the Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes argued the case for a simple system, one for pensioners, those in receipt of income support, child benefit or a disability allowance and another, unsubsidised, for the rest.
Conservative shadow energy spokesman Charles Hendry said: "There needs to be much greater simplicity in the tariffs that are offered. The range of tariffs must be reduced and we must also ensure that consumers are in a position actively to compare what they are using".
Winding up the debate, energy and climate change minister Joan Ruddock commented: "Everyone made a plea for a simpler system; I agree, and we must try to achieve it".
Comments
(*required information)
Sign up to our free email newsletters