Octopus Boss Greg Jackson says that he, and other bosses of energy supply companies in the UK favour a Deficit Tariff Scheme which would freeze the energy cap at £1,971 (29p per KWh for electric, 7p per KWh for gas). He thinks it is wrong that energy bill payers are being asked to “carry the cost of the Ukraine war”. The fact is that when the energy price cap risies by 86% in October, many people have stated that they simply won’t be able to pay their bills, and there’s a growing number of people who are saying they won’t pay their bills even if they have the money to do so. This is the main reason why energy companies are fearful of the coming Winter. They literally couldn’t care less about the consumer. Energy companies regularly overcharge consumers via their direct debits, they have millions of pounds sitting in “credit” accounts and those accounts make interest for the energy companies, NOT their customers.
The Deficit Tariff scheme is simply a con trick which will bailout energy companies to the tune of £100 billion over the next two years. If wholesale energy prices do not come down, the “scheme” will be extended to gift even more cash to these companies. Where is the incentive for these companies to operate competitively? After the bailout has reached unaffordable levels, it will be stopped, and then the return of the deficit will begin. It’s estimated that at least £30 will be added to every household’s energy bill, every month, for at least ten years. That is a “deficit” of at least £3,600 per household. How is this even remotely a solution to the energy crisis? It is down to the energy companies to come up with effective solutions to this. They are running businesses after all. A much better solution would be to nationalise any energy supply company that goes bust. The cost to the taxpayer would be measured by the debt of the supplier. In the case of Bulb, this is now £2.2 billion. The cost of nationalising UK energy supply, would therefore, be in the region of £12 billion to cover debts, as opposed to Mr Jackson’s solution (Deficit Tariff Scheme) which would cost the taxpayer £100 billion. The Government needs to say no to any “scheme” that attempts to freeze the price of energy, saying yes to this would be total insanity.