A recent report has claimed that the UK public is being overcharged for energy and by more than one and half billion pounds every year.

With the cost of crude oil now less than half of what it was in January of this year, the savings that the energy suppliers must be making in their raw material costs are far away from being reflected in the financially choked British consumer’s gas and electricity bills.

While a large number of consumer protection groups have picked up on this point and begun to pressure the energy suppliers to reduce their bills, the UK government seems to be “sitting on their hands”. With the general feeling that the man in the street continues to be the whipping boy for profit hungry conglomerates, this apparent lack of regard for their plight really sticks in the throat of those who are concerned for the well being of Britain’s sick and elderly. There is no reason why significant reductions cannot be made in utility bills.

Until the UK government does step in, the only defence that the UK consumer has is to shop around and compare prices. If their current energy supplier seems to be overcharging them, no time should be wasted in stating their displeasure, and not waste time and energy by threatening to move on to a new supplier, but beginning to take the necessary steps to do so. Many consumers, who have tried this move, have been surprised to discover that their existing energy supplier will pull something out of the hat to keep their business.

Although it is often easier said than done, the UK consumer could take certain initiatives to reduce the cost of buying energy. The first is by paying promptly, preferably by direct debit, which could amount to saving of around £7.00 a month.

Paying online, especially if you are capable of reading your own meter can save even more. Watch your electric appliances, and switch them off when not in use, even if it is a pain in the neck. If you are finding it difficult to cope financially, and the circumstances allow it, you may even be eligible to certain government grants that will help you to pay your energy bills or better still reduce them through energy saving methods such as improved insulation among others.

All that will help till the UK government starts wielding the big stick at the energy companies. Don’t hold your breath.

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Tags: Energy Company's, Energy Prices, Fuel, Fuel Costs, Fuel Package, UK energy suppliers, UK’s oil and gas

In the erratic financial atmosphere that we are living through, nothing should surprise us anymore. However the news that the UK’s oil and gas production from the North Sea is in jeopardy should be enough to wipe the file from the face of even the most diehard optimist. And why is this about to happen? Because the government has spent all of its money bailing out banks, insurance companies and building societies and had little money left to finance continued exploration. If a major scources of finance does not become available and soon, the unbelievable facts are one of the western worlds most important deposits will not be capable of realizing its total potential. .

Oil discovery experts now claim that the number of exploration wells being drilled in the North Sea has fallen by a staggering 78 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 in comparison to the same period in 2008.

The news that British Telecom is to consider cutting several thousand jobs as part of their cost reduction program for the financial year 2009/2010 continues to hang in the air. The cuts will come in addition to the 10,000 jobs cuts that BT arrived at in their last financial year, and comes in the light of further profit warnings issued by the company.

Another tarnished communications giant, International Business Machines or IBM as we all know and love them have announced that they will also be lying off thousands of staff in locations across the globe, including the UK. The company intends to transfer jobs to Eastern Europe, China, India and South America. Indian employees at IBM reputedly earn about 10 percent of the amount paid to U.S. employees performing similar tasks.

After the long holiday weekend, the FTSE index is expected to open with a rise, on the optimistic news that Goldman Sachs posted a much higher first-quarter profit than expected.

Before the Easter holiday the FTSE100 closed up 1.5 percent (58.19 points at 3,983.71) on Thursday, with the FTSE 250 closing at 6,978.65

At close of trade on Thursday, sterling had risen slightly against the dollar and the Euro and held its price against the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc:

Pound/US dollar 1.4867

Pound/Euro 1.1181

Pound/Japanese Yen 148.05

Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6941

Wall Street was open for trade yesterday and enjoyed a mediocre day.

The Dow Jones Average dropped 25.5 to close at 8057.81. Nasdaq did better, even rising 0.77 of a point to 1653.31

It was obvious on trading that the market was looking for some kind of a pick-me-up, with none forthcoming. Investors were unsettled by the news that filing from General Motors were considering filing bankruptcy. All in all Wall Street is facing a crucial week for corporate earnings and economic data, with some of its biggest names scheduled to unveil quarterly results, among them JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup from the banking sector; Intel, Google and Nokia from the hi-tech sector and industrial giants Johnson & Johnson, General Electric and Mattel. The hope is that the tone has been set by Goldman Sachs’ who beat all first-quarter forecasts, in a sign a further sign that the worst may be over for financial firms.

In the meantime AIG confirmed that its financial products unit, whose soured bets on credit default swaps forced the company into government hands last year, has failed to sign up for the overhaul of the global derivatives market which was given added impetus by the troubles at the US insurance group.

Growing optimism in Asia is evidenced by the news that Chinese stocks have climbed to their highest levels for nearly eight months as data showing a record surge in bank lending and money supply last month fuelled hopes of an early economic recovery in the country.

On Monday, the Shanghai Composite index rose 2.8 per cent to 2,513.48

On early trading Tuesday some Asian stocks fell backwards as disappointing profit reports at Qantas and Sumitomo Realty were announced.

The Nikkei was down -1.61% (143.45 points to 8,780.98) whiles the Hang Seng rose by 1.75% (260.37 points to 15,161.78)

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Tags: Bank, Banking, British Economy, Credit Crunch, Finance, Financial News, Fuel, Fuel Costs, Recession, UK Banks, UK Recession, UK’s oil and gas

Most of the financially pressed UK public will not be falling to their knees in gratitude at the news that British Gas, Scottish and Southern Energy, and Eon have finally cut at least some of their prices which rumour has it was only agreed to after considerable political pressure. All in all, the ‘big six’ UK energy suppliers – British Gas, EdF, Eon, Npower, Scottish and Southern Energy and Scottish Power – have reportedly been threatened with a windfall tax if they did not do more to help their customers, especially those in the lower income bracket.

The lack of gratitude displayed by British consumers may be largely due to the fact that the reductions in energy costs range from four to ten per cent, not a lot when you consider that energy prices in the UK have raised by an estimated fifty percent in the last twelve months. During that time, energy companies were blaming oil price increases as the principal factor. However, now that oil has dropped to around a third of what it was costing when these price increases were forced upon the majority of UK households, already struggling to make ends meet , the pittance offered in the way of price adjustments is no less than insulting. And to make the insult even more stinging, most of the new price tariffs are not due to come into effect till the spring. After one of the longest and coldest winters and most profitable for energy companies in living memory

With the UK becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of green energy, energy companies are calling upon the public to become silent partners in their move to push the British consumer to be less dependent on fuel driven energy scources. Gradual increases in fuel bills will be used to

Subsidise the installation of solar panels and wind turbines to create power as well as to allow the appropriation of wood-burning boilers for hundreds of thousands of homes instead of coal or gas driven.

However, there are several citizen protection bodies that claim that the public should not be asked to subsidize these investments and instead that UK energy companies should finance this form of expansion from the considerable profits they have earned over the last few years, while the public have been forced to stretch themselves to the limit to make ends meet.

This new Government driven ‘Renewable Heating Incentive’, package, unveiled before the weekend by Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband, as part of an energy package designed to reduce costs in the long term for the British public. The programme includes grants for domestic windmills and solar panels, as well as plans to insulate seven million UK homes. The sting in the package is that a levy imposed on fossil fuel energy suppliers will be passed on to the UK public in their energy bills.

The Government insists that in the long term the package will cut energy waste and reduce fuel bills for millions. However in the short term the public is once again been not asked but forced to pay the bill for progress.

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Tags: British Gas, E.ON, EdF, Fuel Costs, Fuel Package, Npower, Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power

There are many things that households can do to beat the credit crunch. Let’s look a few of them.

One woman, English teacher Kath Kelly (admittedly after a drunken bet) lived off just £1 a day for an entire year! She collected dropped change on the street, gave up her mobile phone and went to open lectures at Bristol University and ate the free buffets. She went into grocers and butchers at the close of business and picked up cheap food and shopped at jumble sales. Not only that, but she managed to hitch hike to her brothers house in France for a holiday in the middle of it all! She has a book out called “How I lived on just a pound a day”, published by Redcliffe at £6.99….or one week’s income.

Use cash back sites

Many sites will allow you to claim back some of the commission they receive. These are referred to as cashback sites. Some of the savings can be substantial so if you are making any online purchases, check with them first to see if you can get a better deal. Just Google UK cash back sites for a wide choice.

Drive a hybrid

We all have to make journeys of some description so how about turning in that expensive car for a nice economical hybrid? The cost of a hybrid will soon be offset by the substantially lower running costs, including reduced road tax!

Use a fuel search website

Search http://www.petrolprices.com/ any time you need to fill up and arrange a journey to get you close to the petrol station in question. Don’t under estimate the amount of money you can save over a year by using this type of website.

Get a cash back credit card

With Christmas coming, why not get a credit card that offers cashback? There are plenty of them about and they only need a little research. Some pay as much as 5% cashback and at Christmas when you could spend thousands, why not get the cashback and give yourself a nice little.

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Tags: Cash Back, Christmas Spending, Credit Crunch, Fuel, Fuel Costs, Hybrid, Kath Kelly, Petrol, Road Tax, UK Credit Cards

Poor old Gordon Brown…nothing he does meets with approval any more. His £1bn fuel package has been slammed by critics as too little too late. Fresh off the back of the embarrassing stamp duty fiasco which saw the mortgage market freeze for weeks while buyers waited for clarification at exactly the worst time, his Father Christmas act has been greeting with shouts of Ba Humbug.

The fuel costs to heat homes has shot up with oil prices so that now the average family can expect to pay over £1400 per year by 2009, up from just under £670 a year in 2005. More than 10% of people are now officially living in fuel poverty and that figure is climbing fast. Fuel poverty is defined as anyone where 10% or more of their income is paid on fuel bills.

Double digit hikes in energy prices in the last 18 months, with more to come have seen the government’s plans to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 go up in smoke, so to speak. People can be seen huddling around the embers…trying to keep warm.

His package included free cavity wall and loft insulation for pensioners and poorer households and all households will get a 50% discount on the work. Half a million customers will have their fuel bills frozen and payments to the most vulnerable will go up from £8.75 a week to £25 a week. This will be paid for by the energy companies themselves who will carry out the work, but many people fear that they will simply pass on the costs to the consumer through higher prices.

Mr Brown rejected calls for a windfall on energy companies and poured scorn on those who said that the bill would eventually be borne by consumers through higher prices. He also dismissed calls that loft insulation would take too long to implement and said that there would be an immediate impact.

Help the aged said in a statement “Individual changes which have been flagged by the Prime Minister are sensible and move in the right direction, but they are too little, too modest and will take too long to address the urgent plight of many pensioners today.”

A campaign has been launched to make people aware of the package, but some people referred to it as giving a drowning man swimming lessons. It looks like Mr Browns Autumn re-launch could be as frosty as a pensioner’s house this Christmas.

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Tags: Energy Prices, Fuel Costs, Fuel Package, Gordon Browns