Gas Prices/Oil price reduced

mal2poolmal2pool Posts: 5,690
Forum Member
Why havent gas prices dropped as oil prices have . Everyone should phone their gas companies, they must be raking it in .

Comments

  • steveh31steveh31 Posts: 13,516
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    According to the Independent because Ed Milliband said he would freeze energy prices they are holding out so they don't have to reduce them and people will be conned by the fact they are being frozen and not going up.

    Also they will say they bought it when it was high and they haven't bought any more yet.
  • mal2poolmal2pool Posts: 5,690
    Forum Member
    steveh31 wrote: »
    According to the Independent because Ed Milliband said he would freeze energy prices they are holding out so they don't have to reduce them and people will be conned by the fact they are being frozen and not going up.

    Also they will say they bought it when it was high and they haven't bought any more yet.

    yes they will have all the excuses. Guess they wont buy it when its cheap! Strange that Taxi and Bus Fares havent dropped either.
  • steveh31steveh31 Posts: 13,516
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    mal2pool wrote: »
    yes they will have all the excuses. Guess they wont buy it when its cheap! Strange that Taxi and Bus Fares havent dropped either.

    I assume the buses will absorb it and use it as an excuse to buy new buses or give the annual pay rise.

    To be fair our bus company have reduced prices last year so people may not be too bothered and have just put some new buses on so public may well not be too fussed.
  • artnadaartnada Posts: 10,113
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    mal2pool wrote: »
    yes they will have all the excuses. Guess they wont buy it when its cheap! Strange that Taxi and Bus Fares havent dropped either.
    Our prices were held the same for FIVE YEARS during the height of the recession, until 2 years ago (December 2012). Then we put them up 10%.

    Usually our prices go up every 2 years. They were due to go up in December 2014, they haven't, we've kept them at the same rate as 2012.

    So, since 2007 our prices have gone up just twice totaling 20%. (2007 & 2012)

    During that time, us, the cabbies had to self absorb the diesel increase when it was just shy of 150p per litre. Plus other costs that increased, insurance, licensing etc.

    So all in all, I think our particular company have been very fair in our costs. So, now we're getting a bit back on fuel savings. Personally I'm saving around £5 per day.

    Would you really begrudge that from us? :cool:
  • jenziejenzie Posts: 20,821
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    are they directly linked to each other?
  • SexbombSexbomb Posts: 20,005
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    mal2pool wrote: »
    Why havent gas prices dropped as oil prices have . Everyone should phone their gas companies, they must be raking it in .

    I want to know why haven't energy prices in general for customers not come down? i bet their bloody profiting from the consumer, greedy ********>:(>:(
  • steveh31steveh31 Posts: 13,516
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    A spokesman for energy firms insisted that price cuts were being passed on in full - with consumers now able to pay £100 less a year if they looked for the best deals.

    Energy UK chief executive Lawrence Slade said: 'Energy suppliers are passing on price cuts to customers.

    'When people shop around they can easily find deals that are over a hundred pounds cheaper than this time last year and in line with cuts in wholesale energy prices.'

    Danny Alexander said the fall in oil prices was a benefit to 'most of the UK economy' - provided savings are passed on
    +5
    Danny Alexander said the fall in oil prices was a benefit to 'most of the UK economy' - provided savings are passed on

    Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: 'The Government will be watching energy companies like hawks to ensure falls in wholesale gas prices are passed on as quickly as possible to consumers.

    'The competition we've pushed has already put real pressure on the Big Six and customers have been leaving them in droves to secure cheaper deals with the smaller players.

    'In addition to this new investigation the independent Competition & Markets Authority has already been asked to look at the energy market and has real teeth to act.'
  • Aurora13Aurora13 Posts: 30,243
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Sexbomb wrote: »
    I want to know why haven't energy prices in general for customers not come down? i bet their bloody profiting from the consumer, greedy ********>:(>:(

    100% Ed Miliband. This is what happens when you have buffoons getting involved in saying he will set energy prices. Energy companies cannot afford to reduce prices now as the idiot is saying that he will implement a freeze if he becomes PM. They are having to set energy prices on assumption that they will not be able to increase it after May. So basically every customer is having to pay upfront this winter so that Miliband can implement his freeze. I'm sure everyone other than numpty labour activists would rather have the energy cut now.
  • mark6226mark6226 Posts: 60
    Forum Member
    Ive just filled up my oil tank for relatively nothing. Ive got enough now for all this year and into next for around £500. And it very cold here much of the year so heating is on a lot. But prices will rise again when the USA decide.
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
    Forum Member
    It's a conspiracy I tell you. Just like all the people who bang on about how last time the oil price was this low petrol only cost 82p blah blah blah.
  • electronelectron Posts: 775
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    100% Ed Miliband. This is what happens when you have buffoons getting involved in saying he will set energy prices. Energy companies cannot afford to reduce prices now as the idiot is saying that he will implement a freeze if he becomes PM. They are having to set energy prices on assumption that they will not be able to increase it after May. So basically every customer is having to pay upfront this winter so that Miliband can implement his freeze. I'm sure everyone other than numpty labour activists would rather have the energy cut now.


    Agreed
    This MILLIPEDE should just crawl under his stone, seems like he lives in the Dasrk Ages.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 312
    Forum Member
    Gas here is $1.839 / gallon or 32p / liter here. Down from roughly $4 / gallon about five months ago.
  • Biffo the BearBiffo the Bear Posts: 25,859
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Shareholders are more important than passing on savings when these companies virtually operate as cartels. The only people to blame are the greedy execs slobbering over this year's profits while elderly people freeze to death.
  • Brenno50Brenno50 Posts: 265
    Forum Member
    steveh31 wrote: »
    According to the Independent because Ed Milliband said he would freeze energy prices they are holding out so they don't have to reduce them and people will be conned by the fact they are being frozen and not going up.

    Also they will say they bought it when it was high and they haven't bought any more yet.



    When oil prices were going up they said the price of gas was linked to oil, funny how the link disappears when the price of oil drops!

    Also funny how all the oil is also bought at the highest price by some miracle.

    The real answer is it is pretty much a cartel.
  • HypnodiscHypnodisc Posts: 22,728
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Aurora13 wrote: »
    100% Ed Miliband. This is what happens when you have buffoons getting involved in saying he will set energy prices. Energy companies cannot afford to reduce prices now as the idiot is saying that he will implement a freeze if he becomes PM. They are having to set energy prices on assumption that they will not be able to increase it after May. So basically every customer is having to pay upfront this winter so that Miliband can implement his freeze. I'm sure everyone other than numpty labour activists would rather have the energy cut now.

    As much as I dislike Miliband and Labour, as a socialist I don't see why they don't promise to regulate it so that these companies are forced into reducing the cost.

    The whole point is they are the government. If they are voted in they could legislate to stop these companies being so greedy, or even better, pledge to nationalise energy once again.

    I don't understand why people think it has to be this way as if there's no other option. :confused:
  • NilremNilrem Posts: 6,938
    Forum Member
    Hypnodisc wrote: »
    As much as I dislike Miliband and Labour, as a socialist I don't see why they don't promise to regulate it so that these companies are forced into reducing the cost.

    The whole point is they are the government. If they are voted in they could legislate to stop these companies being so greedy, or even better, pledge to nationalise energy once again.

    I don't understand why people think it has to be this way as if there's no other option. :confused:

    I think the issue is that Milliband silly posturing was that the energy companies would be forced to hold the price no matter what, which would mean that if energy prices had kept going up (and apart from oil and to a lesser degree gas they are*), they would potentially have been facing big losses.
    It would also have probably been illegal under various international laws, and if nothing else will have led to future investment in the UK energy sector being severely cut back (why throw money at it when you're just going to make a loss).

    Remember he was saying this at a time that the costs were increasing for the raw materials.

    As it stands the current price of oil doesn't actually represent the cost of oil production in most of the world (including the UK), and in many cases companies are now making a loss on the production, but can't shut it down as it will cost them almost as much to keep the facilities in a state where they can be turned back on again, as the loss at current prices.

    One thing to also note, is that most of the "energy companies" are multinationals with their fingers in many pies, and it's something a lot of the press and politicians don't point out when going on about the profits (for example they'll say about the profit for the whole group ignoring that the part that actually deals with the UK might only be making 5-10% profit if that, and includes both not only consumer supply, but production, and even things like boiler servicing and internet access).
    They also often don't bother mentioning the actual percentage that the profit represents - 5 billion a year profit sounds a lot, until you realise that it's on a turnover of say 100 billion (5% profit).
    Nor do they mention very often (politicians almost never) how much of the cost of the gas, electricity and petrol is tax, or that the oil companies in the UK are already being taxed at a higher rate than normal companies before the petrol ever reaches the forecourt (where about 80% of the price you pay per litre is then tax).

    So basically at the moment oil international oil prices are going down, the actual cost to produce gas for example in the UK (which is linked to the cost to produce oil) ins't going down, and most of our supply of gas is still "local".
    And on top of that the companies don't want to risk reducing their prices too much now, and then find in 4 months that Milliband is in power and locks their prices, and then 6 months later for the cost of a barrel of oil to double (or more) again.


    To put it another way, it's not quite as simple as the cost per barrel on the international market when you want to retain some energy independence (by keeping local production viable), especially when a lot of the local costs are out of the hands of the energy companies and actually in the hands of the politicians in the way of taxes and subsidies to be handed to other companies.

    *For example due to the "green" subsidies being given to the wonderfully reliable solar and wind tarrifs (they're only reliable in that you can make money out of them**...), has meant that every other energy source is paying for them in the UK (IIRC the subsidies have led to more of an increase in our leccy bills than most other things)..

    **I'm not sure if it's still the same, but the price you got for "feeding" a kilowatt of power from solar or wind into the NG was actually considerably higher (I think twice in some cases) the retail cost for taking it out, which meant it was something like 3-5 times higher than the next highest power generating systems (so for every watt of solar you produced you got several free).
  • valkayvalkay Posts: 15,726
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Oil and petrol prices are supposed to be falling, but at my local Esso station over the last few weeks the price has gradually risen from 104.9, 106.9 and today is 108.9, why is this happening?
  • steveh31steveh31 Posts: 13,516
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    valkay wrote: »
    Oil and petrol prices are supposed to be falling, but at my local Esso station over the last few weeks the price has gradually risen from 104.9, 106.9 and today is 108.9, why is this happening?

    Prices had fallen, since the death of the Saudi King the prices have started to rise again.

    Surely no one expected them to stay low did they?
  • Bulletguy1Bulletguy1 Posts: 18,429
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    valkay wrote: »
    Oil and petrol prices are supposed to be falling, but at my local Esso station over the last few weeks the price has gradually risen from 104.9, 106.9 and today is 108.9, why is this happening?
    It was getting too close to that magic £1 a litre mark and UK Gov don't like that, not to mention the oil companies.

    Remember the photographs of lines of oil tankers queued up sitting off the coast a few years ago when prices were rocketing? Oil companies were making millions just by holding them back.
  • walterwhitewalterwhite Posts: 56,564
    Forum Member
    Bulletguy1 wrote: »
    It was getting too close to that magic £1 a litre mark and UK Gov don't like that, not to mention the oil companies.

    Remember the photographs of lines of oil tankers queued up sitting off the coast a few years ago when prices were rocketing? Oil companies were making millions just by holding them back.

    No, prices have gone up because oil price has gone up. What exactly have the UK govt done to put prices up?

    You'll be telling me next how cheap petrol was last time oil cost this much.
  • PorcupinePorcupine Posts: 25,231
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    mark6226 wrote: »
    Ive just filled up my oil tank for relatively nothing. Ive got enough now for all this year and into next for around £500. And it very cold here much of the year so heating is on a lot. But prices will rise again when the USA decide.

    Me too. I placed the order last night. I got 500 litres for about £230 I think which is massively cheaper than I have been paying for years. It will top up the tank which will do us for the rest of this winter and probably next winter (I turn it off and use the emersion in the summer to heat the water)
  • steveh31steveh31 Posts: 13,516
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Bulletguy1 wrote: »
    It was getting too close to that magic £1 a litre mark and UK Gov don't like that, not to mention the oil companies.

    Remember the photographs of lines of oil tankers queued up sitting off the coast a few years ago when prices were rocketing? Oil companies were making millions just by holding them back.

    http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2015/02/24/OPEC-rumors-stir-oil-market-pot/1861424790542/

    the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are "very uncomfortable" with the market situation, adding an extraordinary meeting may take place if price volatility continues

    When Saudi King Abdullah died in late January, successor King Salman bin Abdulaziz showed no indications he'd change the government's standing on crude oil policies. Riyadh had defended its position by saying it needed to ensure it was holding its position in the global oil market.
Sign In or Register to comment.