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'More cash for us' – power boss on fuel prices

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Published Date: 11 September 2008
By Ross Lydall
Political Editor
A BOSS of a leading energy firm was under fire last night after joking that high fuel prices and a harsh winter meant "more money for us".
It came as Gordon Brown prepared to unveil fuel- efficiency measures to help UK households cut domestic energy bills today.

Mark Owen-Lloyd, E.On's head of power trading, made the comment during a presentation at an Ofgem winter outlook seminar
last night.

Asked how high gas and oil prices could be affected by a harsh winter, he replied: "It will make more money for us."

E.On last night apologised for Mr Owen-Lloyd's "inappropriate" comments, and warned he could face disciplinary action.

However, a Help the Aged spokesman said: "Fuel poverty is no laughing matter. One in four older people struggles to pay their fuel bills and millions may be forced to chose between heating and eating this winter."

And spokesman for industry watchdog Energywatch added that the comment "was in very poor taste" coming as it did before the government announces "a much-needed package to tackle fuel poverty".

The Prime Minister will use his monthly press conference to reveal the estimated £1 billion package, understood to be mostly funded by the "big six" energy firms.

It will provide grants to encourage people to insulate their lofts and fit cavity wall insulation, double glazing and modern central heating systems.

Details were being kept under wraps last night but the scheme is likely to favour the over-60s on benefits and families on benefits with children under 16.

It is understood the energy firms will help pay for the package as part of their commitment to cut pollution under a scheme to reduce carbon emissions.

But consumer experts warned the improvements were unlikely to be implemented in time for winter.

Ann Robinson, of uSwitch.com, said: "These measures will take some time to roll out and longer to start bearing fruit – they won't be helping people this winter."





The full article contains 336 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 11 September 2008 1:40 AM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

SouthernSkye,

11/09/2008 07:33:40
Oil was under $100 yesterday, the price is down 50% from the peak this year. WHY do we still have "High fuel prices"?!
2

Duke,

11/09/2008 09:29:04
This is what happens when the family silver is sold off, no control over prices. Its about time these utility companies were renationalised without compensation and brought back into public ownership.
3

Bob M,

11/09/2008 10:14:17
#4 I was about to post the same thing. If the current trend continues renationalisation would be essential.
4

Proximaking,

Aberdeen 11/09/2008 10:14:46
Tesla invented the electrical systems these people use to steal money from us. He was appalled at the utility company behaviour in the States in the 1930's, he died a pauper and all of his papers were taken into government "custody". He had been working on resonant locks, not the nonsense "crystal resonances" of the loony brigade but simple resonant mechanisms that somehow drew power from the ether as he said. Now this was the man who gave us three phase power, the three phase electric motor that drives all of industry and beat marconi to radio etc etc etc and the unit of magnetic flux was named after him in the 1060's to recognise his huge input to engineering. This was no nutter in other words. Now back then it all seemed crazy his idea of power from the ether but with new evanescent coupling methods coming on line from HP etc and the latest theories predicting resonant no time-delay links to stable electro-magnetic sun storms, who knows what he was linking into. The keywords on Google to follow it up are .... Pierce Arrow Tesla ..... and of course Evanescent coupling for the latest offerings from the modern manufacturers. Now he did it, so they say, with 12 valve oscillator circuits and a few bits of metal running through the lock they opened if you will to carry the current to a motor in a Pierce Arrow sportscar of the day. No-one knows quite how he did it, ..... except those who took all his papers on his death of course and they are, and were, all oil men, ..... funnily enough. llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllll llllllll
5

The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 11/09/2008 10:57:18
That's why I'm dumping gas as a fuel (currently billed by EoN). This joker won't be laughing when the list of hypothermic dead whom he is helping on their way is produced and laid at the door of these greedy, profiteering companies.

I'm already wearing jerseys as I do not want to contribute much towards their inflated salaries and dividends. The more of us that do this and switch to other forms of power the better, then we'll see who's laughing.
6

hertscot,

11/09/2008 11:01:49
Where are you now? All the petrol heads who say ONLY the government is to blame.
7

The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 11/09/2008 11:43:39
#8

I wouldn't just blame the government - it's a case of overarching greed and stupidity primarily from the government but also in large measure from fuel companies who see a vast profit in our largely supine nature and OPEC who just can't wait to reduce supply to get oil over $100/barrel, or at any rate the west over a barrel. All the stuff about supplies running dry etc blown up by speculators and futures has run out of steam and we can see plainly that supply is still pretty much OK at least for the short-medium term. As a matter of urgency though alternative fuels have to be sought and the "green" taxes reinvested in getting off this strategic reliance on oil.
8

écossais at heart,

france 11/09/2008 12:32:55
It's the EU legislators who pushed and are still pushing to privatize nationalized energy companies, on the assumption (proved wrong since) that it will make the market more competitive and drive prices down.
EDF in France is being forced to open up its capital to private ownership and I'm pretty sure what the end result will be....much higher energy bills for the French consumers who, today, enjoy the lowest electricity prices in Europe. EDF is state owned and electricity prices are not subsidized in any form - in fact, EDF provides a major contribution to public finance. Why oh why must everything be privately run in the name of liberal markets??? I personally consider energy as a vital part of the nation's needs and as such must remain a public service under public ownership and control.
9

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 11/09/2008 13:39:25
I think that the key word here is "joke". That is as opposed to "serious comment".

What the hell is all the fuss about?

 

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