Leader: Big Six pricing fuels rightful public anger

THE average fuel bill in Britain is now £1,345 a year following steep price rises from the Big Six domestic suppliers. The profit margin has also soared to £125 per customer, up from a mere £15 in June, according to Ofgem, the official regulator.

No household in the UK needs Ofgem to spell this out. They see the effect of rocketing energy bills every month. And with inflation running above forecasts, consumer demand has flatlined and economic growth slowed to crawl. For that reason, as well as fairness, the pricing policy of the Big Six must come under closer scrutiny.

The Big Six reply that new plant is expensive and they are forced to meet tough EU emissions standards. But in June – even before the recent summer round of prices rises – the cost of domestic electricity in the UK was still greater than in France, which faces the same regulatory outlook.

The Big Six reject Ofgem’s findings but they only have themselves to blame. Their tariff card has increased from 180 price variations to more than 300 since 2008. That only bamboozles the consumer.

Of course, private firms have to make a profit to reinvest. Witness BP’s welcome spending in the Atlantic oil field. But the Big Six are taking unfair advantage of their size and what looks like the avoidance of real competition. The energy market must be made more transparent. If the Big Six are unwilling to put their house in order, the competition authorities must intervene.