observer Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 A 23% profit for the Gas Companies, with a 13% drop in their wholesale prices - who's kidding who? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Business is business Obs and all about making a profit. Unfortunately their product is one we can't do without and can't get from anywhere else so they have us hook line and sinker and can charge what they like (same goes for united utilities and water) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 We were sold the idea that privatisation would increase competition and thus reduce prices - yet another myth busted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 How do you know what the price of gas would be if the industry hadn't been privatised? Do you have some sort of crystal ball that allows you insight into an alternative universe? <_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Tessla Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Forget about any standing charges and set a maximum rate they can charge - then let the suppliers compete to see who can offer the best rates below that amount. At least we have the chance to shop around for gas and leccy - no chance doing that for water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Basics Asp: nationalised industries are not required to "make a profit"; some can, but others can be viewed as a "service" and subsidised to keep prices down - ultimately (in theory at least), they are subject to Government control, which (again in theory) makes them subject to the control of the electorate. Again in theory, the private sector are subject to he will of shareholders, but providing they're sharing in the profits, they're unlikely to indulge in moral qualms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 And you think that gas prices controlled by our tax hungry government would be lower than now? Energy costs are being driven artificially high already by the government's idiotic subsidies for so called "renewables". I think you are living in a dream world if you imagine that politicians are on our side :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Don't imagine for a second that "politicians are on our side"; which begs the question, why do we keep electing them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 And that, Obs, is the $64,000 question. Why indeed!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Well the Russians will be imprest, as they are making even more money than our suppliers, and with the government wanting more gas power stations, we are a little more dependent on them for our energy, Just hope the suppliers keep paying the Russians as they are not averse to turning the supply off if they are not paid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Thought you wern't averse to free trade and global competition Kije, AND dependency on foreign (energy) resources? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 And this begs the question as to why the government are against shale gas exploration (in the USA the successful exploitation of shale gas reserves has led to a dramatic fall in gas prices). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Don't think "the Gov" are against it now; just some locals who don't want earth tremours in the N/West or their tap water exploding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 I have always said critical industries such as energy and defence should remain in the UK, if we fall out with the Russians as the Ukranians did they just shut off the gas, it seems our government have short memories. No gas means no industry, no need to invade just starve us out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Which is why, on numerous posts, I've advocated National self sufficiency, as far as is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Don't think "the Gov" are against it now; just some locals who don't want earth tremours in the N/West or their tap water exploding! Tim Yeo, Chairman of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, has interests in several companies in the "renewables" industry which may explain his oppostion to shale gas. He makes a good living out of it too: Register of Members’ Interests 1. Remunerated directorships ITI Energy Limited; suppliers of gasification equipment. AFC Energy; company developing alkaline fuel cell technology. Address: Unit 71.4 Dunsfold Park, Stovolds Hill, Cranleigh, Surrey, GU6 8TB. Undertake duties as Chair, run board meetings and keep in touch with senior management. Received payment of £3,750, 9 May 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 13 June 2011. Hours: 12 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 11 July 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 22 August 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 12 September 2011. Hours: 10 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,750, 7 October 2011. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £5,000, 14 November 2011. Hours: 10 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £5,000, 13 December 2011. Hours: 12 hrs. (Registered 2 February 2012) Received payment of £5,000, 10 January 2012. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 9 February 2012) Received payment of £3,350, 8 February 2012. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 13 March 2012) Received payment of £990, 29 February 2012. Hours: 2 hrs. (Registered 13 March 2012) Groupe Eurotunnel SA (non-executive) (of which Eurotunnel plc is a wholly owned subsidiary); company managing the Channel Tunnel. Address: Cheriton Parc, Cheriton High Street, Folkestone, Kent, CT19 4QS. My duties as a non-executive director include attendance at meetings of the Board and of the Environment and Safety Committee and advising senior management on a range of issues. Received payment of £3,622.57, 9 May 2011. Hours: 6 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £3,569.33, 31 May 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £7,238.97, 28 July 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £6,440.62, 12 September 2011. Hours: 16 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £4,245.20, 14 October 2011. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £3,526.97, 21 November 2011. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £6,885.38, 31 January 2012. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 9 February 2012)I Received payment of £4,649.09, 9 February 2012. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 13 March 2012) Eco City Vehicles plc, Hemming House, Hemming Street, London, E1 5BL; distributes and services London taxis. Duties include chairing board meetings and keeping in touch with senior management. Received payment of £3,333.33, 23 May 2011. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 22 June 2011. Hours: 9 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 22 July 2011. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 22 August 2011. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 22 September 2011. Hours: 8 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £3,333.33, 24 October 2011. Hours: 6 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Chairman of TMO Renewables Limited, 40 Alan Turing Road, Surrey Research Park, Guilford, Surrey GU2 7YF. The company is developing and supplying technology for second generation biofuels. My duties involve chairing board meetings and keeping in touch with senior management. Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 May 2011. Hours: 4 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 27 May 2011. Hours: 11 hrs. (Registered 14 June 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 24 June 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 27 June 2011. Hours: 14 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 July 2011. Hours: 13 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £1,666.53, 25 July 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 August 2011. Hours: 14 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 August 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 September 2011. Hours: 14 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 23 September 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 12 October 2011) Received payment of £4,166, 23 October 2011. Hours: 13 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 October 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Received payment of £4,166, 24 November 2011. Hours: 13 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 25 November 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 13 December 2011) Received payment of £1,666.73, 12 December 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 2 February 2012) Received payment of £4,166.66, 22 December 2011. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 2 February 2012) Received payment of £4,166.66, 24 January 2012. Hours: 12 hrs. (Registered 9 February 2012) Received payment of £1,666.53, 25 January 2012. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 9 February 2012) Received payment of £1,666.73, 24 February 2012. Hours: 5 hrs. (Registered 13 March 2012) Received payment of £4,166.66, 24 February 2012. Hours: 15 hrs. (Registered 13 March 2012) 2. Remunerated employment, office, profession etc Occasional articles for Country Life magazine. Management consultant giving advice on strategy and business to Regenesis Ltd, Coptoak House, 216 Blackberry Lane, Limpley Stoke, Bath, BA2 7FE; a California-based company which develops, manufactures and markets advanced technologies for the restoration or remediation of natural resources. Member of Advisory Board of Oxinia (August 2008-September 2009); a group of recruitment consultants and head-hunters. Payments from Forum Invest SA; organisers of international conferences. Address: 19, Sold. Gheorghe Matac Street, 020314, Bucharest 2, Romania: Adviser to Edulink Consultants; providers of education services in Dubai and Uganda. Address: PO Box 500697, Dubai, UAE. I advise on the running of Victoria University, Kampala, where I am Chair of the University Council, including advice on academic standards, marketing and the development of the curriculum. Payment of £7,494. Hours: 16 hrs. (Registered 3 September 2011) Payment of £9,994. Hours: 27 hrs. (Registered 17 November 2011) Payment of £9,994 on 23 January 2012. Hours: 19 hrs. (Registered 9 February 2012) 9. Registrable shareholdings (a) Anacol Holdings Ltd.; a family investment company. (a) ( AFC Energy (share option). (a) Eco City Vehicles plc. (a) Group Eurotunnel SA No conflict of interest there then. His boss, Call me Dave, has an interest in windmills in that his father-in-law rceives a lot of money from the wind farm on his land. The claptrap about fracking causing gas in domestic water supplies has long been disproved. And the earth tremors are nothing more than that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 I would agree and have agreed with you on strategic industries, such as defence, energy, steel ect, but not everything, I thought you new your history, The Uk has always been a trading nation Obs, if you stop other Countries trading with us and protecting British industry they will do the same, and that equals no trade Protectionism has never worked, the Chinese tried it, and the Europeans and the Americans stopped them and it all got ugly with the boxer revolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Think you've got your history slightly mixed up Kije: It was Japan who were forced to end their isolationism, with the help of a US warship under the command of Commadore Perry, and accept US trade goods. The Chinese Boxers objected to the British importation of Opium into their Country. Touch of the Imperialism you often complain about! We've been lulled into idea of trade for it's own sake. We import goods from abroad mainly cos they are produced by cheap labour and are thus cheaper to buy. The consequence is a loss of jobs in the UK and the demise of industries, with folk out of work struggling to afford even the cheap imports. The whole basis and origin of "trade", was to trade goods and materials from one's own country, that wern't available in another; for stuff they had that we didn't, hence the ideal simbiotic relationship we had with the old Commonwealth prior to joining the EU - but nowadays, how much stuff do we import that could be grown or produced domestically? We live in a volatile world, with resources becoming ever more scarce in relation to growing populations; prudence suggests we need to reduce our dependency on others, by maximising our self sufficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 I don't know where you get the idea that resources are becoming scarce. As for the world population, never in the history of the world have so many people been lifted out of poverty in such a short space of time. And when I say poverty I don't mean not being able to afford the latest X Box or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 You can't be watching the BBC News Asp; as every other day your looking at some starving kid in Africa with an appeal for funds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Thats how charities make their money Obs, by tugging at the heart strings. But without globalisation and trade there would be millions more starving in the world. So isn't it better that we encourage the third world into world trade so that they can lift themselves out of poverty, rather than sitting there with the begging bowls out? Your idea of each country sitting in its own little bubble just using up its own resources is very short sighted. Where would you draw the line? No trade between England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland? Or no trade between Lancashire and Yorkshire, or between Warrington and Widnes? International trade is a good thing and I think you overestimate your favourite "food miles" scare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Asp, I agree with you, but we do have to be careful in the third world as they are easily exploited. By big business interests Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 I think your term "using up it's own resources" probably explains some of the cynical motivation in play: I believe the US has ample oil resources, but chooses to exhaust foreign wells, thus it can be the last man standing when the oil runs out. On the food front, our S/markets can outbid locals in food supply, thus allowing us to literally steal food from their mouths; a kind of economic imperialism exercised by rich nations over poor ones. However, this is now coming to an end with the emergence of middle classes in India and China, with growing appetite for our meat. As for industrial production; it's self evident that we can't compete on price with an Indian or Chinese worker on a $dollar a day; the result being the demise of our industrial capacity and a reliance of high end technology niche markets.; until the Chinese catch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted July 27, 2012 Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 "I think your term "using up it's own resources" probably explains some of the cynical motivation in play: I believe the US has ample oil resources, but chooses to exhaust foreign wells, thus it can be the last man standing when the oil runs out." There is a lot of opposition to the way the Obama administration is refusing to allow exploitation of the USA's own oil resources in a vain bid to end the country's reliance on fossil fuels. They have wasted $Billions on renewables so far and they are going bankrupt because of it. "On the food front, our S/markets can outbid locals in food supply, thus allowing us to literally steal food from their mouths; a kind of economic imperialism exercised by rich nations over poor ones." What kind of economic illiteracy is this? "However, this is now coming to an end with the emergence of middle classes in India and China, with growing appetite for our meat.." When did it become "OUR" meat? "As for industrial production; it's self evident that we can't compete on price with an Indian or Chinese worker on a $dollar a day; the result being the demise of our industrial capacity and a reliance of high end technology niche markets.; until the Chinese catch up. " This is the real world, which doesn't owe us any advantage over anyone else. Get used to it Obs. Reality has caught up with you at last. Sorry about the formatting of this. The "reply" function doesn't seem to be working - AGAIN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted July 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2012 1)The Yanks are still importing foreign oil - hence the war in Iraq etc. 2) Think you need to look at the overseas activities of our S/Markets. Vast tracts of land are being bought overseas by western companies for food production and home consumption. 3) It became "our" meat, when/if it was produced in this Country. 4) Who's asking for an "advantage"; global competition is exactly that, and survival rests on prioritising our national interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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