Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh
So they were running at a loss before the price of energy surged?
Not a sustainable business model.
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Exactly. As the boss of Octopus Energy commented, power companies should be obliged to purchase power in advance to match the fixed tariffs they charge customers. Otherwise, they will be caught out by upswings in prices.
The price cap might be an issue for all power companies in the future if it is not increased but the likes of Bulb acquired customers with multi-year fixed tariffs. They do not have many legacy customers on variable rates like the incumbent power companies British Gas or Scottish Power do.
---------- Post added at 02:54 ---------- Previous post was at 02:40 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by nomadking
How on earth would a publicly owned company have performed better? 
Same costs involved. The taxpayer would've had to subsidise consumers long before now. |
The issue is that some of the newer companies did not buy their fuel in advance. This was ok when wholesale prices were falling but was a one-way bet when they rose. Compare Bulb to Octopus and you'll understand why one exists without subsidy and why the other has been effectively nationalised.