Labour’s candidate for Southport at the next General Election, Patrick Hurley, has launched a campaign locally to end the rip-off treatment of Southport residents on domestic energy standing charges. He has written to industry regulator Ofgem to demand action to end the rip-off, and is working with councillors and campaigners across the north west to force the industry regulator to take action.
It was reported in August this year on the “This Is Money” financial advice website that people living in Southport pay the highest domestic energy standing charges in the country. In contrast, people living in London pay the lowest standing charges.
This means, in essence, that no matter how frugal people are in Southport when it comes to reducing their domestic energy consumption, they are still hit with the highest charges in the country. The standing charge is levied daily whether or not people turn their appliances on.
The main factor in domestic energy standing charges is the part of the bill controlled by the Distribution Network Operator (DNO). The DNO for Southport is SP Energy Networks, who set the price which the supplier then passes on to the consumer.
The DNOs across the country are being allowed to set prices as monopoly providers, and they levy different prices in different parts of the country. Southport has been lumbered with the highest charges in the country. Ofgem should be regulating the industry in the interests of consumers.
Patrick Hurley, Labour’s candidate for Southport, has written to Ofgem to demand that they cap the network costs controlled by the DNOs, in order to remove regional disparities, and to set the cap at a reasonable and affordable level.
He said: “It’s an utter disgrace that the people of Southport are being handed the highest standing charges in the country for their energy bills, while people in London are given the cheapest deals. I’m calling on Ofgem to improve regulation on this part of the industry to ensure fair treatment, and for government to get a grip on the companies who are ripping off local people. The current situation is massively unfair on the people of Southport, who have little option but to pay the standing charges set by SP Energy Networks. This situation needs to change, in order to ensure fairness and affordability in energy provision, and to avoid the prolonging of the cost of living crisis that the country is experiencing.”
Local resident Ian Cooper, who first raised the issue with Patrick, said: “It’s an outrage that people in Southport are having to pay over the odds for standing charges. I have written a couple of times to our MP, but he appears to be totally happy to accept the current system. Nevertheless a complete overhaul of the whole system that allows such an inequitable distribution of standing charges is long overdue.”
OTS News on Social Media