Big Six energy firms accused of being a 'cold-blooded profiteering' cartel, hiking prices and dodging tax

Chris meets an energy fat cat...

SOURCE GUARDIAN Big six energy firms accused of 'cold-blooded profiteering'Official figures showed the big six energy firms had more than doubled their retail (i.e. selling to households and businesses) profit margins over the last 18 months and were now earning an average of £95 profit per household on dual-fuel bills. Ofgem also said average margins in generation (i.e. extracting the oil and gas) across the big six increased from 18.4% in 2010 to 24.4% in 2011. Critics accuse energy firms of acting as a profiteering cartel, forcing poor households to either “heat or eat.”

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A spokesman for the energy sector defended them, saying they had spent tax-deductible billions on investment, and in any event paid proportionately more tax than other sectors compared to its contribution to GDP. But they are accused of hiding profits through the complex relationship between different divisions of the same company. Selling energy to consumers – the retail market – is separate from the business of energy generation, and they also have energy trading arms that buy and sell power daily in the "spot" and futures markets.

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