- Conference
- 2022 Energy Service Group Conference
- Date
- 18 February 2022
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes that as a result of rapidly increasing wholesale gas prices, the price of energy for consumers and businesses in the UK has also significantly increased.
Further it notes that the energy price cap which regulates the default tariffs has been increased by some 54% by the energy regulator OFGEM. This is the tariff that most consumers are on, and fixed deals are currently more expensive.
The increases reflect the near quadrupling of wholesale international gas prices and the UK’s reliance on Gas as its principal energy source.
The net impact of these increases is going to be a significant increase in fuel poverty and income poverty from these extra costs. Many consumers will simply be unable to pay and will suffer as a consequence, and possibly run up bad debts adding more pressure to the beleaguered retail supply sector in which many UNISON members work. The real impact of this will be felt next winter.
Conference further notes that the actions of the Government and the regulator OFGM has significantly contributed to where we are today. The recent support package announced by the Chancellor shows a total lack of understanding of the severity of the problem and its root causes.
Conference notes that the legacy energy retail suppliers have made significant losses from retail supply for some years leading to thousands of job losses and an unstable environment in which new entrants were allowed to be totally reckless bringing the whole house down and shining a light on the lack of regulatory oversight and an encouragement of risky behaviours in a key public service.
Conference notes that the stream of job losses has not abated, and we oppose the actions of OVO and others who are continuing to remove jobs with no view to the future.
Conference welcomes the position that UNISON has taken in its engagements with key stakeholders over recent years. We have been consistent in calling for much greater regulation, an end to the mutualisation of losses, the introduction of proper penalties for reckless behaviour, a fit and proper person test for owners, the end to crazy incentives for new customers, a requirement to be properly capitalised and hedged and a requirement to help consumers decarbonise.
Only now are Ofgem beginning to realise some of the past mistakes but the remedies it puts forward are too little too late.
This conference therefore calls on the Energy SGE
1)To continue to highlight poor practice and reckless behaviours in this industry that have cost energy members their jobs.
2)To use all our engagements with key stakeholders like Ofgem to argue for greater regulation and an end to reckless behaviour with no sanction for those who engage in it including criminal prosecution if wrongdoing is found.
3)To continue to make clear and sound arguments for the retail energy supply industry to be returned into public ownership with the state buying energy for consumers with a view to securing the best cleanest and most stable price for all consumers and having a key objective of reducing consumption through energy efficiency measures and to provide sustainable employment for energy members with the necessary platform to increase employment to meet decarbonisation objectives.
4)To correct inaccurate statements on the reasons for the crisis and engage with Labour Link to ensure that the knowledge of members in the energy sector is heard and understood.
5)To argue for the removal of all charges from the energy bill that are not related to the level of energy consumption and instead to push for these charges to be placed onto general taxation so that it is progressive and not (as is the case today) regressive with lower income consumers having to spend a much higher percentage of their income on energy bills than those with higher incomes.
6)To argue for a significant increase in government funding via the taxpayer for measures to enable consumers to be able to decarbonise.
7)To update and promote the UNISON ‘warm homes’ report so that it can continue to be used to argue for a national programme of energy efficiency measures in ways that are affordable and would lead to significant reduction in energy consumption, and bills while creating thousands of energy jobs within unionised suppliers.