Aug/090
Pensioner told to pay £67,000 for electricity
A 74 year old from the Downhill area of County Londonderry has been living for 27 years without electricity has been told he will need to pay nearly £70,000 to the NIE electricity board to wire his house to the grid.
John McCarter, 74, has no central heating at his Downhill home and uses bottled gas and candles for light. The electricity company said “the cost was so high because cables would have to go underground because he lives in an area of special scientific interest.”
Mr McCarter said his bones were “starting to feel the cold now”.
Aug/090
Consumers Foot the Bill for Electricty Network Upgrade
UK Consumers have suffered a lot over recent years with huge price hikes to the cost of all types of energy - including electricity and now ofgem regulators of energy suppliers have announced that electricity bill are on the increase again. It is reported that bills will increase by an average of 5% over the next 6 years to raise the £6.5 billion required to drastically improve the UK’s electricity network.
Consumer Help first heard the news after scrolling through our long list of sources and immediately thoughts of fairness (or unfairness as the case may be) sprung to mind. Only in some parts of the UK is the network in need of improvement and only in these specific areas has it been starved of investment. However, if we turn back the clock to the last time there was a major project to improve the network we can see that it was those individual local councils which part funded the work. So is it really fair to expect the whole country to contribute this time around?
In many ways it seems that the UK electricity sector has been privatised and sold off although when companies need money to upgrade networks it is always the consumer who pays the price.
Jul/090
Complaints about United Utilities rise by 16%
Research done by CC North West Water has shown that United Utilities is failing its customers. United Utilities billing system that was brought in 2005 has continually failed their customers. An example of this is on consumer who for 18 months received bills and solicitors letters for a property she previously lived at. Even though she had confirmed with United Utilities that there was no money owing on that property, the letters continued. This was according to United Utilities, due to an error on the consumers account.
This is not an isolated incident, and it’s something that United Utilities are being told to address.
United Utilities has said there figures show fewer complaints, but CC North West Water are urging them to continue improving at putting consumers first.
Jul/091
Energy Companies not dealing with Complaints Satisfactorily
It has been highlighted by the regulator of Gas and Electricity Markets, Ofgem, that energy companies are dismissing many complaints and that their consumers are extremely unhappy with the service being provided to them. Many of the complaints are that they have to contact the company several times, the staff are unhelpful and have an attitude, and calls are never returned.
There are a number of companies being accused of unsatisfactory customer service, some of which are nPower, Scottish Power, E.ON and EDF.
Ofgem are enforcing the fact that if these companies deal with their consumers in the right manner, they will hold on to existing consumers and attract new ones. This will benefit the energy companies in this time of recession, and should already be their main focus. If it is not, Ogem are urging companies to look at their consumer skills, and re-train complaints staff to appropriately deal with problems.
Jul/090
Fluoridation to Conquer Tooth Decay
Areas of the UK with high volumes of tooth decay cases are to have fluoride added to their water supply in a bid by the Health Secretary to aid better health care for areas needing it. He is also urging the NHS to do more to prevent tooth decay, rather than just treat it after its diagnosed.
If children do not brush their teeth properly and regularly, tooth decay occurs and can cause numerous dental procedures and health issues in the future. By adding Fluoride to the water it is thought this will reduce the number of tooth decay cases.
However it has been greatly opposed by many as they think it goes against their human rights. They think it is inappropriate to treat everyone when only a small area of people need it. Aside from this, long term effects are unknown, though in some cases fluoridation has caused bone fractures, cancers and tooth discolouration.
Jul/090
Dasani Bottled Water Causing a Wave in Water Industry
Dasani which is part of Coca-Cola are claiming that their bottled water, Dasani, is “as pure as bottled water gets” but the water indusrty are claiming that tap water is just as good.
The water industry claims that tap water is pure, and this is the opinion of the water inspectorate who carries out the checks. They argue that if Dasani claim they are as pure as water gets there must be different levels of purity.
Jul/090
Britain’s Gas to stop European Blackouts
The EU is demanding they take control of Britain’s Gas Reserves to help European countries suffering from blackouts. They want Britain and Dutch gas supplies so that they can make a European gas reserve that struggling European countries can use. This is being venomously disputed by Britain because the control would inevitably fall to Brussels under the Lisbon Treaty.
The Shadow Foreign Secretary has said that though European Countries should be helped in their time of need, taking control of Britain’s gas supply is too drastic.
European politicians are urging the EU to consider a common EU energy policy which would mean energy supplies would be distributed evenly.
Jul/090
Gas Cuts by Russia
As Russia enters into another East / West energy row, it will be Britain that will feel the effects. Britain receives 15% of its gas supply from Russia but the Russian company that supplies the gas has now started a row with neighbouring country Ukraine and has cut back on their gas supply. This, in turn, will affect European countries, Britain included.
Though the effect wont be felt straight away, as the cold sets in and there is more demand for heat in homes, Britain will need a larger supply. This will force the EU into a “full blown energy crisis”.
Jul/090
Electric Cigerette
A new electric cigarette has been launched by the on-line site “I Want One of Those”. It looks like a cigarette and has a glowing red tip, it gives the same ‘hit’ as a cigarette but it is not harmful to the user and can be used in some pubs as it does not produce any smoke. It is also battery charged and reusable.
It contains a chamber of liquid nicotine and works by turning the liquid into vapour that the user sucks in once they have taken a drag. It produces the same nicotine hit and doesn’t cause lung or throat cancer because it doesn’t contain any of the additives normal cigarettes do. The only thing it contains is nicotine.
The nicotine chambers are available in 3 strengths; ‘low’ which contains six milligrams of nicotine, ‘medium’ which has 11mg, and ‘high’ which contains 16mg.
It comes with 2 cigarette sticks, battery charger, five high strength chambers, costs approximately £49.99 and is only available to over 18’s.
Jul/090
Electric Environmentally Friendly Motorcycle
A new electric motorcycle has been launched in the UK. The motorcycle is run on a battery pack, has a light frame and is said to be faster than any car on the road today.
Not only is it quiet, unlike conventional bikes, it also has no clutch or a need to change gears. By simply turning the throttle the speed will increase. A change in the settings allows the bike to go from 0 – 50mph in 5 seconds.
The battery is charged using a normal household socket and takes four hours to give 60 miles of charge, which will only cost the homeowner 6 pence.
The new electric motorcycle is set to be a storm, especially as the bike is environmentally friendly and only emits an 8th of the CO2 conventional bikes do. So is electric the way to go?
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