An interesting side effect of spiralling energy bills in the UK is that a lot more people are stealing energy through a variety of ingenious means. From bypassing meters, tampering with supplies and sawing the edges off the meter cogs, an entire new industry has sprung up offering people the chance to get away without paying for their utilities.
What is the upshot of all this? Well, those who do pay their bills will have to shoulder the costs of paying for those who don't. Furthermore, they will also be saddled with the not inconsiderable cost of making the system more secure - after all, someone has to pay for it. This means electricity and gas bills will have to rise further, pushing more people into either stealing their supplies or else just cutting it off and going medieval. This in turn pushes the fixed costs of maintaining the system (including the energy companies' hunger for inflated profits) onto the ever decreasing pool of those still able to pay.
In other words, we have a positive feedback loop going on. And they never tend to end well.
'It's a difficult economic climate so more people are feeling this is the only way they can get their energy. So the trend is upwards.'
- Mark Andrews, head of revenue protection for British Gas
As the system is collapsing, I would say that you have something more of a negative feedback loop. Bubbles building are positive, bubbles popping is negative.
ReplyDeleteSigns of a transition to a third world economy...?
ReplyDeleteBits of the UK have been looking like the third world for decades. And parts of the third world are more affluent than Britain. I guess it's all a matter of perspective!
DeleteTo me the article is interesting mostly in what it suggests of British society. First of all, I imagine an ineffectual government that cannot provide adequate shelter to its constituency leaving them to cope as best they can. Secondly, the narrative sees the efforts of people to keep themselves warm as a crime of the people, not as a crime of the government for failing to provide for its citizens. What the article seems to be saying is that the government has no responsibility toward its citizens, that they should just be cold if they can't afford heat or if need be, just freeze to death rather than stealing from the heat providers and imperiling their profits.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, the story tells of a failure to confront declining energy resources and a failure of the political leadership to deal with the decline.
It's very interesting and I think there are a number of different drivers. Yes, the government is reaping the rewards of privatising the energy market 25 years ago. The fat cat bosses of those companies take home huge salaries and bonuses and the public perception is that the companies themselves are worthy of stealing from. Chickens are coming home to roost.
DeleteThe government has little control over the price of internationally traded commodities, such as oil (and the price of natural gas is linked to oil) - although it likes to pretend otherwise when it suits it to do so. So price rises drive the marginally dispossessed to consider getting someone to rig up a free supply. They see it as their 'right'.
Another thing is the contemporary culture of getting stuff for free. I think this has been driven by the internet. If you download pirated movies, get someone in the pub to hack your phone so you get free credit, claim plenty of benefits and free credit from government schemes ... then why not go one step further and get your energy for free too?
Interestingly, some of the biggest energy thieves are the rich. Extra (illegal) supplies to heat swimming pools were cited in one of the articles I linked to. Plus, living behind big gates with security systems, it's hard for the inspectors to catch them.
None of this hides the fact that the access to affordable energy is getting harder for the nation as a whole.
What annoys me about this article is the blithe assumption from the BBC reporter that it is the honest customer who should underwrite the cost of stolen energy. What about the inefficient managers of these companies taking a cut in their pay and bonuses till they reduce thefts. The shareholders ought to share the pain too through reduced dividends until they provide the investment to reduce thefts. Surely the regulator ought to be all over this like a rash?
ReplyDeleteThe solution lies in micro-grids. If people generate their own energy or communities do so at a local level, there is much greater incentive to reduce/eliminate theft while at the same time operating a social policy that ensures the needy do not go without. The government should forget feeder tariffs incentivising big business and offer incentives to individuals and communities to reduce demand and be locally self sufficient in generation.
Don't be silly, Phil, your solution is far too sensible to be implemented in modern Britain. How would the z/b/millioniares benefit from it?
DeleteEveryone generating their own energy? We can't have that!
Ahem....
Deletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-beat-the-big-six-power-companies--coalition-offers-new-10m-fund-fordiy-energy-schemes-9085464.html
£10,000,000 represents around 0.8% of the main six power companies gross annual profits for 2013 (1.2 billion). Assume that 80% of that will be wasted on expensive consultants and dysfunctional administration and you are left with a few crumbs.
DeleteIt might put up a wind turbine or a few solar panels.
An interesting side effect of spiralling energy bills in the UK is that a lot more people are stealing energy through a variety of ingenious means. From bypassing meters, tampering with supplies and sawing the edges off the meter cogs, an entire new industry has sprung up offering people the chance to get away without paying for their utilities.
ReplyDeleteOxford Security