Natural Gas: Prices

Mr. Jenkins
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the percentage of the price of gas from the cost of companies buying gas is maintained through price fluctuations.

Malcolm Wicks
This is a commercial matter for the gas supply companies. As I mentioned in an earlier answer on 2 March 2007, Official Report, column 1602W, Ofgem, as the independent sectoral regulator, keeps the level of competition in the gas market under review, and has the powers it needs to deal with any failure of competition.

Mr. Jenkins
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2007, Official Report, column 1601W, on natural gas: prices, what steps the Government have taken to encourage gas companies to consider their most valuable customers; and what the results were of such encouragement.

Malcolm Wicks
Subject to any regulatory controls, it is for gas suppliers, not Government, to determine who their most valuable customers are.

Mr. Jenkins
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will instruct the regulator to analyse and to report to him on the time taken between raw material gas prices falling and any reductions in domestic retail gas prices; and if he will place such a report in the Library.

Malcolm Wicks
No. Ofgem, as the independent sectoral regulator, produced a fact-sheet last month called ‘Household Energy Bills Explained’, which explains why there is a time lag between the falls in the wholesale price and domestic prices see:

http://www.ofgem.gov/uk/Media/FactSheets/Documents1/Update%20-%20Household%20energy%20hills%20 explained.pdf.

As I mentioned in an earlier answer on 2 March 2007, Official Report, column 1602W, Ofgem keeps the level of competition in the gas market under review, and has the powers it needs to deal with any failure of competition.