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EU: Watchdog Ofgem predicts energy firms are set to see profits soar

By  |  January 29, 2015

The energy regulator Ofgem says the big energy firms are likely to enjoy a small increase in their profit margins in the coming year. At the same time, customers will see a small fall in their annual bills. The forecast comes against the background of international oil prices falling more than 50% since last summer.

The improved profit margins that firms can expect to make are because of further “significant declines” in the wholesale cost of buying gas and electricity. Ofgem’s figures suggest that the big firms have not fully passed on the fall in wholesale prices they have enjoyed in the past year.

Dermot Nolan, Ofgem’s chief executive, said this week that rising profit margins were “clearly a cause for concern” and that the competition regulator should take the figures into account in its continuing inquiry into the market.

Full Content: The Guardian

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