Manx Gas MEGA Price Rise

[Non-Believer]

1 hour ago, Chris Thomas said:

The explanatory memo was published on the Tynwald order paper 2017 01 03 - Government Business - Explanatory Memo Tynwald Members. The Tynwald members briefing Powerpoint presentation from CURA was also circulated by some members to those who asked for it I think, with CURA permission.

The Gas Regulation review report was published a couple of years ago 2019-02-15-chief-ministers-gas-regulatory-review-committee-report-final-approved-1822019.pdf (gov.im) which you might find helpful, particularly the NERA annex and Manx Gas's response which are both full of accounting and other analyses.

CURA published its own notice information-notice-33-21_gas-regulation.pdf (cura.im) and is consulting on gas regulation. You might find a read of its roadmap document interesting 20210407_roadmap-to-regulation.pdf (cura.im).

Thanks for comment and interest.

Some of your Tynwald colleagues don't appear to feel that enough information was available despite the above though? And a perfectly acceptable request for more time to obtain information was voted down, why please?

When will CURA enforce the issue of the rebates promised by Manx Gas?

 

[Happier diner]

18 minutes ago, Banker said:

Shall we start another thread for us poor sods on oil, the price of heating oil has also risen massively this year and I haven’t seen many complaints yet!!!

Haha. That's a good point. How outrageous that Manx Petroleum and EVF are passing the cost of the increase onto their customers. Makes them as evil as MG in my view. Why don't they just go bust and do the honourable thing. Next thing they'll be making profits.

[Happier diner]

14 minutes ago, TheTeapot said:

You should have filled your tank when it was cheap

Should've had a bigger tank😭

[cissolt]

Thanks for posting on here Chris.  Unfortunately it does look like you are now a politician representing Manx gas and not your constituents.  I had hoped that you would be dragging Manx gas over the coals for their excess profiteering in the past.  

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-47246092.amp

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-35978507.amp

[Andy Onchan]

1 hour ago, Chris Thomas said:

That isn't fair. Manx Gas, CURA, OFT and others signpost to available support and assistance. Manx Gas has provided an annual grant to the Salvation Army for several years. I understand it has decided in the past not to publicize this. 

There are many individuals that donate money and their time to SA and other worthy institutions who also don't shout about it. So that's a red herring.

I'm afraid, as others have said, that passing the responsibility for debt collection (which is what it is) over to a charity doesn't really do their PR any favours especially when they are, to all intent and purpose, guaranteed to make a profit (or at least breakeven).

[Happier diner]

3 minutes ago, cissolt said:

Thanks for posting on here Chris.  Unfortunately it does look like you are now a politician representing Manx gas and not your constituents.  I had hoped that you would be dragging Manx gas over the coals for their excess profiteering in the past.  

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-47246092.amp

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-35978507.amp

You can't drag people over coals any more. Got to be recycled nuggets of sewage these days. Think of the planet.

More to the point, how do you drag  company over the coals for working within a contract.

[cissolt]

3 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

You can't drag people over coals any more. Got to be recycled nuggets of sewage these days. Think of the planet.

More to the point, how do you drag  company over the coals for working within a contract.

By ensuring that they pay the agreed rebate to their customers?  Enforcing price decreases when the global prices go down? 

If you recall when the price of gas fell to a 12 month low they claimed they couldn't reduce the price due to purchasing futures.  Now they claim they purchase spot therefore the price increase is immediate contradicting their previous stance.

[Happier diner]

2 minutes ago, cissolt said:

By ensuring that they pay the agreed rebate to their customers?  Enforcing price decreases when the global prices go down? 

If you recall when the price of gas fell to a 12 month low they claimed they couldn't reduce the price due to purchasing futures.  Now they claim they purchase spot therefore the price increase is immediate contradicting their previous stance.

Are you saying they are in breach of their contract or just being cheeky and applying the contract to their best advantage?

[Banker]

55 minutes ago, TheTeapot said:

You should have filled your tank when it was cheap

Filled in May and still half full so will need another fill December probably, getting the complaints in early 😂

[Gladys]

1 hour ago, hissingsid said:

Economic Regulator that is what I could not remember,  so is this one person or a panel that have taken over from OFT ?  and did our Government appoint him or them ?   Have they got more power than OFT ?  Just a few random questions to try and understand the whole situation.   I do not think the MHKs had any option and to vote for the increase was the only way to go as it is not a local problem it is world wide, I also think that the reputation Manx Gas has had over the last few years has made the situation even more unpalatable to their customers.  I will be listening with interest to the programme tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CURA has a website but it isn't very informative on its constitution.  Go to the industry page and look at the legislation section.  There is a 2020 Order which sets out the constitution of the board of the authority, no less than 3 or more than 7. 

The website could be very much clearer on who is on the board, how it operates and have its various policies published.

 

[Chris Thomas]

32 minutes ago, Gladys said:

CURA has a website but it isn't very informative on its constitution.  Go to the industry page and look at the legislation section.  There is a 2020 Order which sets out the constitution of the board of the authority, no less than 3 or more than 7. 

The website could be very much clearer on who is on the board, how it operates and have its various policies published.

 

Thanks Gladys. You make fair point. Hope this summary, which I think is accurate, is helpful.

"The Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority (CURA) is a Statutory Board of the Isle of Man Government and has responsibility for the licensing and regulation of telecommunications and broadcasting on the Isle of Man. The Authority also has certain responsibilities in relation to the gas market." The Authority’s remit was changed in 2020 via the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority Order 2020 and its name changed from the Communications Commission 2017 01 03 - Government Business - Explanatory Memo Tynwald Members. Then gas regulation was added following Tynwald's resolution in February 2021 as follows: "and requests the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority to introduce regulation to cover the tariffs for the public supply of gas for all customers pursuant to s 6 of the Gas Regulation (Amendment) Act 2021 by 30th April 2021." Section 6 of the Gas Regulation Act 1995 was amended to allow embryonic statutory regulation. This allowed the first statutory gas tariff fixing regulations to be made in May 2021 Gas (Tariff Fixing) Regulations 2021 (tynwald.org.im). These were amended this October.

I believe CURA now has 5 non-executive board members who are Mrs Shirley Corlett (Chair), Mr Robert Frize, Mr Brian Parkin, Mr J P Donnio, Dr Juan Brown. See Senior Executive and Board Members (cura.im)

CURA's gas document library is at www.cura.im/gas Gas (cura.im) .

Edited November 1, 2021 by Chris Thomas

[Non-Believer]

1 hour ago, Happier diner said:

Are you saying they are in breach of their contract or just being cheeky and applying the contract to their best advantage?

But who is applying the contract to the consumer's best advantage? Is this an equal game?

Any number of people claimed that there was nothing wrong with the previous regulatory agreement too, that people should just accept it and the new standing charges that were implemented; until Tynwald ended up with people on its doorstep waving placards. At that point it was suddenly necessary to revise.

It's been quite reasonably stated that a number of UK gas companies have gone bust under the current conditions. But how many of those companies have or had an Ancala Group behind them with a £700M+ profit last year?

MG should have been sweated, it's been a very profitable company, they'd be reluctant to lose it.

[Gladys]

8 minutes ago, Chris Thomas said:

Thanks Gladys. You make fair point. Hope this summary, which I think is accurate, is helpful.

"The Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority (CURA) is a Statutory Board of the Isle of Man Government and has responsibility for the licensing and regulation of telecommunications and broadcasting on the Isle of Man. The Authority also has certain responsibilities in relation to the gas market." The Authority’s remit was changed in 2020 via the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority Order 2020 and its name changed from the Communications Commission. Then gas regulation was added following Tynwald's resolution in February 2021 as follows: "and requests the Communications and Utilities Regulatory Authority to introduce regulation to cover the tariffs for the public supply of gas for all customers pursuant to s 6 of the Gas Regulation (Amendment) Act 2021 by 30th April 2021." Section 6 of the Gas Regulation Act 1995 was amended to allow embryonic statutory regulation. This allowed the first statutory gas tariff fixing regulations to be made in May 2021 Gas (Tariff Fixing) Regulations 2021 (tynwald.org.im). These were amended this October.

I believe CURA now has 5 non-executive board members who are Mrs Shirley Corlett (Chair), Mr Robert Frize, Mr Brian Parkin, Mr J P Donnio, Dr Juan Brown. See Senior Executive and Board Members (cura.im)

CURA's gas document library is at www.cura.im/gas Gas (cura.im) .

Thanks Chris.  Perhaps a link to the constituting legislation would help clarify. 

[Chris Thomas]

2 hours ago, cissolt said:

By ensuring that they pay the agreed rebate to their customers?  Enforcing price decreases when the global prices go down? 

If you recall when the price of gas fell to a 12 month low they claimed they couldn't reduce the price due to purchasing futures.  Now they claim they purchase spot therefore the price increase is immediate contradicting their previous stance.

There was no enforceable agreed "rebate", although Treasury/CoMin/Tynwald can still fulfil its part of the promised rebate, and I will always believe there was a way to enforce the 2021 part of the rebate on Manx Gas with the political will, which wasn't there in Government in 2021. I used questions and speeches to suggest this several times earlier this year.

The CURA tariff fixing regulations will be reset with lower limit if the commodity price falls. Manx Gas does purchase forward, and the voluntary agreement in place between 2015 and end 2020 only required it to notify OFT of tariff and standing charge changes.   

Edited November 1, 2021 by Chris Thomas

[Chris Thomas]

3 minutes ago, Gladys said:

Thanks Chris.  Perhaps a link to the constituting legislation would help clarify. 

 I have added in a link to the December 2020 change Tynwald explanatory memorandum. Here it is as well 2017 01 03 - Government Business - Explanatory Memo Tynwald Members. The actual legislation is available on that order paper or in secondary legislation archives. The primary legislation used for this was Government Departments Act and the economic regulator itself was established in earlier telecommunications legislation which is being replaced by the Communications Act. is that right?