power prices rise, without end
WORKERS, APRIL 2004 ISSUE
Electricity prices are to rise by a minimum of £5 per man, woman and child year on year, without an end date. The price increase is to pay for the maintenance of the national grid. To stand still in maintenance terms will cost over £350 million for central London alone.
Similarly water prices are to rise by a minimum of 30% during the next five years. Again the argument is that it will cost £20 billion to meet investment, upgrades, EU directives and carry out essential work ignored since the privatisation of the service.
Both electricity and water industries were hit by windfall taxes in the late 1990s because of the obscene profits being made. Subsequently, regulation of prices reduced the two industries from being cash-creators to being cash-strapped. Mergers within the utility industries have resulted in multinational concentration and monopoly, with all effective national control being moved to the US or German companies. Having bled the industries of billions during the last 15 years, the multinationals are now intent on bleeding the consumers directly.