Your Gas Bill How High Can It Go?

 My IB Times posting on how Governments and the EU are effectively taxing your warmth:

Natural Gas - Even Keeping Warm is Ripe for EU Extortion [BLOG]

By Martin Cole: Subscribe to Martin's RSS feed 

I imagine that international consciousness of the fact that water is indirectly delivered from the heavens for free initially prevented the  despots of what became the EU from attempting to tax delivery of that precious and life-giving resource.

The early years of the coming together of Europe's nation states in a progressive community, dedicated to delivering Marxism disguised as the mixed economy, also happened to coincide with the conversion of the northern tier of western European from town gas produced from coal to natural gas tapped, as fresh water often is, from beneath the land and increasingly from beneath the sea.

In even medium-sized British towns, smelly gasworks advertised their presence by large and highly visible gasometers. They were steadily replaced by vans converting every street to North Sea gas. Gas lights spluttered their welcome pools of light every quarter of a mile or so into the Devon countryside as I cycled home from boy scouts, running to a halt when I still had over a mile to continue, with only the stars (unfiltered by any orange sodium glow) and the glow-worms in the high hedgerows to keep me safe from the bogeyman, in whom, of course, I no longer believed

These were the days before even British Gas, itself now supposedly replaced in the public mind by the villainous Centrica whose latest price gouging is neatly encapsulated in the statement that it "raised tariffs 6 percent for around 8.4 million households at the end of 2012. Operating profit for the segment rose 11 percent to £606m."

The Gas Council ran things in those days with some rather quaint financial structures, as I experienced when working for a US oil company developing the North Sea oilfield Beryl.

After leaving the UK in the Wilson/Callaghan years, disgusted at the blatant and deliberate attempt to undermine, if not sabotage, the North Sea oil industry for ruinous point-scoring dressed up as "participation", I spent some time working in the US. Here, my ultimate employer was a natural gas transmission pipeline company, regulated (quite properly) as a public utility, down to the finest detail of our corporate accounts.

Before leaving Britain, I had seen the British Gas Council, in the shape of Sir Denis Rooke, make possible the country's conversion to natural gas to the benefit of the consumer and a maximum return to the oil industry investors of 20 percent AARR, the industry minimum for offshore exploration to be viable. For the last 20 years I have looked on in horror at how this supply of warmth to the cold northernmost countries of Europe has been manipulated to extract revenue in a manner reminiscent of the means by which the euro is now being used to bring austerity to those beyond the reach of such warmth extortion.

In the process, our civil service has been bent to an extent that must have Sir Denis not just turning, but writhing in his grave.

There cannot be a wholesale gas price index set by giants engaged in the business. Only full government right of audit and prohibition of cross-border transfers can achieve what national and EU politicians claim is a regulated market.

This is not some new fact. It has been known and recognised in the US in law for years. There can only be one reason that that is not the case within the EU - companies and/or regulators are making unjustified profits, presumably leading to some individuals somewhere receiving rake-offs.

 Martin Cole runs several politically themed blogs, mainly Ironies Too, and tweets and comments about the erosions of liberty

Ukraine stops Russian Gas again!

Unacceptable transit conditions are the latest reason given for the interruption in resumed gas deliveries from Russia for Europe. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise for it seems only something drastic such as a halt in domestic gas deliveries will bring home to the ill-informed British public the real risk from the Lisbon Treaty and the grave dangers the country already faces thanks to the contempt and neglect of their political class!

Poland's President under French Pressure over Lisbon.

The Russian gas interruption is being cited as further cause for pushing through the Lisbon Treaty which is understandable enough as once signed Britain loses control of its North Sea hydrocarbon resources just as surely as it was duped out of its fish. The report of fresh pressure on the Polish President to sign may be read from this link. Meanwhile in the FT today David Cameron's pathetic apology for a policy on the EU is hinted at in all its confusion, read here. I ask you what can be made from these quotes: David Cameron, leader of Britain's opposition Conservatives, has vowed to wreck the EU's Lisbon treaty if he emerges victorious from any early general election in the first half of this year.... The Tories believe the treaty - which would create a new EU president and foreign minister and simplify the Union's decision-making procedures - would have the effect of transferring too much power to Brussels.... Mr Cameron says his party is united in its approach to Europe, which includes breaking off its alliance in the European parliament with French and German centre-right parties. How can the Treaty be OK if it is already ratified when he takes power when it "would have the effect of transferring too much power to Brussels"? How can the party be "united in its approach to Europe" when a weekend poll showed 35 per cent of Conservative supporters felt none of the parties reflected their view on Europe and there is a group of his own MP supporting a referendum whether or not Lisbon has been ratified. Truth is his party is united in funking the issue in the vain hope they will gain the perks of Government even knowing the powers have been lost - a morally reprehensible standpoint as it demonstrates they are only in politics for the money and perks! Just like the Labour Party! We must now look to foreigners to salvage our democracy - Irish, Poles, Czechs and YES even the French - after all it was the latter who were the first to reject the EU Constitution and they have not as yet had their final say!

Gas thefts begin - Britain faces cuts!

The Sunday Times reports less than a week's supply for the UK and raises the prospects of cuts, linked here. The following is a quote from their report: Suppliers were forced to dip into reserves last week after energy companies began siphoning gas out of Britain to supply other parts of Europe.... (Ireland's) Energy regulator CER said on Tuesday that Ireland could be indirectly affected if the Russia-Ukraine crisis persisted. “Obviously if that continues to develop over the next couple of months and gas from the North Sea is directed into Europe, it could affect us that way,” a spokesman said..... My other posts on this topic from earlier in the week may be viewed by scrolling down the page, this in particular gives some background.

Open Europe comments on Daily Express Gas scare!

The following is from the daily Open Europe e-mail update on EU events of concern:

Comment: In addition to giving the EU new powers relating to security of energy supply, to be decided on by majority voting, the Lisbon Treaty would also create a new obligation for security of energy supply policy to be framed "in a spirit of solidarity between member states." The European Commission has in the past proposed measures which would increase member states' holdings of emergency oil stocks and hand control of those stocks to Brussels. The Government successfully opposed these plans in 2002 but they remain on the table. The EU treaties have never before contained any specific powers on energy policy. When it was first proposed that these powers should be created during the European Convention (the conference which drew up the original EU Constitution in 2003), the UK Government was strongly opposed and tried to get them deleted. The Government said at the time: "This provision is unnecessary as all aspects of energy policy are effectively covered elsewhere in the Treaty e.g. single market, environment. In addition, we have detailed concerns on the text, which we consider may have the unintended effect of changing the boundaries of EU competence and the types of measure which will be subject to unanimity."

Steal our Gas - Stick your Yoghurt!

The French have taken control of large swathes of Britain's economy thanks to the total incompetence of recent British governments - but at least they do not choose to rub our noses in it with nightly commercials. Since when have folks in Shropshire put two dots over the letter U? German Politicians have decided to phase out their nuclear power stations and rely on Russian Gas. Let Germans, therefore, be the ones to freeze in the dark. To send that message why not boycott

Müller Yoghurt

Daily Express twigs EU plan to purloin Britain's Gas

The report is here. As this blog has repeatedly pointed out under the Lisbon Treaty Britain loses control of its energy policy and therefore its energy reserves. Lisbon has not been ratified so for the moment we do not have to freeze in the dark for the sake of those on the Continent. This happy status will not last for long! Indeed in Britain's bankrupt state economic pressures could soon force that very situation. Some quotes from the Express: BRITAIN’S vital North Sea oil and gas supplies are to be taken over by Europe under emergency plans revealed for the first time in Brussels yesterday. Ultimate control over Britain’s vast natural gas and oil fields – by far the biggest resource within the EU – will fall to Brussels if the new treaty, which has already been ratified by Britain, is adopted throughout Europe.

Meanwhile, in a closed-door meeting with high-ranking European politicians, Mr Barroso said the current crisis showed the need for urgency in adopting a common EU energy policy.

He called for a “mutualisation of energy stocks”, the better use of “EU indigenous energy resources” and said it was vital that member states show “solidarity” with their struggling partners in eastern Europe.

Mr Barroso added that he would soon have the legal authority to take over control of energy reserves under the Lisbon Treaty.

He said the new powers were necessary because requests to national governments to detail what gas reserves they had available had produced no response.