Nationalise the Utilities Campaign

Written by Administrator Monday, 01 February 2010 15:16

Re-nationalise NIE

How many of you as NIE customers realise that you are paying for a £24million computer and administrative system that is lying idle?

 By Warren McCullough

The quango that is the Utility Regulator set this system up two years ago to create a domestic electricity market in Northern Ireland, supposedly to introduce ‘competition’. The cost of this farce is being shouldered by households who are paying around £100 more than they were at this time last year.

On top of this the Utility Regulator has squandered over £6million on ‘consultant’ fees. The result of all this is Northern Ireland has the highest electricity prices throughout Ireland and Britain, with price increases of 42% since last year! The Utility Regulator is a joke. You can be sure he hasn’t had to choose whether to eat or heat. Single people, single parents, unemployed families, struggling working families, have all had to make these choices.

The worst hit were our pensioners, more than 500 perished because of the incompetence of those who are supposed to help us. Maybe it is time the Socialist Party had a more permanent presence outside the Regulator’s office.