this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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UK Politics
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The difference with electricity is that I can change provider without having to move house
There is no competition between water or train companies
Trains are different. There isn't market competition between the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) so they created a system of pre-market competition when they privatised them - the competition takes place when TOCs bid against each other in the auction for the local franchises every five (I think?) years.
The bit of the rail network over which it's much harder to introduce competition is the actual railways themselves - which is partly why the railways were renationalised by Labour in 2002.
Water companies don't/can't compete against each other though - that's the reason even the Thatcher government thought it was necessary to give us a system of price cap regulation in order for them to operate privately. But as I've said above, the problem with water isn't monopolistic pricing, it's underinvestment, which wouldn't obviously be solved under public ownership either.
sort of, its surely not that simple. Its the same electrons whoever you buy them off, only the different types of generation and transmission depending where you live. Whats annoying about electrons is if we make them via wind or nuclear or solar its all priced in gas, so the cost of say a solar farm benefits the operator hugely and the customer is paying alot more for what is basically the sun which is still free to access.
Yep, which is why Spain's inflation rate has fallen so quickly because they unlinked the gas price from electricity
There is competition between electricity firms on price, unlike water though.
But, the same principle doesn't apply with trains. You can't have multiple train opcos on the same route, it should be nationalised.