Freya Van den Bossche (sp.a) today gave a speech where she announced that the energy bill for people should be lower, and the difference should be paid by the energy producing sector. One company in particular was mentioned - Electrabel - which really suprises me. Sure enough she may just have wanted to make an easy statement, singling out one company to make it more understandable, but I think that results in quite the opposite effect. Apart from such a communication fluke, the idea itself is pretty insane - instead of taking hard(er) path to a long term solution, once again politicians opt for the short term ideas that will get them votes in the upcoming elections (october 06).
There are two ways to lower energy bill for consumers :
- force companies to charge less and thus lower their profits (and possibly investments in the long run)
- make consumers aware of ways to save energy, thus lowering their energy bill
I think we should first follow option 2 before looking at option 1, even if companies sometimes make an insane amount of profit. Companies have a legal obligation towards their stockholders to maximize profits, no matter what, as long as it makes economic sense.