Government allowing energy companies to overcharge Weston customers

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 27th Jun 2009

Independent consumer champion Consumer Focus has produced a new report this week which claims that energy companies are over-charging customers in Weston-super-Mare by not passing cost cuts to the consumer.

Figures released by Consumer Focus earlier this year found that soaring energy bills had left an estimated 7,251 households in Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding villages in fuel poverty.

Mike Bell, the Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding villages commented: "The Government are a soft touch when it comes to the energy companies and it has allowed them to overcharge their customers.

"Energy companies were quick to hike up prices when costs rose, but very slow to bring them down now costs have fallen. According to Consumer Focus, Weston households should be looking at an average cut in their energy bills of £157 each this year, but they are not getting it.

"People have been left paying shockingly high fuel bills. The weather may be warm now, but it is expected that one in six Weston households will be living in fuel poverty and struggling to pay their energy bills this winter."