to companies to decide how much they charge for a day rate and a night rate. the regulator 0fgem say they are investigating whether all suppliers are advising customers about the cheapest tariffs. but they say if economy 7 customers use cheap off peak electricity, they can make substantial savings. fuel poverty campaigners want the government to do more. the costs of these tariffs are going up, and they re going up in spite of the fact that obviously we are supposed to be in a situation where prices are locked in and people can budget with confidence knowing what their energy bills are going to cost. the government say suppliers have been allowed to change economy 7 rates to balance out more expensive day rates against cheaper night rates. but that s cold comfort to those facing higher bills this winter. coletta smith, bbc news. british gas has said it will stop switching people onto pre payment meters via their smart meters
the regulator 0fgem say they are investigating whether all suppliers are advising customers about the cheapest tariffs. but they say if economy 7 customers use cheap off peak electricity, they can make substantial savings. fuel poverty campaigners want the government to do more. the costs of these tariffs are going up, and they re going up in spite of the fact that obviously we are supposed to be in a situation where prices are locked in and people can budget with confidence knowing what their energy bills are going to cost. the government say suppliers have been allowed to change economy 7 rates to balance out more expensive day rates against cheaper night rates. but that s cold comfort to those facing higher bills this winter. coletta smith, bbc news. and joining me now is clement attwood, from energy consultancy future energy associates who provided the analysis. (0s)
since october, the government has limited the price that energy companies can charge for every kilowatt hour, but only if you re on a single tariff. for people on economy 7 who have two different tariffs they ve left it up to companies to decide how much they charge for a day rate and a night rate. the regulator 0fgem say they are investigating whether all suppliers are advising customers about the cheapest tariffs. but they say if economy 7 customers use cheap off peak electricity, they can make substantial savings. fuel poverty campaigners want the government to do more. the costs of these tariffs are going up, and they re going up in spite of the fact that obviously we are supposed to be in a situation where prices are locked in and people can budget with confidence knowing what their energy bills are going to cost. the government say suppliers have been allowed to change economy 7 rates to balance out more expensive day rates against cheaper night rates. but that s cold comfort to
good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at 0ne. 17 energy suppliers have been told they need to improve how they deal with vulnerable customers. the warning comes from the regulator 0fgem, which has been reviewing data supplied by the industry. all the firms that took part were criticised, with five found to have severe weaknesses. but some companies said the review was incomplete. 0ur cost of living correspondent kevin peachey has this report. the nights are drawing in, the heating is going on and bills are rising. as costs increase, more and more people are struggling and vulnerable but this is the response they re getting from suppliers. what we generally found, i think across all suppliers, but particularly those with severe weaknesses, really is
they may not be visible to everybody involved with the school. 0fsted said this shows the value of inspections, but the biggest education union thinks otherwise. it said the current inspections made little positive difference. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. the time is 13:16. our top story this lunchtime. many energy firms are failing vulnerable customers, says the regulator 0fgem, as people face an expensive winter. it says 17 firms must improve. hi, we re from the new york times. i believe you used to work for harvey weinstein? and a new film about the new york times investigation that exposed the film producer harvey weinstein we speak to the journalists and the actors. coming up on the bbc news channel, the shock of the world cup so far.