Would Red Ed Leave the Energy Sector Dead?

Would Red Ed Leave the Energy SectorWould Red Ed Leave the Energy Sector Dead? PR Newswire LONDON, October 29, 2013 Was the leader of the opposition's attack on the energy companies blatant electioneering or does the talk of a shake-up of the sector have any merit in a global industry that is driven by the free market principles of supply and demand? Auditel, one of the UK's leading cost management consultancies, draws on the knowledge of energy experts David Lowe, Ian Hopping and Ian Lessen to discuss why Red Ed's pledge isn't the answer. It's the view of the Auditel energy specialists that the suggestions are politically charged, unworkable and offer little detail or substance. They suggest that Milliband's proposal would most likely lead to unsustainable and loss-making energy retail businesses, a lack of investment in the energy infrastructure and the option to inflate prices before the freeze to recover potential lost profits. In addition, they speculate that thousands of jobs could be put at risk across the industry and there could be a knock on effect resulting in a reduction in investment into greener energy sources. On the subject of price fixing, Ian Lessen says: "Ed Milliband pledged that if elected Labour will freeze energy prices for domestic and business users until 2017. For those of us old enough to remember, income and price fixing was tried in the 70's and it was a catastrophe.