Letters / Renewable energy hypocrisy
The Shetland Islands must now be one of the best examples of renewable energy hypocrisy in the world.
Going from an environment famous for its undeveloped outstanding landscape, wildlife habitats etc to an environment of scarred and defaced hills, valleys and peatland being vandalised and destroyed by bulldozers forcing an industrialised landscape and energy factory for shareholder profits and boardroom bonus.
All forced on this community without the thoughts, involvement or debate of the majority of local folk, who see little or no benefit unless their local community council applied for a few sweeties from the laughable community benefit fund.
So, it’s here, like it or not, and loads more to come on the land and soon in the seas around us.
On the back of all this, local folk who the developers and the SIC must have and still do see as a bloody irrelevant nuisance, have amongst them many previously in fuel poverty but now sinking further and rapidly having their ranks added to, as Shetland experiences the highest energy prices in the UK.
Then Ofgem announced they are increasing the energy price cap to allow the racketeering energy mafia, claw back some of the debts/arrears of its abused customer victims who simply cannot afford to eat or live even a basic life any longer.
Yes we can vent our anger and frustration on Facebook or wherever but the better option is to write to our politicians who are there to serve us and below is a copy of the letter (via e-mail) I have sent to our MP and MSP:
Dear Alistair & Beatrice
As someone personally struggling with the cost of living, which is still rising relentlessly despite fake news that food price increases are slowing, I was horrified to hear that Ofgem, champions of the energy racketeers, were going to increase the energy price cap to allow the energy mafia, to charge all customers for the debt & arrears of their other customer/victims.
As someone both struggling with the cost of living and supporting someone in serious energy arrears with the utterly despicable SSE – involving debts of around £12,500+ at the last communication months ago.
Debt that has been caused directly by SSE itself with its lies, professional malpractice and abuse of a vulnerable customer. A customer who was supposed to be on their overpriced racket pre-pay system, designed to avoid any debt at all but which was faulty and inoperative from its installation and never sorted for over two years the young lass was a resident/customer.
The inept, wicked and greed riddled energy industry has in many cases caused a substantial part of its debts by its total failure in even trying to resolve problems at the outset, allowing simple errors and broken appointments to remedy faults, then slamming up barriers to their idiotic and useless robot customer services and making it all but impossible to communicate in any meaningful way.
How can it be right for Ofgem to allow this without any sticks to beat the energy companies into line and stop them abusing people, stuck in their merry-go-round of failure, dysfunctional customer service and eye watering record profits and boardroom bonuses?
Is there anything that either Parliaments can do to stop this evil and selfish industry increase the potential a life threatening environment that this profit driven cancer is causing?
Yours sincerely
Vic Thomas
Catfirth
Shetland
