LONDON, November 13 /PRNewswire/ --

LONDON, November 13 /PRNewswire/ --

The UK energy market has failed consumers and is causing rampant fuel poverty and fear as winter draws in. According to Unite, the UK's biggest union, which has been leading the call for a windfall tax to ease consumer price pain, only a total overhaul of the market's operations will prevent the continued exploitation of millions of fuel consumers.

Unite's call for urgent intervention in the UK fuel market, combining Government-led profit redistribution and tough regulatory action, is set out in the union's submission to Ofgem's consultation on the energy market. Ofgem's review into the energy market's structure concludes today, Thursday.

According to Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, Millions of UK households are now classified as fuel poor. To have ordinary people wrestle with whether to heat their homes or feed their families is inhumane, not to mention a shocking indictment of both the world's fourth richest economy and the regulator's failure to put consumers before greedy companies.

Galloping price rises and light touch regulation have hit hard-pressed consumers with a double-whammy - they are forced to pay sky high prices for an essential commodity and a toothless regulator that fails to bite back in their favour.

This abusive stranglehold must be broken. Price-capping and price cuts must be put in place to stop bills soaring ever higher, Ofgem must make use of its powers to guard against market abuse, and there must be an immediate windfall tax on the astronomical profits pocketed by the oil and energy companies in recent times so that the pain of fuel price hikes can be eased and bills can be paid.

Urgent redistribution of windfall profits would put GBP250 into the pockets of six million needy homes this winter but this can only be the first step on the road to restructuring our broken energy market and ending the exploitation of customers everywhere.

Unite has been pressing for a 'modest' windfall tax on the oil and utility companies, a call reiterated in October when BP and Shell once again reported massive profits. Unite's serious concerns over the operation of the UK energy supply market and its impact on fuel consumers are set out in its submission to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets' (Ofgem) energy supply probe consultation.

Copies of the Unite Ofgem submission can be obtained by emailing pauline.doyle@unitetheunion.com

LONDON, November 13 /PRNewswire/ --

For further information contact Pauline Doyle on +44(0)7976-832-861