To think gas, electricity and water should be supplied by the government?

[Thisisaname]

Prices the companies are charging are ridiculous!

I'm not saying it should be free, just the same as it is now but is fully controlled by the government, everyone with jobs with those companies now is to work with the government and anyone who would loose their job would probably easier find one due to more people having money due to it being regulated so people buy more stuff and companies have more money so more people to employ.

Also these companies tend to tax avoid so more money on that front and the government HAVE to publish what they pay per unit and how much profit they make and where it goes.

Someone tell me AIBU before I retrain in politics and run for mp, pleeaassee

If housing associations built in micro-generation schemes to social housing, they could negotiate a decent bulk price, slash fuel poverty rates and raise domestic green energy generation levels all at once. They don't because the maths doesn't add up, especially with the HB caps.
Insulation and impartial advice for families on cutting bills (and how to join/form co-operatives to shop around for the best price) will help people immediately, renationalising will just mess it up for at least a few years until it all gets sorted out or not, as is usually the case

The one thing that no one has mentioned is investment.

What happens if you spend almost nothing on looking after your house for several decades? Answer: it falls down.

Well, that's what successive governments did with the gas, electricity and water infrastructure. Transferring ownership to the private sector meant that they didn't get the blame for all the extra costs for renewing the national grid, the gas network and the water and sewerage piework that would otherwise have collapsed. You've also got the levys to support renewable energy - a new gravy train for dodgy businesses that we have to pay for.

Not saying that the utilities are saints, but the real picture is rather more complicated.

Well it used to be the case. There were a lot more power cuts then. And as I understand it, things weren't terribly efficient. The trouble with monopolies is that no competition generally leads to complacency.