Electricity prices inextricably linked to the oil price

bivvyman

Electricity prices inextricably linked to the oil price .How many times have we heard this - OIL PRICES went all the way up to $150 dollars a barrel , now without a whimper the oil price has gone below $100 and now $90 . Will gas / electricity follow ?

When would it commercially be viable to switch from GAS Central Heating to OIL - When the oil price started to get silly we installed a wood burning stove and reduced our total heating spend by 50% !!! The capital cost was £500 , payback period approx 6 months

I think the public and :money: are still in the mindset that electricity / gas prices are going up further and there is nothing to stop this , so we are fuelling, pardon the pun , the continual rise in prices

I appreciate this post is a little tongue in cheek though would be interested what other forum members think.

1carminestocky

Apparently, according to a poster on here who works for an energy company, the link was only ever 'loose', lol...

BusinessEnergyBroker

Oil does unfortunately control the price of many thing in the world and it certainly influences the prices of electricity and gas however it isnt the whole picture. While the oil price has dropped the dollar has strengthened therefore giving us less value for our £. Late last year the $ was 2.10 v the £ now its 1.75 - a difference of 17%. Oil has dropped from $146 to $96 in the past 4 months a drop of 34%. I dont believe that we saw the full impact of the oil price at its peak as it didn't remain there very long.

Without going too in depth let just say that the UK's energy infrastructure is extremely poor in comparion to other countries.

We only have the facility to store gas for 13 or so days in the UK. Compare this to Germany 99 days or France 122 days.

Nuclear Power stations are going off line within a number of year and need to be replaced. Who is ultimately going to pick up that cost?

Us of course and I believe that we already are.

Its like everything else in this country. Once you get used to paying a price it becomes the norm and most people begin to accept it. We are English.. its what we do...except for the petrol blockades back in 2008. Thats the only time that I have witnessed any action that resulted in backpeddling from the Government.

They say people have the power to change things. I don't believe that to be true, as there are just too many people who dont want to get involved.

How hard would it be to blockade a Power Station if people really wanted to? Its worked once before with petrol (to an extent). Drax in Yorkshire supplies 4% of the UKs electricity. Imagine if that was blockaded?

Ultimately it wont happen because people can manage without a car (albeit reluctantly) but try leading a normal life at home or running a business without electricity.

Do you remember the last time you had a power cut???

I think its fair to say that If you want cheaper gas or electricity then you need to leave the country.

Cardew

BusinessEnergyBroker wrote: »

I think its fair to say that If you want cheaper gas or electricity then you need to leave the country.

And go where?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1157727

For all the extra gas storage available in France and Germany, look at their prices. EEU link available in the thread above.

We still have the biggest gas storage facility in the Common Market - it is under the North Sea! Unfortunately successive Governments have encouraged the industry to suck oil and gas out as fast as possible.

1carminestocky

Yes, it's a funny thing - every time our pound loses value against the Euro and other country's currency, they end up paying more for their gas and electric than us. :rotfl: Let's hope the pound loses lots more ground, then we may be paying less for alcohol than the French, lol...:rolleyes:

BusinessEnergyBroker

And go where?

I'd say Bulgaria is a fair bet. Up and coming property market sun and cheap(er) fuel prices all round.

Where's my passport gone?

mech_2

According to someone posting to this forum who works for a tabloid newspaper, gas prices are not linked to oil at all and it's all a big lie. And he authoritatively states that a fall in the value of the pound should make imports cheaper.

I think tabloid journalists on here should declare their occupation. I mean how do we know they have this wonderful insight if they keep their job secret from us? Never mind, we can just guess wildly. Who needs facts anyway?

SwanJon

1carminestocky wrote: »

Apparently, according to a poster on here who works for an energy company, the link was only ever 'loose', lol...

1cs - would you care to point out the difference between somehting that is linked and something that is loosely linked?