MSE News: SSE puts gas prices up: will others follow suit?

havelec

A number of forecasts suggest that prices will increase significantly in the next 5 years. Are the supply companies simply taking advantage of the rhetoric? Either way, we should all seriously consider making our own electricity using solar panels. The electricity we generate in this way is free. This will mitigate the increased charges. And with the Feed In Tariff scheme currently running it offers a decent investment opportunity too!

Premier_2

starM wrote: »

Hi,

Atlantic Gas Prices is due to increase on 01/12. I am currently on Atlantic Standard Online Tariff with standaing charge.

Just been looking at my last 12 months usage:-

Gas: 17313.60 = £612.46[FONT=&quot] (Yearly according to Atlantic on my last Bill)[/FONT]
Electric: [FONT=&quot]2213.54 = £302.80 (Yearly according to Atlantic on my last Bill)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Not happy of the increase and been looking at fixed tariff. Npower sign online 20 gives me savings of £141 - other hand Atlanticn Fixed Price 3 gives me Savings of £72. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Any suggestions?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Also when I spoke with Atlantic Customer Service they told me that if I move to Fixed tariff I will loose my Annual rebate which is average of my 12 monthly DD payments - but according to Energyhelpline it states :--[/FONT]

Monthly direct debit customers receive a one month rebate after being with Atlantic Electric & Gas for a year. This is equivalent to an 8.33% discount on the annual bill.

Not sure who is giving me correct infor Atlantic or [FONT=&quot]Energyhelplin?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Currently I have a spreadsheet works I use to work out my bills. My present tariff has one unit charge whatever amount of kwh is used so I find that easier to calc on the spreadsheet. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Any Spreadsheet available which auto calc the bills by entering the details in?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]MS[/FONT]

You asked that in a thread you started a couple of days earlier :huh:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2832292

Premier_2

havelec wrote: »

A number of forecasts suggest that prices will increase significantly in the next 5 years. Are the supply companies simply taking advantage of the rhetoric? Either way, we should all seriously consider making our own electricity using solar panels. The electricity we generate in this way is free. This will mitigate the increased charges. And with the Feed In Tariff scheme currently running it offers a decent investment opportunity too!

If it were that simple, you'd think the energy suppliers would just turn off their nuclear reactors, put a halt to their expensive gas supplies (and oil/coal if there are any power stations still powered that way) and just put a solar panel on the roof. :cool:

Just think of their profits then

Those who reside in a mid floor, north facing flat are still going to need to get electric from somewhere

Perhaps we should all follow the example of the Good Life? Didn't Tom install a generator that ran off pig manure in his home?
Guaranteed free energy for life ... as long as you don't turn veggie.
It even worked during the hours of darkness.

dori2o

There was a debate on this the other day (early morning) on the radio. General concensus was that ALL the large energy companies are using the 'Investment' argument as an excuse for increasing their prices, yet despite their increased 'Investment' all of them will post increased net profits come the end of the financial year.

The fairness of the rises needs to be looked into. we are constantly told, when wholesale gas/electric prices drop, that gas/electricity is bought so far in advance, and that they cannot drop the prices as the energy we are using has been paid for at a higher price.

Yet as soon as wholesale energy prices increase, the utilities companies put their prices up straight away.

One of 2 things needs to happen. There needs to be new legislation brought in to ensure a direct link between wholesale and retail energy prices, OR, the Gov't need to take all utilities back under state control. at least then prices will not be fixed upon the basis of ensuring dividend and bonus payments for the fatcat bosses of these companies.

matrix999

Does anyone know if the social tariff that belongs to SSE Group "Energy Plus Care" will be increasing in price?

Pincher

Premier wrote: »

Those who reside in a mid floor, north facing flat are still going to need to get electric from somewhere

This is why we need to even the playingfield by giving an equivalent Feed In Tariff to Co-Op solar farms, in say, Cornwall.

Households without a south facing roof should be able to pay ten thousand pounds to a company to put up solar panels on their behalf, in sunny Corwall. The electricity generated obviously cannot be used in the household, so the entire amount would be exported.

The whole concept of putting solar panels on ordinary roofs is insane. The roofs are inaccessible without scaffolding.
They are geograhpically all over the place, so inspection/maintenance/repairs are time wasting.
On top of that, the housholds are not in sunny parts of the country.
You have hundreds of thousands of inverters and export meters,
all of which are exporting tiny amounts. And the electricity are not generated when the household wants to use it!

A solar farm in Cornwall, in comparison, gives huge economy of scale, as well as having better weather, so the yield per panel is higher. Instead of a hundred thousand export meters, you have ONE. You can have professional engineers sorting out problems without driving a hundred miles just to deal with one panel.

To improve the economy further, we could use concentrator mirrors, so we don't need so many expensive solar panels.
In this case, each household will buy a share in a generator array,
and get the Feed-In-Tariff as a dividend.