MSE News: British Gas boss: The only way is up on prices

Former_MSE_Helen

"Energy bills should be made simpler to help consumers save money, a top British Gas executive says..."

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British Gas boss: The only way is up on prices




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MillicentBystander

Q: What do you think will happen to prices as a result of this?
A: Our tariffs broadly reflect cost differentials, so our online tariff is about 4% lower than our offline tariff – the difference in cost to provide that service.
Some of our competitors have very different approaches to this and I think – I can't speak for them – they'll find it more difficult to sustain that level of differential. I don't think prices will go up, you'll see different strategies flying around.

Been saying this for years so have to agree with this part. It's just that us tariff tarts have gotten used to unrealistically out of kilter lower prices at the expense of standard customers and it's now going to stop, apparently.

jamesd

Did Ian Peters really say "upgrading people to non-condensing boilers"? Not "condensing" but "non-condensing"?

Seems unlikely that he'd be saying they are trying to routinely act unlawfully and fitting a non-condensing oiler is now usually not lawful, except in special cases.

To answer his rhetorical question, yes I can easily relate to a kWh and it makes it quite easy to do things like comparing the cost of electricity and gas or other fuels for heating. the different energy content per unit volume for gas at different times makes it a little fiddly but the variation isn't huge.

I'm more concerned that British Gas have eliminated themselves as my supplier with their smart meter rollout, using an insecure system without anything remotely close to adequate privacy controls via things like monthly minimum reading intervals.

I'm more interested in ensuring that a meter modem does not know what appliances are using, so it cannot relay that information, than in enabling it. But a meter telling devices when it is desirable to reduce power usage or when rates change at grid-level forecasting and operating response windows would be of significant interest to me.

GMbabies

I take it they do this so that they can say renewable energy is not profitable because most of the time it's not in use.

Wind farms paid £30 million a year to stand idle because the grid can't cope with all the energy they produce

• Wind farms paid millions when National Grid is unable to use their energy
• Last weekend alone energy firms were paid £3.1million to switch off

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2388417/Wind-farms-paid-30-million-year-stand-idle-grid-cope-energy-produce.html

alinwales

Interesting read. I'm always intrigued by the fact that they always say that costs can be reduced by reducing usage. All well and good, but where does reduction stop? At zero? Hardly... So if you are using as little power as possible, then if rates go up, then the bill will go up, period.
Also, the more savvy you are now with perhaps less-than-perfect-efficiency equipment, then the payback cost of upgrading (e.g.) the boiler will be very very long, and is this worth it when the old equipment still works?

GMbabies

All the energy companies are the same. As alinwales highlighted, they say, 'reduce your usage then you'll be all right' to fool you. Money vampires! I guess the energy company ceo and managers need to have more holidays. Yes, we will fund it for you....... while we have no heating during the winter time because we are generously poor.

EDF makes billion-pound profit after raising bills

http://www.scotsman.com/business/fin...ills-1-3021898

Pincher

How did people survive three hundred years ago without central heating?

I want Lucy Worsley to do a documentary. Not just in mansions and castles, ordinary people who sleep in barns as well please. This will give her a chance to wear her nighties again.

DragonQ

GMbabies wrote: »

I take it they do this so that they can say renewable energy is not profitable because most of the time it's not in use.

Well that seems !!!!!!, even if it were completely true (which I don't believe for a second considering the source). If they're making SO MUCH energy that they have to turn them off, why not just turn off a coal power plant or something? Surely wind farms require fewer staff and lower maintenance costs and would be more profitable for the energy companies if they used them properly?

lstar337

DragonQ wrote: »

Well that seems !!!!!!, even if it were completely true (which I don't believe for a second considering the source). If they're making SO MUCH energy that they have to turn them off, why not just turn off a coal power plant or something? Surely wind farms require fewer staff and lower maintenance costs and would be more profitable for the energy companies if they used them properly?

Would be quite difficult to turn off a coal fired plant. You could shut the connection to the grid, but it would still be kicking out tons of CO2.

Gigervamp

Pincher wrote: »

How did people survive three hundred years ago without central heating?

They had fireplaces. Most modern houses now don't have chimneys, so people have to rely on gas or electric for heating.

DragonQ

lstar337 wrote: »

Would be quite difficult to turn off a coal fired plant. You could shut the connection to the grid, but it would still be kicking out tons of CO2.

I meant shut it down, considering these wind farms are supposedly pumping out more than enough energy anyway.