Old power stations closing = Higher prices?

skipinderjit

I listened to a radio programme a year ago stating EU directives will close down a number of old polluting power stations around 2015. As a consequence of this I signed up to a fixed tariff with EDF as per

Blue +Price Freeeeze March 2017
Early exit fees: £0
End date: 31 Mar 2017

I have just had one of MSE's energy alerts explaining that I can save £430 a year ( a lot of money ) if I change to another fixed tariff that runs out in 12 months. Your thoughts and any snippets of info would be appreciated. If I stay will I be lucky given that supply just might outstrip supply and the new Govt wont feel too compelled to restrain the power companies

Pincher

Salmon gotta spawn,
Lemmings gotta jump,
and the UK consumers have to fix in September.

Even I got caught up in the fixing fever in September 2013.

In retrospect, the Scottish Power March 2015 Fix was perfectly decent, but I should have done nothing, and let the previous (cheaper) fix run its course, so October to December 2013 would have been about £30 less. Then I could have switched penalty free to Ovo in January 2014, which was £50 a year cheaper.

The March 2017 EDF fix was set at a tariff level based on the principle that EDF would not lose money. Need I say more?

Richie-from-the-Boro

EDF - 4 temporarily closures at Heysham 1 and Hartlepool for investigations over a defect, thats three million homes off the system, National Grid is so in control [not] that its offered to pay megga energy users, such as factories, to power down during peak hours to reduce demand on the system. Closing Barking completely two months ago, and the fires at Ironbridge and Ferrybridge might put a different slant on the supply side of things - lets hope we have a run of mild winters.

undercover_peon

And it is only going to get worse. You need backup capacity for renewables which is less efficient and less green than a power station running all the time.

Meanwhile china keeps on building whatever they want and our efforts make no difference.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Build nuclear and fracking get on with it.

Smiley_Dan

Build more solar and turbines and get on with it.

Pincher

skipinderjit wrote: »

I have just had one of MSE's energy alerts explaining that I can save £430 a year ( a lot of money ) if I change to another fixed tariff that runs out in 12 months.

Three winters to go to 31st March 2017.


Let us say EDF March 2017 Fix costs you £1,500 a year, and energy prices go up by £100 a year from September 2013, if you were doing one year fixes.


Winter 2013/14 £1000 = Down £500 ( £1,500 - £1,000)
2014/15 £1100 = Down £400 (~£430)
2015/16 £1200 = Down £300
2016/17 £1300 = Down £200


In the steady increase scenario, you are on track to lose £1,400 over four years.


If general prices were to rise to £1,500 RIGHT NOW for everybody, you will still have paid £500 more in 2013/14.


You need the general price to increase to £1,700 RIGHT NOW, and stay there for three winters, to justify your decision to fix in September 2013. Even then, you are only £100 better off.


For the one year fix customers, we will have saved £500 in winter 1, and £400 in winter 2, assuming we are fixed for another year by now (Up £900). Prices will have to rise to £2,000 a year for winter 3 and 4, so we are down £1,000, for us to lose £100 overall.


If the EDF fix was set at £1,100 for four winters, I would be on it, TOO.

skipinderjit

Ok. A good dose of cynicism and maths has persuaded me to jump ship and change. £430 is a hell of a lot of money to make up.

RMS2

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

Build more solar and turbines and get on with it.

Yep, on a cold winter's night, solar and wind turbines really cut it.


You do know that the government is paying mega bucks to diesels generating (electricity) firms, to fill in for the green rubbish that isn't working.


Oh, and to all those that feel smug about their weekly recycling,
did you know that most of it goes to landfill?


Yep, that's right, only the profitable stuff like metal is recycled, the rest goes to landfill.


Why is this? Because all the recycling targets are EU driven and are based on items collected for recycling, not actually what is recycled. So as long as the council collects in the right bins, it doesn't get penalised and all the junk goes to landfill just as it did before.

sheffield_lad

Smiley_Dan wrote: »

Build more solar and turbines and get on with it.

although not too good at keeping you warm.


60% of households bills is for heating. Solar is not much cop when snow is falling.

Smiley_Dan

sheffield_lad wrote: »

although not too good at keeping you warm.

60% of households bills is for heating. Solar is not much cop when snow is falling.

Can you give me a reason why solar energy cannot be used for heating? Unless you've discovered some new law of physics, I doubt it.

Can you give me a reason why the energy has to be *producing* at the time the snow is falling? Because unless suddenly there's no such thing as heat storage, I doubt it.

Can you give me a reason why 60% of household bills are for heating? Crap building methods, and terrible existing building stock, that's why. Yes, heating stuff is the most energy intensive aspect of home ownership. Doesn't mean you have to do a lot of it though.

It'll take foresight, confidence and traditional British engineering knack. But it's a future that's possible. The alternative? Mediocrity, in the thrall of big business and dependencies on nutters in foreign climes.