Energy news in general

artyboy

 Struggling to quote people here without losing my post, which is already annoying me... but just to add to MattMattMatt and Savers... 

Re horrendous energy use... possibly true... big house, real mish mash of old and modern heating, running at about 8000kwh electric and 45000kwh gas annually. 

Tariff details below, so if anyone wants to challenge my rough calculation of a 10k saving over 2 years (versus known/projected cap rates) then I'm all ears... but even with seasonal peaks and troughs, I have a feeling that's about right...

tghe-retford

Mstty said:

I fail to see how a price cap fixing deal won't help in the long term. Surely pounds saved now will always help long term?

However it does appear to be all doom and gloom out there.

It is also getting more difficult to advise of a way out of the gloom for people coming to the forum for help and assistance.

@tghe-retford do you have a source for Putin's future plans for 2028 and beyond or is this just your personal opinion?

I do agree big changes are required as to how we all live. First step energy reduction guidance as can be seen by posts on this forum. Grants to make homes more energy efficient and new building regs for new houses so they are as off grid as possible.

Much more than just the above its such a broad and emotive issue. 

Putin plans to replace their collaboration with the International Space Station for their own station and mission by at least 2028 when their orbital outpost will be ready.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-nasa-sticking-with-space-station-until-least-2028-2022-07-27/

This is not something you do in response to a short term "special military operation" and "liberation" of eastern parts of Ukraine. This is a permanent or at least long term strategy. And that has consequences for Net Zero and energy policies in Europe because there is no prospect of Russia filling the void ever again. I think Cornwall Insights has come to the realisation that this is our future and it is why I say that this is not a blip, but a correction.

Evan3020

The ISS was due to be abandoned soon anyway, its a convenient way out.

QrizB

tghe-retford said:

It appears this is not a blip, but a correction and a permanent one.

I'm going to provide a contrary view. The cost of generating non-fossil-fuel electricity (wind, solar, nuclear, hydro etc) hasn't increased markedly, the current high prices are solely down to high oil & gas prices.

Energy supply isn't particularly elastic but, over a period of years, there will be a reversion to more normal levels.

I posted more on this in another thread:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79366266/#Comment_79366266

artyboy said:

Struggling to quote people here without losing my post, which is already annoying me... but just to add to MattMattMatt and Savers...

The forum software isn't the best, I agree.

artyboy said:

Re horrendous energy use... possibly true... big house, real mish mash of old and modern heating, running at about 8000kwh electric and 45000kwh gas annually.

Tariff details below, so if anyone wants to challenge my rough calculation of a 10k saving over 2 years (versus known/projected cap rates) then I'm all ears... but even with seasonal peaks and troughs, I have a feeling that's about right...

Two years on your current fix will cost you just over £7k.

Modelling the counterfactual is complicated because I don't know your split between summer (Apr-Sep) and winter (Oct-Mar) consumption. I'm, going to assume the electricity is split 5000kWh winter / 3000kWh summer, and the gas 30000kWh winter / 15000kWh summer.

If I use the Ofgem capped SVT where known, and the latest CI forecast where not, I get around £15.5k for the same two years.

That's an £8.5k saving, which is well worth having.

(For the benefit of other readers, artyboy appears to be in a comfortable financial position and I'm sure he can afford his energy bills.)

artyboy

Thanks QrizB, so I wasn't far off by the sound of it. And yes, fully appreciate I'm one of the luckier ones in that it's not going to break me when reality does kick in at the end of next year. But then if it was, I probably would be in a very different, and possibly more efficient, house!

Mstty

tghe-retford said:

Mstty said:

I fail to see how a price cap fixing deal won't help in the long term. Surely pounds saved now will always help long term?

However it does appear to be all doom and gloom out there.

It is also getting more difficult to advise of a way out of the gloom for people coming to the forum for help and assistance.

@tghe-retford do you have a source for Putin's future plans for 2028 and beyond or is this just your personal opinion?

I do agree big changes are required as to how we all live. First step energy reduction guidance as can be seen by posts on this forum. Grants to make homes more energy efficient and new building regs for new houses so they are as off grid as possible.

Much more than just the above its such a broad and emotive issue. 

Putin plans to replace their collaboration with the International Space Station for their own station and mission by at least 2028 when their orbital outpost will be ready.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-nasa-sticking-with-space-station-until-least-2028-2022-07-27/

This is not something you do in response to a short term "special military operation" and "liberation" of eastern parts of Ukraine. This is a permanent or at least long term strategy. And that has consequences for Net Zero and energy policies in Europe because there is no prospect of Russia filling the void ever again. I think Cornwall Insights has come to the realisation that this is our future and it is why I say that this is not a blip, but a correction.

As I understand it the packing into boxes aboard the ISS will be done by 2028 before decommissioning latest 2031 so I think you have added 2+2 and come up with 6. Plans have been in the pipeline a long time. 

Now onto the "GAZ(S)" Eastern Europe aren't as fickle as we may be, as soon as there is cheap(maybe not even that cheap) reliable gas on sale from Russia they will all flock back with maybe one foot back in other markets just incase. Everything forgiven and that's that. I can't see this taking until 2028. More like next year when a deal is struck over Russia and Ukraine where everyone saves face and pretends to be friends.

markin

ihatetrump said:

@Evan3020

Don't get me started!

5 bedrooms to start with - old windows (soon to be replaced) 32 year old gas boiler (soon to be replaced) + Washing machine and tumble dryer that seem to run constantly - hot water being used for baths & showers all the time, underfloor electric heating, dishwasher, microwave - plus any number of other devices always running - all adds up. Time to check out where it all goes me thinks and crack the whip a little. 

Turn off the electric floor, Have new rads fitted if you need too. Even with a 60% efficient boiler it has to be cheaper.

al4x

ihatetrump said:

savers_united said:

Fixing in the current climate is just delaying the inevitable, when your in a fix your often locked out of other fixed products that may be slightly more expensive but offer longer security, when your deal ends the jump can be quite large especially for those who do not monitor prices until their renewel offer comes through. It's all a gamble, working out if I had entered a more costly 2 year fix at the start of all this when Martin advised to stick with the SVT would been better off.

The only real way to offset the rising costs is to cut back but understand that is not always easy and limits to what you can do especially with high standing charges

I couldn't disagree more - quite simply no one knows what will happen - even the largest suppliers didn't have a clue this time last year what would happen - no one has a crystal ball - not even Martin. The big suppliers employ teams of experts to model various scenarios and even they got it wrong last year.

I took a punt last September only because I could see the way things were going with AVRO et al. I was with Igloo at the time and decided to bail on them literally days before they went into administration.

My punt was to go for the longest possible fix BUT only with a supplier who I felt could weather any storm that hit and therefore I wasn't interested in smaller players. My choice was EDF and the fix I got then was 19.02 per KwH for electricity and 3.74p per KwH for gas - fixed until September 2024.Standing charges were 22.63 for electricity and 24.87p for gas. No penalties for switching - but atm you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming to leave!

The sticker shock I will face in October 2024 will be eye watering - unless things change in the meantime.

The purpose of this post is not to gloat, but merely to emphasise that even the largest suppliers with all the tools and resources at their disposal get it wrong - why else would I have been able to get such a ridiculously cheap fixed (and long) tariff from one of the largest suppliers only days before things went so incredibly haywire?

I did exactly the same. Saw the small fry dropping off so switched from bulb to Scottish Power on a 3 year no exit fee deal. Never done that before. 

Paying 22p elec and 5p gas until September 2024. 
So many people thought I was crazy too. 

In that time I plan to put 200 it would be costing me extra a month towards a solar panel setup. If things are bad in 2024 (think they will be) I will have 6k ready for solar that I can top up to get a good setup. 

That's the plan

Alnat1

@al4x That sounds a great plan, good luck with it.

Got my solar/battery installed in March and I love it. Haven't had to pay a bill since (I'm on variable DD with Octopus) and my energy account is £159.31 in credit as of 31st July. Export payments have covered gas/electric SC and any energy use (hot water is gas heated tank)

I realise it will be very different in winter, heating on and much less daylight and sunshine but I've put the money aside ready for those gloomy days and big bills.

Robin9

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