Energy news in general

Mstty

brewerdave said:

Mstty said:

So following my idea that those that will struggle to pay their energy bills downsizing, looks like the people responding were of retirement age and older(sorry if I missed a reply)

We have no intention of spending our last decade(s) struggling to pay energy bills.

We won't be retiring for 22/27 years well not whilst we still enjoy working but when we get there, with our mortgage free house if a cost of living crisis like this came along with news of a recession and we were going to struggle with bills(or at least feel uncomfortable) the for sale sign would be up faster that you can say Putin.

If we don't move (we do every 5-6 years as we renovate and move up as a rule) but if we stayed as is our house is currently a Band E. Locally there is a bungalow (3 bed with a high spec open plan living etc extension with bifolds just to give you a picture) Band D and £75,000 less what we would conservatively sell ours for.

We both have bad knees now and I have a bad back so bungalow is definitely better for us to see us out.

For a moving company to box everything up for us and do everything whilst we drink Horlicks (we have a local malt factory and brewer) and the last thing we do is pop the eze electric recliner to stand us up and they put the two chairs on the Van £4000 at the most expensive end. Even including all that £20k as mentioned is easily doable and £55k pocketed.

I am not saying it's an easy decision, but saying you would rather have stress, anxiety and get yourself into debt rather than releasing money from normally your main asset is just plain stubborn.

Don't intend to add any more to this debate other than to say, see if you still feel that way in your 70s !!. My wife would rather freeze than give up her lovingly developed garden !!

That sums up the issue perfectly and explains why it is an emotive subject to bring up. Heart over head. Completely ignoring the financials.

brewerdave

pochase said:

You also forget to mention that they can just switch smart meters to prepaid.

Has it been clarified that suppliers can do that without any "due process" ?

The_Green_Hornet

brewerdave said:

pochase said:

You also forget to mention that they can just switch smart meters to prepaid.

Has it been clarified that suppliers can do that without any "due process" ?

They will still have to follow the rules regardless of whether it is a smart or dumb meter.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/complain-about-an-energy-company/check-the-prepayment-rules-your-supplier-has-to-follow/

savers_united

Northern_Wanderer said:

I think a thick wool duvet to wrap yourself in permanently in winter and single room living is the best option here......perhaps tiny homes will become a thing.....

Would not like of those tiny homes if our future summers are going to get alot hotter 

littleteapot

savers_united said:

Would not like of those tiny homes if our future summers are going to get alot hotter 

Same principle, it will cost less to cool in summer too...

I suspect reversible split-mini AC units are going to become a lot more common in homes over the next few years.

I agree though that small houses/flats are difficult to get any significant air flow for natural cooling though, especially those flats which have windows only on one side of the building.

[Deleted User]

SAC2334 said:

superkoopauk said:

Suppliers cannot remotely switch you without confirming it is safe to do so.  So unless you give them consent they are going to need to arrange a visit.  And if you are not paying then you are unlikely to let them in so they will need to go down the warrant route.  This will take months.

Can take days if the supplier issues a Warrant of access to fit a smart prepay meter. A locksmith will be used . They enter with the help of the Police if any signs of trouble are encountered. If the property is empty the usual routine is to enter and fit the meter .Replace the locks .Leave a notice on the door with a phone number where to get the new keys .
Its how we have been doing it for years .
Suppliers will normally allow a build up of debt ( somewhere around £500 to £800 ) before they start issuing notices  to increase payments and lower the debts . Its all very civilised in the UK
Rest of the world simply cuts people off when they refuse to pay 

I think that you will find that they can disconnect a supply remotely without a Court Order etc if the contract between the consumer and the supplier allows the supplier to do so. In many countries, suppliers offer a peak time power limited tariff. The consumer agrees a tariff which limits the maximum power draw (kW) to, say, 4kW between 7am and 9am, and again between 4pm to 7pm when demand is known to be high. By agreeing to this power limit, the consumer is offered a lower tariff cost.

If the power limit is exceeded, the supplier will send out notifications via the IHD; text etc. If the consumer ignores these warnings, power can be disconnected remotely. The consumer then calls a National helpline to get supply restored. If there are frequent breaches, the supplier will move the consumer to a more expensive tariff with a higher power limit. This is one of reasons why remote switches are built into UK smart meters.

Our French Cousins have gone one step further:

‘There are two main regulated tariffs available, the details of each are given below. They are subject to at least annual change.

A household is able to choose the power supply they need for their home. The amount of power you will need will depend on the size of your property, number of inhabitants and the heating system. A small apartment might well manage with 3KVA, whilst a larger property might need 12KVA.

The power supply offered by EDF goes up to 36KVA, although we only show tariffs to 18KVA in the following tables. In addition, a supply in excess of 12KVA is not available for residential households using the 'Tarif de Base'.’

For KVA read kW. If, say, a 3KVA tariff is chosen then the homeowner couldn’t put the kettle on when the oven is on. It is reported that EDF is losing money on these tariffs.

pochase

The_Green_Hornet said:

brewerdave said:

pochase said:

You also forget to mention that they can just switch smart meters to prepaid.

Has it been clarified that suppliers can do that without any "due process" ?

They will still have to follow the rules regardless of whether it is a smart or dumb meter.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/complain-about-an-energy-company/check-the-prepayment-rules-your-supplier-has-to-follow/

Ye they will have to follow the steps up to the point where they would apply for the warrant, but after that everything can happen much faster.

Also all this advice is based on what happens when you run up a debt and how you can/need repay it.

I am afraid we might see the issue that people are not able to pay their ongoing cost, not just needing to repay the debt they already have. 

tghe-retford

brewerdave said:

SAC2334 said:

superkoopauk said:

Suppliers cannot remotely switch you without confirming it is safe to do so.  So unless you give them consent they are going to need to arrange a visit.  And if you are not paying then you are unlikely to let them in so they will need to go down the warrant route.  This will take months.

Can take days if the supplier issues a Warrant of access to fit a smart prepay meter. A locksmith will be used . They enter with the help of the Police if any signs of trouble are encountered. If the property is empty the usual routine is to enter and fit the meter .Replace the locks .Leave a notice on the door with a phone number where to get the new keys .
Its how we have been doing it for years .

That's how it works in "normal" times - I have a very strong suspicion that this coming Winter is going to be far from normal !!

Correct. The courts and Parliament can be extremely efficient the second the Government's authority is threatened. Such as by a mass threat of non-payment to energy companies that are too big to fail. All it would take is a swift Act of Parliament (if required) and Statutory Instrument signed with a quick stroke of a pen from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and both smart meters could be fitted and switched to pre-payment very quickly.

Mstty

I am an advocate of building nuclear power plants until we can be self sufficient with green energy.

https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/08/sizewell-c-nuclear-plant-approval-faces-legal-challenge

Evan3020

No nuclear, 100s of years and 100s of billions to decommission.