Energy news in general

brewerdave

ihatetrump said:

Shedman said:

Based on those predicted rates a 3 month stay in a Spanish hotel over winter is starting to look more tempting....

Not sure if you saw latest reports from Spain:

https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2022-08-10/Spain-s-energy-saving-restrictions-set-for-court-battle-1cmJs16pLTW/index.html#:~:text=Despite%20the%20opposition's%20arguments%2C%20the,below%2019%20degrees%20in%20winter.

Air conditioning not being set cooler than 27C in summer and Heating not more than 19C in winter!

Spanish hotel rooms may be decidedly cool this winter.......

But Spain @ 19deg C vs South Wales @ 7 deg C ? One of my brothers in law decamped to Spain for ~ 8 weeks around Feb. this year -was always making us jealous with pictures on the balcony of his apartment in shorts !!!

StartledJesus

Why doesn’t someone try talking prices down, instead of talking them up all the time, and making them self-fulfilling prophecies? I include the BBC in this, on various issues. There is a thin dividing line between keeping people informed and scare-mongering. 

If I’m generous and say it’s keeping people informed, surely the point of that is to allow both customers and Government to try and do something about it, rather than just sitting on their hands or wringing them like the  Government, which is currently in a limbo or zombie state anyway. Having said that, a lot of people are not in a position to do anything about it. It is not a case of ‘won’t pay’, but more ‘can’t pay.’

Glib statements from the comfortably off, in their ivory towers, smugly telling others that you should have been clever and prescient like me, and secured a 15 year fix with British Gas 3 years ago, do not help. And actually make others feel worse.

Meanwhile, price forecasts have gone up £1000 while I’ve been typing this. 

[Deleted User]

StartledJesus said:

Why doesn’t someone try talking prices down, 

How exactly would that work? I could stand on a soapbox at Speaker’s Corner and shout out/predict that the Energy Cap will fall to £2000 in April; that the NHS; social care, and the ambulance service are all fit for purpose; that we have schools that are the envy of the World…..

Listeners might think that I am either a politician or someone in need of a reality check - or both.

littleteapot

Well, I'll start the ball rolling with some practical changes we are making to reduce our energy consumption (electric-only house) in the hope that they will be of use to others. I suspect many of these have been recommended before but no harm in refreshing the memory.

1. Checked all window seals and replaced some which had gone hard and leaking slightly.
2. Adjusted door hinges to ensure good seal (most UPVC doors need periodic adjustment and have hidden screws in the hinges for this, as well as adjustable catches on the other side or the frame.
3. Immersion heater was previously on for the whole E7 period and set to 55C. During summer we turned the E7 feed (lower element) off and just operated the upper element (boost) to heat half the tank to 45C for the last 1 hour of the E7 period. During winter we may have to increase this to 50C or use the lower element for 2 hours during the E7 period to get enough hot water to last the day.
4. I have completely cold showers, with water only running for a couple of minutes. My wife also takes short, cool showers (slightly warm). During winter I will shower at the lowest temperature that it comfortable for me.
5. We try to batch cook wherever possible. We do like roasted meat/chicken and potatoes sometimes so we use the combination microwave for this now rather than the main oven.
6. During winter we will reduce the temperature in sitting room and bedrooms as much as possible. Turn off heating in bathroom and kitchen, and rely on a dehumidifier to prevent damp instead.
7. Get some nice warm slippers!

Ally_E.

Sea_Shell said:

Worrying reports about the number of household who are already in debt on their energy accounts (or have little or no credit) as we reach the end of summer.

I'm not surprised, I've been reading UK Personal Finance subreddit this morning and even financially savvy people, who usually are on top of their budgets and understand intricacies of various things they spend money on, didn't understand what the price cap on energy was. So much misinformation on it being the max price that suppliers will charge an average user 🤦🏼‍♀️

pochase

Ally_E. said:

Sea_Shell said:

Worrying reports about the number of household who are already in debt on their energy accounts (or have little or no credit) as we reach the end of summer.

I'm not surprised, I've been reading UK Personal Finance subreddit this morning and even financially savvy people, who usually are on top of their budgets and understand intricacies of various things they spend money on, didn't understand what the price cap on energy was. So much misinformation on it being the max price that suppliers will charge an average user 🤦🏼‍♀️

But that not wrong. If you are exactly the average user who uses exactly 12000KWh of gas and 2900KWh of electricity and live in the average region (ok there is no such thing in reality) you will pay exactly the £1977 from April cap.

Problem is more that the usage data is only very rarely mentioned, and even people who use a multiple of it see themselves as average users.

GingerTim

https://news.sky.com/story/cost-of-living-crisis-households-underestimating-how-much-energy-bills-will-rise-research-shows-12674146

In short, Opinium have found that a significant proportion of people are greatly underestimating just how much their bills will increase.

Mstty

That mimics what we see here on a daily basis.

Although most that end up here do so in fear and shock of the predicted DD price rise. 

pochase

Todays update from Auxilione. 


Interesting that they believe the SOLR part of the standing charge will be removed in April. I thought we would have them for 2 years?

Mstty

pochase said:

Todays update from Auxilione. 

87p kWh Elec and 22.9p kWh for gas at its highest Apr 2023 taking SC £91 elec and £95 gas from their figures and running the calculation.

Edited thanks @pochase and @gingertim