Energy news in general

tghe-retford

At those numbers, we're having debates on the ability of people being able to live and people emigrating from the UK on the basis of survival. It's that serious.

Mstty

That's ridiculous do you know the costs involved in emigrating?

This should only last 2-3 years at most and will be painful.

MattMattMattUK

Robin9 said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

People might get a shock when energy prices rise again. But the other concern is the impact energy prices will have on business and the subsequent increases in prices of goods that will inevitably have to come.....

I know price of goods has been increasing, but can't see how businesses can possibly keep prices same with huge energy bills.

 I run a Church Hall with typical users like Toddler groups , Food Bank, choirs and very noticeably post Corvid a big demand for Well Being, MIND and AA. Until now utilities have been 20% of our costs and we aim to break even - next year is likely to be approaching 60%.  

If I raise my charges to what they should be I am likely to force some of these groups to close

Those damn crows!

I actually think this is the bigger issue. At home people can wrap up and in reality for most people being cold at home is not a huge issue, it can be unpleasant, but it is not the end of the world, previous generations managed it just fine. For those with certain health conditions it can be a huge issue, but for most not. However the ability of community spaces to stay open and functioning is going to be compromised as for many their costs are going to be unaffordable and they have a requirement to provide a minimum temperature (generally 16c for normal spaces, 13c if including vigorous physical activity) if they stay open so I suspect many will reduce the number of days that they can open, as well as increasing fees to any groups that use their spaces and requiring increased donations. I can certainly see government funded facilities having to close several days a week as they are often not allowed to run at a deficit. 

It also seems that some workplaces are changing to enforced WFH two days a week so that they can close the office on those days to save on energy costs, a lot of pubs and restaurants will stay closed on Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesdays, they might close in the evenings or daytimes depending on their trading patten etc. 

The wider issue is not the cost as such, but the huge amount of spending it is sucking out of the wider economy, if the average bill ends up being only £3,000, that is still £84 billion per year going on energy, not spent in productive sectors of the economy creating jobs. 

MattMattMattUK

tghe-retford said:

At those numbers, we're having debates on the ability of people being able to live and people emigrating from the UK on the basis of survival. It's that serious.

Not really, the vast majority of people can survive, even if unpleasantly at those prices, only the elderly or those with certain health conditions would potentially struggle for survival. Note that I am not saying the disabled or elderly should be left to struggle to survive, but that would be the factual situation of where we are at.

I also think few people would emigrate, firstly it is much more difficult for most now post Brexit, there is little possibility of those on low incomes with few assets fleeing for Southern Europe and most other countries have employment and capital requirements. Those with the kind of careers or assets which gives them easy access to residency in other countries are unlikely to struggle to pay their bills and the other issue is that almost all countries are suffering similar increases in energy costs. 

savers_united

There are still plenty of savings to be made, yes there are folk who have nothing left to give and have already cut back as much as they can, they will need extra help but for most of us it will mean some changes, some unpleasant but not life changing. 

I hear people saying, we may need to buy a thicker duvet this year & switch the heating off overnight. 
Keeping a house heated overnight whilst tucked up in bed is not essential, it's a luxury. Yes if it's what you want and can afford it then crack on but no point in moaning about a high bill come next Spring. 

GingerTim

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-23/uk-had-early-warning-but-still-faces-industry-crisis-over-energy#xj4y7vzkg

UK ministers were warned that energy-intensive industries were at risk of work slowdowns and site closures due to soaring energy prices even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated the crisis.

The dire outlook was forecast by “Project Shine,” which was commissioned by the Treasury last year because of fears about the impact of rising energy prices as the world emerged from the pandemic. The briefings were prepared by officials and industry specialists at PwC and were first delivered to ministers in November 2021, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Proposals on the table include adding a levy to household bills (LOL), or through taxation.

GingerTim

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/22/collapse-of-supplier-bulb-could-add-more-than-150-pounds-to-energy-bills

Households could end up paying more than £150 extra on their energy bills because of the collapse of Bulb, as the price of bailing out the failed supplier threatens to top £4bn by next spring.

pochase

That will be almost as expensive as the complete SOLR process up to now,

41p on top of the standing charge for a year or 20.5p for two years. And we are not at the end of it until Bulb is been sold. 

On a different note, it seems a lot of customers leave Bulb. February figures were 1.6 million, now 1.4 million customers.

Most scary is the cost of £2857 loss per customer in less than 2 years. Is that what we could expect by nationalising?

[Deleted User]

Here's another idea (Scottish Power's £100 billion 2 year freeze) that in supported in some quarters:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-62645441

xzibit

tghe-retford said:

At those numbers, we're having debates on the ability of people being able to live and people emigrating from the UK on the basis of survival. It's that serious.

We are in that current situation at the moment. Currently doing the maths on heading back overseas to live. !!!!!! staying in this country any longer. Its over.