Energy news in general

victor2

Ballymoney said:

Gas prices spiking pretty heavily these last few days, presumably as a result of the Iran/Israel conflict. 

Anyone tempted to take a fix now? Eon Next Fixed 12m v12 is very tempting, and lower than their Next Pledge tariff.

Not sure how you think their latest Fix is cheaper than Next Pledge. It isn't for me.

The electricity standing charge is a fraction less, gas SC is the same and kWh rates for both are slightly higher.

Ballymoney

victor2 said:

Not sure how you think their latest Fix is cheaper than Next Pledge. It isn't for me.

The electricity standing charge is a fraction less, gas SC is the same and kWh rates for both are slightly higher.

I guess it varies by region then because the KWh rates are less in the Fix for me compared to the pledge. Comes in at £4 per month less but YMMV depending on your usage.

victor2

Ballymoney said:

victor2 said:

Not sure how you think their latest Fix is cheaper than Next Pledge. It isn't for me.

The electricity standing charge is a fraction less, gas SC is the same and kWh rates for both are slightly higher.

I guess it varies by region then because the KWh rates are less in the Fix for me compared to the pledge. Comes in at £4 per month less but YMMV depending on your usage.

Rates do vary by region, so that could explain it. My pledge tariff ends in October, so I might look at a fix before then. At least Eon Next will waive the exit penalty if I switch to another tariff with them, should an attractive tariff come up sooner.

RG2015

victor2 said:

Ballymoney said:

victor2 said:

Not sure how you think their latest Fix is cheaper than Next Pledge. It isn't for me.

The electricity standing charge is a fraction less, gas SC is the same and kWh rates for both are slightly higher.

I guess it varies by region then because the KWh rates are less in the Fix for me compared to the pledge. Comes in at £4 per month less but YMMV depending on your usage.

Rates do vary by region, so that could explain it. My pledge tariff ends in October, so I might look at a fix before then. At least Eon Next will waive the exit penalty if I switch to another tariff with them, should an attractive tariff come up sooner.

If you're interested, the current Next Pledge tracker (V5) has no exit fee (whoever you may switch to).

dealyboy

Some might be interested in this consultation conducted by The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, for the delivery of electricity for smart devices and the application of TOUT (time of use) tariffs ...

Summary

We're seeking views on new standards for energy smart appliances and organisations which provide demand side response services or can remotely control electrical load.

This consultation closes at
11:59pm on 11 June 2024

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/delivering-a-smart-and-secure-electricity-system-implementation

spot1034

Ballymoney said:

Gas prices spiking pretty heavily these last few days, presumably as a result of the Iran/Israel conflict. 

Anyone tempted to take a fix now? Eon Next Fixed 12m v12 is very tempting, and lower than their Next Pledge tariff.

Now withdrawn and replaced by v13 which (for my region at least) is an exact replica of Next Pledge.

The_Green_Hornet

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters

Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica, says mandatory installation programme would cut cost of creating a smart grid

The boss of British Gas has called for households to face mandatory smart meter installations weeks after government figures showed that almost 4m meters are not working.

Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of the British Gas owner Centrica, told a committee of MPs that smart meters should be installed in all homes through a “street by street” programme, in order to cut the costs of creating a smart grid.

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters | Gas | The Guardian

GingerTim

The_Green_Hornet said:

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters

Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica, says mandatory installation programme would cut cost of creating a smart grid

The boss of British Gas has called for households to face mandatory smart meter installations weeks after government figures showed that almost 4m meters are not working.

Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of the British Gas owner Centrica, told a committee of MPs that smart meters should be installed in all homes through a “street by street” programme, in order to cut the costs of creating a smart grid.

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters | Gas | The Guardian

Missed a trick not making it mandatory in the first place - now we've all got to live with the cost of this weird ad hoc rollout until someone grasps the nettle...

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

The_Green_Hornet said:

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters

Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica, says mandatory installation programme would cut cost of creating a smart grid

The boss of British Gas has called for households to face mandatory smart meter installations weeks after government figures showed that almost 4m meters are not working.

Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of the British Gas owner Centrica, told a committee of MPs that smart meters should be installed in all homes through a “street by street” programme, in order to cut the costs of creating a smart grid.

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters | Gas | The Guardian

From the same link:

O’Shea’s proposal was rebuffed by Rachel Fletcher, a director at the rival energy company Octopus and a veteran utilities regulator, in the same committee hearing.

Fletcher said: “This should not be done to consumers. What we see [at Octopus] is people queueing up asking for a smart meter where we are offering tariffs or tools which allow them to save … hundreds of pounds a year.”

In other news:

https://www.sharecast.com/news/news-and-announcements/energy-firms-fined-pound108m-for-missing-smart-meter-targets--15268688.html

Energy suppliers including British Gas and Ovo have been fined nearly £11m for failing to meet smart meter installation targets.

The firms all missed their targets for 2022, meaning a total of 1.03m smart meters were not installed by the required deadlines.

As a result, British Gas - which is owned by Centrica - has been fined £3.37m by regulator Ofgem, while Ovo has been hit with a £2.39m penalty.

mmmmikey

The_Green_Hornet said:

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters

Chris O’Shea, CEO of Centrica, says mandatory installation programme would cut cost of creating a smart grid

The boss of British Gas has called for households to face mandatory smart meter installations weeks after government figures showed that almost 4m meters are not working.

Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of the British Gas owner Centrica, told a committee of MPs that smart meters should be installed in all homes through a “street by street” programme, in order to cut the costs of creating a smart grid.

British Gas boss says all UK households should be fitted with smart meters | Gas | The Guardian

Octopus take the opposing view and favour "carrot" rather than "stick". It makes sense I suppose. Many of British Gas's customers are customers only because their parents were, and their grand parents before that and they have never bothered to change. They are therefore presumably unlikely to be persuaded to change because of the financial benefits - i.e. they need stick rather than carrot. Many of Octopus's customers, on the other hand, have already proved themselves to be attracted by the financial benefits of changing and are presumably likely to respond well to carrot but may object to stick.

So maybe the answer is to continue with both as we are now?