Energy news in general

Gerry1

70sbudgie said:

Smart meters can't cut off your supply, they only meter it. To cut off a supply, the supplier has to request the DNO to isolate their equipment. I don't remember the whole process as I think it has changed a few times over the last few years, but I think it usually involves a court order.

Sorry, but you have been misinformed.  Smart meters can cut off your supply, that's what the100A relay is for.  You can see it in Big Clive's video at 7:02 and 8:40.

And of course, a smart meter set to prepayment mode will cut you off when there's no credit left.

Scot_39

stripling said:

@Scot_39
Perhaps since the obvious impacts of renewables spend on our bills hasn't been enough to change policy,  the presence of more on shore wind - its not quite impossible but is pretty difficult to go anywhere in Scotland by even just a few miles out of any town centre - in many cases even within - and not see them - will perhaps nake alternative far more reliable in terms of consistency and still carbon free at time of generation sources like tidal (tpriver or estuary) or nuclear  get a fairer hearing. 

Ireland is piloting a scheme that heats water for free in social housing all powered by 'excess' wind farm generation. It's part of their wider project to approach energy poverty. It involves ability to manage water heating remotely but it doesn't interfere with domestic control. If the pilot is successful it will be extended to a much bigger range of consumers. 

BTW these (not so?) obvious impacts of renewables on bills are only because it's weighted onto electricity instead of gas where it should be (if at all?).  Other countries do it differently. 

Great idea until you get times like last Jan whe wind produced just 1.6 GW or this Jan when it producec just 3GW from a higher now over 30GW theoretical installed capacity.

That saw those on markt rate driven  tariff Agile pay capped rates of £1/kWh - four times the Ofgem variable rate of 25p - for 1/2 hourly slots for several days  at peak demand times.

Forcing many to leave the tariff.

michaels

Scot_39 said:

The loading into standing charges has increased awareness - or should have - over last 2 years.

Of what's happening - and forecast to increase - in immediate/ foreseeable future - as forecast by Ofgem knowing the spending authorised.

But the reality is levies on gas generation have existed for years.

The question arguably is whether domestic gas unit rates will ever reflect the carbon emissions costs at time of burning in the home.

The potential political acceptability of which is dubious.

But just like the buyer cash incentives for BEVs have - more recently come Apr in fact - even many of the larger (1st and upto 5 yr if over 40k etc)  road tax (sorry ved) savings abandoned - its clear the £7500 ashp bribe isn't working that well.

So the carrot will become the stick.  And the very obvious stick for domestic gas is a carbon emissions cost on every m3 / kWh of gas burnt.

If put say a typical install of ashp at c5k above gch boiler - boiler and rads combined - and assume a shortish 10yr lifespan - say £500 per year at 11500 kWh might be needed - so say 4p on top of forecast 7p Apr cap rates.

To persuade the masses to switch by 2045/50.

How does that compare to the EU carbon trading price?  My very quick maths at £65 per tonne of CO2 is 1.2p per kwh.

Edit - 1.2p using the 100% efficient burning of gas producing 0.185kg of co2 per kwh.  There is a gov figure of 0.309kg per kwh taking into account, efficiency, distribution energy etc which would give a carbon price of 2p per kwh.

Personally I don't think we should be adding carbon pricing to UK energy unless we also tax all imports to reflect embedded carbon.

stripling

@Scot_39
Great idea until you get times like last Jan whe wind produced just 1.6 GW or this Jan when it producec just 3GW from a higher now over 30GW theoretical installed capacity.

It's not meant to be a 'daily solution' it's more like a perk - a method of targeting free energy directly to those who have electric water heating and are considered to be in energy poverty.  It's only a pilot scheme it's likely to be tweaked but I'm delighted at the creative and inclusive thinking behind it.  

@Scot_39
That saw those on market rate driven  tariff Agile pay capped rates of £1/kWh - four times the Ofgem variable rate of 25p - for 1/2 hourly slots for several days  at peak demand times.

Unfortunately, that was as much driven by the (mostly artificially) inflated gas prices on the Dutch TTF as anything else.  Because our marginal pricing of electricity is extremely affected by gas prices.  I wrote a couple of posts on it at the time (about US hedge funds gaming the market) but that was back in November.  I've quit the Tracker Tariff after being on it for many years and weathering previous price storms, for similar reasons.   

These market guessing games consumers have to play for their tariffs are bonkers.

Ildhund

Scot_39 said:

CI last prediction wax based on yesterday's closing price record.
https://www.cornwall-insight.com/predictions-and-insights-into-the-default-tariff-cap/

I should crawl back under my rock. I checked that page at the same time this morning as I looked at the gas price, and it was still giving their prediction based on December data. That's what made me think I was a bit adrift, and this quarter's data collection window hadn't yet closed. I should have trusted my gut and dismissed Cornwall as tardy, but I suppose I have too much respect for those who should know.  

debitcardmayhem

Ildhund said:

Scot_39 said:

CI last prediction wax based on yesterday's closing price record.
https://www.cornwall-insight.com/predictions-and-insights-into-the-default-tariff-cap/

I should crawl back under my rock. I checked that page at the same time this morning as I looked at the gas price, and it was still giving their prediction based on December data. That's what made me think I was a bit adrift, and this quarter's data collection window hadn't yet closed. I should have trusted my gut and dismissed Cornwall as tardy, but I suppose I have too much respect for those who should know.  

More likely it was cached in your browser

stripling

@michaels
Personally I don't think we should be adding carbon pricing to UK energy unless we also tax all imports to reflect embedded carbon.

You raise an interesting point. I have just come from an economist's discussion about climate finance and energy where this was raised. Plus my fave gas analysts have been discussing it too. 

The gas analysts think the EU carbon tax may have a lot of unintended consequences on trading and wholesale prices. 

A version of the same - as in some kind of carbon pricing in national energy markets - could have a negative effect on consumer prices because of how things are interconnected.  

I think that taxing embedded carbon would a) be difficult to trace (the tracing itself would cost a fortune) b) would also have major unintended consequences. But yeah, it's lurking hidden in things we buy and consume. 

It's a bit like the EU national storage filling rule which sounds sensible on the surface but in reality acted as a big flashing neon sign that said X country & X country are shopping for gas by this particular date! Thus the US hedge funds had a very safe betting spree and pumped up the prices. Poor consumers suffer crazy energy bills. 

[To be clear, that's one reason why energy prices have been high not 'the' reason]

There was lots of interesting things discussed in the event, mostly on a macro level - carbon pricing was only a bit of it.  But everyone agreed that consumer energy prices need to be reduced not inflated and thus it's important they're not a 'side effect' of any other policies. [Shame Ofgem wasn't there 😏] 

Scot_39

Ildhund said:

Scot_39 said:

CI last prediction wax based on yesterday's closing price record.
https://www.cornwall-insight.com/predictions-and-insights-into-the-default-tariff-cap/

I should crawl back under my rock. I checked that page at the same time this morning as I looked at the gas price, and it was still giving their prediction based on December data. That's what made me think I was a bit adrift, and this quarter's data collection window hadn't yet closed. I should have trusted my gut and dismissed Cornwall as tardy, but I suppose I have too much respect for those who should know.  

It made it out about mid day iirc - 12:12 GMT timestamp according to Firefox page info - and was on BBC website just before 1

Ildhund

debitcardmayhem said:

Ildhund said:
I checked that page at the same time this morning as I looked at the gas price ...

More likely it was cached in your browser

Nope, I was careful to refresh from the site.

Ildhund

Scot_39 said:

It made it out about mid day iirc - 12:12 GMT timestamp according to Firefox page info

Thanks for restoring my sanity!