Energy news in general

JKenH

EssexHebridean said:

wrf12345 said:

"The government are now planning on adding more to our bills to pay for those who refuse to pay, great."
If they put the standing charge up again I will be joining those who don't pay, as I have done for water.

Tell me, do you see others behaving poorly and decide to follow their example in other situations, too? Perhaps you see someone driving like a tool on the motorway, and so crank things up to 95mph and start undertaking? Perhaps you don't bother paying for your groceries in the supermarket, because after all, other people shoplift, so why should YOU pay? 

I will never understand why some folk consider it appropriate to aim for the behaviour standards of the lowest - rather than the highest? 

You will no doubt be surprised then at current public attitudes to shoplifting (per Google)

The percentage of people sympathetic to shoplifting varies significantly depending on the circumstances, with a YouGov poll revealing that a large portion of the population is sympathetic to certain forms of theft

. The degree of empathy is most strongly influenced by the motive for the theft, such as desperation due to poverty. 

Key findings from a YouGov poll in October 2024 of UK adults: 

• Starving for food: 51% of the public felt it could sometimes be acceptable to shoplift food if a person was starving.
• Cannot afford food: The percentage fell slightly to 40% when the reason was simply being unable to afford food.
• Cannot afford baby products: 44% of Britons found it potentially acceptable for a parent to shoplift baby products if they could not afford them.
• Cannot afford toiletries: For toiletries, 30% viewed shoplifting as acceptable if a person could not afford them.
• Cannot afford clothes: This figure dropped to 20% when the item was clothing.
• Stealing from large companies: About one in five people (19%) believed it could be acceptable to steal from a large company.
• Stealing from small companies: Sympathy plummeted to just 3% for stealing from a small company. 

It’s no surprise therefore that some people may think that it’s ok not to pay bills in certain circumstances. There are significant differences in attitude depending on age group and political leaning but perhaps it’s best not to go there.

EssexHebridean

I'm not surprised, as such, and those figures are also rather skewed - the poster who has casually announced that he will just allow others to pick up the tab for his energy use has repeatedly explained that he absolutely CAN afford to pay for these things, he's simply choosing not to on some form of "principle". If he was genuinely in a position where he had to choose between feeding himself or his children, or paying energy bills, I think an awful lot of us would say that as a short term solution, of course buying the food should take priority, but that's not the case, is it. He's simply taking the decision that he's not going to pay - and therefore by default, that others can pick up the tab for his energy (and, apparently, water) use. 

I took part in that poll, by the way - as I suspect did a lot of others on here! 

As for your final paragraph, I suspect you are correct - on all counts! 

The_Green_Hornet

Hundreds of thousands to lose heat pump subsidies in Reeves’s budget plan

Exclusive: Supporters say grants largely going to middle-class households, but experts warn move will slow transition from gas boilers

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will lose their right to subsidies for eco-friendly heat pumps as a result of government plans to bring down energy bills at the budget.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is planning to announce a series of measures to bring down energy bills amid concerns the country’s stubbornly high cost of living is driving millions of voters to Reform UK.

Among those measures, according to sources briefed on the budget preparations, is a plan to take energy efficiency levies off bills and fund them through the government’s existing warm homes plan.

The move will mean restricting heat-pump subsidies so that only those receiving certain benefits will be allowed to claim them, sharply bringing down costs to the government.

Hundreds of thousands to lose heat pump subsidies in Reeves’s budget plan | Budget 2025 | The Guardian

Scot_39

Perhaps she should do the same with the ev grant.

If you can afford a new car - you shouldn't need c 10% plus of the price paid by govt.

Especially when most are likely to be produced - and generate profits for - overseas.

Use the money to cut vat on public  chargers to same as domestic

The_Green_Hornet

Annual energy bills predicted to fall by £22 in January

Household energy bills are expected to fall slightly in the new year, according to consultancy Cornwall Insight.

The forecaster, widely respected for the accuracy of its predictions, expects homes using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,733 from January.

That would be a decrease of £22 per year, or 1%, from the current £1,755 price cap for a typical household's annual energy bill.

But Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, warned the decrease is "only part of the picture", with bills set to climb again in April.

"This time, it's not higher wholesale prices driving the rise," he said.

"The government pledged to lower bills on the promise that investment in renewables would reduce our reliance on global energy markets and stabilise bills.

"But what we're seeing now is a shift, wholesale prices are no longer the main story. The real pressure is coming from rising non-energy costs, with levies and policy decisions associated with that investment in renewables driving up bills."

Annual energy bills predicted to fall by £22 in January - BBC News

Scot_39

We have yet to see what if anything Reeves offers in budget - and when for instance the new nuclear levy will kick in.

So need to be careful about expectations - as the comment says - 

"coming from rising non-energy costs, with levies and policy decisions associated with that investment in renewables driving up bills."

Note that - driving UP bills - not lowering them as promised before the GE.

We have also just had an Oct cap rise of on average £35 - despite a wholesale drop of £15 pre VAT - so a £51 hike.  And AFAIK that excluded the rumoured £12-15 pa addition to help fund the new nuclear plants under new financing model (yes we now pay before - estimated 10 years before for Sizewell - and after on line explicitly) - inc Sizewell and was it 3 ?? mini reactors in the first wave. 

And that ignoring the other recent additions to the policy cost in the cap - last months £17 (9%) for social policy - pseudo alt taxation - WHD extension.  

Which follows on from £30 (19%) and £11 (5.8%) rises in last 2 Aprils iirc - so total policy from Mar 24 £157 - Oct 25 £215 - 18 months - £58  = 36.7%.

Has anyone told the folk at govt depts like DWP and DESNZ that the official inflation target in the UK is 2%.

The_Green_Hornet

Energy grid investment of £28bn to push up household bills

Household energy bills will rise to help fund a £28bn investment in the UK's energy network.

Energy regulator Ofgem has approved the funding in its five-year plan on improving electricity and gas grids. The money will go towards maintaining gas networks and strengthening the electricity transmission network.

The work is estimated to add £108 to energy bills by 2031

Energy grid investment of £28bn to push up household bills - BBC News

molerat

More increasing tax without increasing tax

Xbigman

molerat said:

More increasing tax without increasing tax

Isn't this just part of the £60bn that they said we would need to spend over a 10 year period,  3 years ago, so just a re announcement then.

More a case of more news without news.


Darren

Scot_39

Now you know why DESNZ officials have had to admit to Parliament that the renewables roll out is failing to deliver - not only the promised £300 savings - but any savings.

That renewables electric is in fact - when delivered to our homes - currently far more expensive than fossil generation it is replacing.

Its not even cheaper wholesale - in fact only ever was months in the last decade - at the peak of the crisis - which is why wind CfDs when last broken down by Ofgem in qaurterly cap letters is adding 1p/kWh to the cap electric rate - in the wholesale cost line of Ofgems quarterly breakdown.

Because of the literally £10s bn pa needed in network investment - and the £bns (£8bn balancing - for running and maintaining gas plant and renewables in parallel for when wind repeatedly fails to deliver - and the £3bn grid thermal contraints - largely because wind power built so far from market in many cases and without grid infrastructure to carry their power output to those markets).

Take the latest Jan cap - duel fuel cap barely moved (0.2%) - because gas is now a lot cheaper - electricity is up 5%.   Well thats good news - unless you use a lot of electric - like millions rely on for heating - and the govt want all 29m homes to do so in future - because it means the CfD pricing - and so the addition to electric costs for it - becomes relatively that bit more expensive.

In recent past that 1p/kWh - has actually been 1.3p/kWh - not because it's price went up - but because gas prices dropped.

If you want to be green - there is a cost.

But as that cost becomes increasingly clear to the general population - still struggling with bills - it's not maintaining the same support it has done - and thats now clear amongst our would be leaders - some of whom have supported it for well over a decade in past - a rare issue of cross party consensus - you might say.  With 2 major parties now opposed to current net zero policy and targets themselves.