Energy news in general

Scot_39

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm274mwxy1vo

"Households warned gas price spike could pile fresh pressure on energy bills"

Gas at a 3 year high.

Spiking over 180p/therm

This weeks hopefully short lived spike - much higher than most of the time used to set the current cap price - by 25-30p/therm on one metric (Oct supply?) cf end of cap window (May19 to Aug 18) (but that 3m also included 1-2 weeks at just 100p/ therm in late June

This cap averaging period - for Jan pricing - rates for many harshest months of winter - starting pretty much on the wrong foot - but its only been a couple of weeks so far - the real pain only a few days.

But like the Ukraine crisis - it should be remembered their are firms - and probably still some on block supplies (unless Ofgem has done something radical to protect them) - who are tied to short term market rates.

And they will be paying these prices soon if not already.

QrizB

Gas at a 3 year high. Spiking over 180p/therm.

For those who weren't here for the 2022 / 23 gas price surge, or just don't recall the calculations, a therm is 29.3 kWh but you can treat it as 30kWh.

180p/therm is a wholesale price of ~6p/kWh.

To get an idea of an equivalent retail price you have to add all the "other" costs which are usually a couple of pence per kWh (the actual amount will be somewhere in Ofgem's cap calculations), then add 5% VAT. So 180p/therm is getting on for 9p/kWh retail.

The_Groat_Counter

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82124896#Comment_82124896

And (thanks to a certain world leader) it's likely a portion of this money will, by indirect means, be ending up in the coffers of a somewhat less than benevolent authoritarian regime…

By pure dumb luck I signed up to a year long fix in mid-February (kudos to @[Deleted User] for flagging it up on this forum at the time) - this being not long before a certain superpower's military action in the middle east which has led to these price spikes. I rather expect to be paying rather more come the winter of 27/28 than the one that's immediately before us.

Martyn1981

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82124972#Comment_82124972

Yeah those actions added about 33% to my electricity unit cost. Octopus dropped the price from 7p/kWh to 5.2p, but only for a month as it overlapped with the start of the war, so went straight back up to 6.9p.

JKenH

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82125143#Comment_82125143

But for those lucky enough to be able to export electricity, the current crisis is most probably working to our benefit in keeping the export rate up. And of course, if it weren’t for domestic energy prices rising, would we have seen the £150 reduction in bills and the removal of VAT? In March I was paying around 8.5p/kWh for import and in April that dropped to 5p. (From October it will drop to 4.76p as the VAT is removed.)

As it happens I don’t use my battery to buy at cheap rate and export at peak rate but if I did then I would have seen my margin double from 3.5p to 7p/kWh. In practice I still get the benefit of a virtual battery banking surplus solar export with Octopus at 12p and buying it back at 5p. Come winter I expect to have to buy some back at the higher rate but for me, and I suspect many others with solar and batteries on this board, the recent energy crisis hasn’t been the financial disaster it has for many less fortunate.

So no crocodile tears here.

debitcardmayhem

Gas is getting worse again

debitcardmayhem

We really need Jackdaw quickly tbh and Rosebank too , Norway are going to slow down soon too.

tfhnota

Well, Tibetan monks can sit outside at -25 C in just a thin robe for a night so I reckon we are just going to have to adapt to sitting indoors at freezing point, it could transform the health of a nation!

silverwhistle

I'm not so sure and definitely not Rosebank. They say they could get Jackdaw operational this year but I'd happily stake a tenner that there will be setbacks and, in any case, it will only produce about 10% of our North Sea production, and we rely on LNG for the rest.

The boss of Centrica goes on about lack of stored gas, no self interest there then.., but even our existing storage isn't full because nobody wants to gamble on paying high prices when resolution of the crisis would mean a glut of gas and dropping prices. Perhaps his is an appeal to be subsidised against the risk of buying and storing.. There is no issue about unloading LNG when we need it, and until continental Europe improved their own infrastructure we were doing it for them and pumping it, aided by our two or so days nearer the exporting terminals.

I'm quite well aware of prices too, thank you, as I'm on Tracker at the moment - 9.09p per kWh today! LOL Doubt if I'll use any before going heat pump, thankfully.

As for use of gas for generating electricity it should be born in mind that 10 years ago it was 20-25GW per day, last I saw it was 6-7 and on windy days down to 2 or 3. With new windfarms coming on line this winter (and next year) and improving HVDC links the situation is possibly less fraught than it might seem. This summer solar has also being showing its hand more strongly, all of which contributes to declining annual gas demand. The microcosm of my experience shows virtually no usage between March and November, which period would extend if it continues to be at 9p!

debitcardmayhem

@silverwhistle there is of course the not so small percentage of people use gas for heating heating/water, The country needs gas and will for years to come, LNG adds to the pollution via transport. Plus the profligate government could use the tax , as for new renewables they need to be transported so the grid upgrades will find its way onto the service charges. Oh and tracker gas is 9.7 in Eastern and 9.98 in NW.