Energy news in general

markin

gazapc said:

Sea_Shell said:

Xbigman said:

Sea_Shell said:

Xbigman said:

MattMattMattUK said:

They should have probably let the power go out, essential services would have backups, large businesses have backups and a couple of hours of the power going out might wake people up to the fact that we are all going to have to economise, on top of a reasonable probability of power cuts this winter. 

I totally agree. Its time we stopped covering problems up and let people know what the issues are. 


Darren

It does beg the question as to where exactly is the "line in the sand" above which we will just not pay?

Its not about the cost its about the fact that the problem existed in the first place. People need to be made aware we have a grid that is operating on such thin margins the lights could go out at any time. Oh yeah, and its summer. 


Darren 

I've read the full article now. 

Crazy that we don't have the (enough) capacity to move power around the country as and when needed.

And there was me thinking it was the "National Grid"....silly me😉

Massive investment is needed it would seem....meaning higher standing charges I assume? 

To be fair, the National Grid was set up pretty well for the top down, few dozen large power station type operation we had for most of the 20th century. Now though we're installing hundreds or thousands of smaller generators further down the transmission/distribution chain and that means upgrades are (or were) needed.

Looking at the history of that site the was a Coal/oil plant originally that closed in 1996 that has essentially been swapped for a HVDC line very recently, With plans for a battery and other green power in the future. So they had time to replace the coal or upgrade the lines to the area but never got around to it.

The only big power plant in the area is Dungeness B  1050MW   1983

StartledJesus

@agentcain Yup. See also the water industry, who still persist in not repairing, maintaining or repairing the infrastructure adequately. Also disposing of sewage illegally and inappropriately, because even if they are fined it is a cheaper option than dealing with things properly. Meanwhile, the population increases and more properties are built.

Shareholders first. And who are the biggest shareholders - management. 

Sea_Shell

What do we want? - INFRASTUCTURE
When to we want it? - NOW




Who should pay? - SOMEONE ELSE!!! 

StartledJesus

Ofgem responds to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee's report on energy pricing and the future of the energy market. And even nearly admits some responsibility. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-statement-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy-committees-report-energy-pricing-and-future-energy-market?utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotMailer&utm_campaign=Daily-Alert_26-07-2022&utm_content=+Ofgem+statement+on+the+Business,+Energy+and+Industrial+Strategy+Committee's+report+on+energy+pricing+and+the+future+of+the+energy+market&dm_i=1QCB,7YI5Q,7DAEHV,WJ1SZ,1

What_time_is_it

StartledJesus said:

Ofgem responds to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee's report on energy pricing and the future of the energy market. And even nearly admits some responsibility. 

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-statement-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy-committees-report-energy-pricing-and-future-energy-market?utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotMailer&utm_campaign=Daily-Alert_26-07-2022&utm_content=+Ofgem+statement+on+the+Business,+Energy+and+Industrial+Strategy+Committee's+report+on+energy+pricing+and+the+future+of+the+energy+market&dm_i=1QCB,7YI5Q,7DAEHV,WJ1SZ,1

To paraphrase:
Ofgem welcome the Committee's report and agree that something must be done. If only there were some kind of regulatory body who could do something. As you were.

StartledJesus

The aforementioned BEISC report. Knock yourselves out. There is a short version.

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmbeis/236/report.html

[Deleted User]

BEISC (short version) states (final para):

Ultimately, the UK needs to reduce its dependence on imported gas. Energy efficiency is the quickest and most cost-effective way to reduce gas demand and lower energy bills. The absence of a home insulation programme is an unacceptable gap in policy that must be rectified. We reiterate our previous calls for the Government to implement urgent, far-reaching, and long-term measures to retrofit the UK housing stock.

Whilst agreeing with this broad statement on a macro-UK wide level over the medium to long term, it does not help those whose houses are relatively modern, do have cavity wall insulation, loft insulation and double glazing (this describes my house).  What is there to retro fit in a decent chunk of the housing stock?  Another factor is at play by many UK citizens now - namely our demand has probably gone down due to the shock of the wave of ever-increasing price caps and the realisation that energy is no longer a 'cheap' commodity.  I know my usage (both electricity and gas) went down post-Xmas 2021 once I really went to town on how my wife and I use our energy.  We also get repeated warnings that gas prices are dependent on the wholesale price of gas (from wherever their source).  My gas usage has gone down in the last year from circa 9850 kWh to 7950 kWh with it possibly going towards 7500-7000 kWh by the year end.  But after that I cannot forsee if it is possible to go any lower as I have taken all the low-hanging fruit.  Electricity similarly has gone down from 3400 kWh to 2600 kWh. 

Having a home insulation programme is all well and good for housing stock in relatively poor condition but is very little help to those that do have decent insulation levels in their homes.  I'm not sure how I will be able to reduce bills in the future because the day will soon come where I cannot cut my demand any further.

 

     

StartledJesus

To be quite honest, until I started looking into these things this year, I was not even aware of any such thing as an Energy Performance Assessment or an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for my property, or that I should be aspiring to at least a grade D rating, on a scale of G to A, with A being the best (similar to efficiency ratings on white goods etc).

Now I don't think I am particularly stupid, or ignorant or poorly informed, which suggests that there is a disconnect between Government and the consumer, when it comes to education, publicity and the dissemination of information about such things.

I think it is partly explained by the fact that I have lived in the same house for forty years, so I have had few dealings with the property market. i.e I have not been a frequent mover or had any experience of new-builds. So I suspect that I would have had more knowledge of things like EPCs if I had, and that a prospective buyer would ask me about it, or search for the information on a public database. 

Of course, the laws of supply and demand, and the law of Sod, dictate that just when things like support and grants are required, there is massive competition for them, or they do not exist. 

 

StartledJesus

Sea_Shell said:

What do we want? - INFRASTUCTURE
When to we want it? - NOW

Who should pay? - SOMEONE ELSE!!! 

On reflection, why shouldn't someone else pay for it? By that, I primarily mean the utility companies. Isn't that what standing charges are supposed to cover - or were until recently, when the companies started loading 'failed company' costs into them? Even if it wasn't your company that had failed! 

Shouldn't repairs, replacements and renewals be paid for out of the reserves, and build up of aggregated standing charges, of the privatised companies? Rather than being used to pay exorbitant salaries and bonuses to reward poor managers? 

Sea_Shell

StartledJesus said:

Sea_Shell said:

What do we want? - INFRASTUCTURE
When to we want it? - NOW

Who should pay? - SOMEONE ELSE!!! 

On reflection, why shouldn't someone else pay for it? By that, I primarily mean the utility companies. Isn't that what standing charges are supposed to cover - or were until recently, when the companies started loading 'failed company' costs into them? Even if it wasn't your company that had failed! 

Shouldn't repairs, replacements and renewals be paid for out of the reserves, and build up of aggregated standing charges, of the privatised companies? Rather than being used to pay exorbitant salaries and bonuses to reward poor managers? 

Well yes, but that's sort of the point.    If we'd all had to pay increased standing charges to cover such investment, how high would they have been.   Probably a lot lower than they would now have to be to be able to deliver the new investment needed.

It's just that we now have the double whammy of the unit price going up too.

I don't know how much would be needed now to cover it all, if it were now added to SC, but there is now NO stomach for increasing bills.   In a way, what would be the point now, if the government then had to step in (further) and pay these bills for us, by way of even more handouts.

The government may as well pay for it up front, and then claw it all back from general taxation!!

Have the big energy companies mis-handled the "pot" of standing charges they've collected over the years?    Probably?   Do most of us have a slice of the pie within our pension investments?   Probably?

As for Ofgem and the "failed" companies.   I think, what the likes of the "Avro" family have been able to do, without seemingly any oversight or regulation, is criminal.    And if not technically criminal, then morally reprehensible.