What should the unit prices be to cover wholesale prices?

ispookie666

In this current climate - Hinkley Point C's agreed rate seems to be a bargain!

Agree that we all need to cut our energy consumption - I am not sure how to go below 15KWh/day (with no solar) 

Verdigris

In this current climate - Hinkley Point C's agreed rate seems to be a bargain!

They haven't got a reactor of that design to work, yet.

Ultrasonic

ispookie666 said:

Agree that we all need to cut our energy consumption - I am not sure how to go below 15KWh/day (with no solar) 

Out of interest, are you referring to gas, electricity, or total? And averaged over a year or every day?

(I've not worked it out before but averaged over a year my total energy usage is about 15 kWh per day. Single person household and out at work most weekdays.)

ispookie666

Very true. I remember the fuzz behind the pricing and how much expensive the fixed rate was.

ispookie666

Ultrasonic said:

ispookie666 said:

Agree that we all need to cut our energy consumption - I am not sure how to go below 15KWh/day (with no solar) 

Out of interest, are you referring to gas, electricity, or total? And averaged over a year or every day?

(I've not worked it out before but averaged over a year my total energy usage is about 15 kWh per day. Single person household and out at work most weekdays.)

Just electric, I have oil central heating.  Might look into a way of using excess solar to heat oil filled radiators

alco_pop

Ultrasonic said:

Sea_Shell said:

Until you price people out of affording their product, and they begin to rack up debt or default their DDs.

People who are already struggling, and already in debt, just won't be able to pay.

At what point do they get cut off, and does that take time to implement (notice etc) legally?

There is a level at which the poorest will need more help but we may get to a point where far more need to make choices that they don't want to, in order to reduce energy use and/or reduce other expenditure to be able to pay for energy. I know nobody likes to consider a standard of living falling but it may be necessary.

Watching the horrifying news form Ukraine I can't help but feel lucky to be worrying about the cost of energy rather than my home being bombed. I do appreciate though that I'm in the fortunate position where the current energy price increases are not going to cause me real financial difficulty. In part this is down to my consciously frugal energy use but certainly not exclusively.

That is rather a reductive view. I'm pleased that you will be okay. Many others will not be. It's not like it is a choice between one thing or another, there can be concerns and the need to address more than one issue at a time.

Ultrasonic

alco_pop said:

Ultrasonic said:

Sea_Shell said:

Until you price people out of affording their product, and they begin to rack up debt or default their DDs.

People who are already struggling, and already in debt, just won't be able to pay.

At what point do they get cut off, and does that take time to implement (notice etc) legally?

There is a level at which the poorest will need more help but we may get to a point where far more need to make choices that they don't want to, in order to reduce energy use and/or reduce other expenditure to be able to pay for energy. I know nobody likes to consider a standard of living falling but it may be necessary.

Watching the horrifying news form Ukraine I can't help but feel lucky to be worrying about the cost of energy rather than my home being bombed. I do appreciate though that I'm in the fortunate position where the current energy price increases are not going to cause me real financial difficulty. In part this is down to my consciously frugal energy use but certainly not exclusively.

That is rather a reductive view. I'm pleased that you will be okay. Many others will not be. It's not like it is a choice between one thing or another, there can be concerns and the need to address more than one issue at a time.

My post was absolutely not a blanket dismissal of concerns.

Do you think we can allow the big 6 energy firms to go bust?

alco_pop

Ultrasonic said:

alco_pop said:

Ultrasonic said:

Sea_Shell said:

Until you price people out of affording their product, and they begin to rack up debt or default their DDs.

People who are already struggling, and already in debt, just won't be able to pay.

At what point do they get cut off, and does that take time to implement (notice etc) legally?

There is a level at which the poorest will need more help but we may get to a point where far more need to make choices that they don't want to, in order to reduce energy use and/or reduce other expenditure to be able to pay for energy. I know nobody likes to consider a standard of living falling but it may be necessary.

Watching the horrifying news form Ukraine I can't help but feel lucky to be worrying about the cost of energy rather than my home being bombed. I do appreciate though that I'm in the fortunate position where the current energy price increases are not going to cause me real financial difficulty. In part this is down to my consciously frugal energy use but certainly not exclusively.

That is rather a reductive view. I'm pleased that you will be okay. Many others will not be. It's not like it is a choice between one thing or another, there can be concerns and the need to address more than one issue at a time.

My post was absolutely not a blanket dismissal of concerns.

Do you think we can allow the big 6 energy firms to go bust?

Do I think we can afford for the big energy companies to go bust, not really, as ultimately it would be the people that would have to pick up the cost. However, perhaps they should look at cutting dividends and profits before such large hikes in prices?
As an example my projected electric cost alone is going up by around £220 a year. That is on top of any other cost of living price rises and no wage increases. For some this may cause real hardship and debt. 

Ultrasonic

alco_pop said:

Ultrasonic said:

alco_pop said:

Ultrasonic said:

Sea_Shell said:

Until you price people out of affording their product, and they begin to rack up debt or default their DDs.

People who are already struggling, and already in debt, just won't be able to pay.

At what point do they get cut off, and does that take time to implement (notice etc) legally?

There is a level at which the poorest will need more help but we may get to a point where far more need to make choices that they don't want to, in order to reduce energy use and/or reduce other expenditure to be able to pay for energy. I know nobody likes to consider a standard of living falling but it may be necessary.

Watching the horrifying news form Ukraine I can't help but feel lucky to be worrying about the cost of energy rather than my home being bombed. I do appreciate though that I'm in the fortunate position where the current energy price increases are not going to cause me real financial difficulty. In part this is down to my consciously frugal energy use but certainly not exclusively.

That is rather a reductive view. I'm pleased that you will be okay. Many others will not be. It's not like it is a choice between one thing or another, there can be concerns and the need to address more than one issue at a time.

My post was absolutely not a blanket dismissal of concerns.

Do you think we can allow the big 6 energy firms to go bust?

Do I think we can afford for the big energy companies to go bust, not really, as ultimately it would be the people that would have to pick up the cost. However, perhaps they should look at cutting dividends and profits before such large hikes in prices?
As an example my projected electric cost alone is going up by around £220 a year. That is on top of any other cost of living price rises and no wage increases. For some this may cause real hardship and debt. 

Absolutely understood and not something I challenged above. What was being discussed was energy firms being forced to sell at a loss and going bust as a result. 

Sea_Shell

Just been reading on the BBC...

Keeping Bulb Energy running will potentially cost taxpayers billions of pounds more than has currently been set aside, government officials have said.

Bulb, which has 1.6 million customers, was quasi-nationalised in late November when it was put into special administration as it buckled under rising wholesale gas prices.

In November, wholesale prices were around £2 per unit.

Since then, prices have been consistently higher than that.

They hit peaks of £4.70 in December and as high as £8 on Monday - 20 times the prices seen last year - during extreme volatility.

At the time Bulb was placed in special administration, the Treasury set aside £1.7bn to purchase the gas required until the end of the tax year in April 2022 by which time it was hoped a buyer would be found for the business.

Government officials have conceded that the prospect of offloading the business to a private buyer seem remote in this environment and that means that taxpayers will be on the hook for a gas bill that energy analysts believe could run to billions of pounds.

What does this mean for our standing charges (as part of the October cap) going forwards.   Will some of the governments costs be reclaimed this way?   So not just a "taxpayer" problem!!!