How can I opt out of the £200 energy scheme?

Fairzo

How can it be so difficult 🤔

[Deleted User]

AnnoyedEnergyUser said:

PennineAcute said:

All these people who are so against this £200 have yet to come up with a more realistic alternative.  Some people can cause an arguement in an empty room.

A counter argument has been to invest in renewable energy and make us less reliant on the whims of the market. Why not have it that all new builds have to have their own off grid power system?

Renewables are not the whole answer. I have a 7kWp solar array which on one of the very gloomy days last December produced the grand total of 250Wh - equivalent to the usage needed to boil one kettle of water.  Today, the array has produced 15kWh.  Too much renewable power is as challenging as too little: this is why wind farm owners are paid to stop their turbines in very windy conditions.

If I was to decide to install a heat pump - even with Government help - I am looking at a £5 to 7k investment. Also as I charge an EV, then I am told that I will have to pay for a 3-phase supply which might cost up to £15k. I haven’t even looked at the cost of re-sizing radiators. Unlike the PV array that I installed, there is very little chance of me seeing any return on a £22k heat pump investment.

PS. Not all new builds are suitable for PV solar/thermal, and off grid just isn’t possible unless the occupants are prepared to use candles and a camping stove.

AnnoyedEnergyUser

[Deleted User] said:

AnnoyedEnergyUser said:

PennineAcute said:

All these people who are so against this £200 have yet to come up with a more realistic alternative.  Some people can cause an arguement in an empty room.

A counter argument has been to invest in renewable energy and make us less reliant on the whims of the market. Why not have it that all new builds have to have their own off grid power system?

Renewables are not the whole answer. I have a 7kWp solar array which on one of the very gloomy days last December produced the grand total of 250Wh - equivalent to the usage needed to boil one kettle of water.  Today, the array has produced 15kWh.  Too much renewable power is as challenging as too little: this is why wind farm owners are paid to stop their turbines in very windy conditions.

If I was to decide to install a heat pump - even with Government help - I am looking at a £5 to 7k investment. Also as I charge an EV, then I am told that I will have to pay for a 3-phase supply which might cost up to £15k. I haven’t even looked at the cost of re-sizing radiators. Unlike the PV array that I installed, there is very little chance of me seeing any return on £22k heat pump investment.

PS. Not all new builds are suitable for PV solar/thermal, and off grid just isn’t possible unless the occupants are prepared to use candles and a camping stove.

Thank you for your input and so all this needs to be looked at then.

Lots of questions and issues so why are they not being looked at?

Nope what better solution than to give you £200 and make you pay back £40 a year on top of the what will be an ever increasing problem.

Getting an ever increasing debt and putting it on one interest free account to another and still continuing to spend as you did and increasing your debt does not solve the problem. So why throwing £200 at this and then adding that to future bills is seen as a resolution. 

Why not sort the issues and more you write about instead?

AnnoyedEnergyUser

Money_Mad said:

It is not really a debt, so why would you want to opt out. Even if you did opt out you would still be paying the £40 extra a year for 5 years

You are basing on the fact everyone had to pay the £40 if I hadn't had the £200 then I should be exempt from paying it back is the whole crux of the argument.

I don't want to stack debt up for the future.

QrizB

AnnoyedEnergyUser said:

Thank you for your input and so all this needs to be looked at then.
Lots of questions and issues so why are they not being looked at?

They are "being looked at". There are billions of pounds being spent every year developing and exploiting renewable energy solutions. But currently there is generally no better option than centralised generation of energy which is then distributed it to consumers via a grid. Taking individual dwellings off-grid is possible but prohibitively expensive.

If you have an interest in RE, come over to the "green and ethical" forum where there are several longstanding threads tracking developments in the field.

dander

This whole thing is so stupid. What's the point of giving any kind of loan/whatever you want to call it to people who can pay their bills without it? And What's the point of giving a loan/whatever to people who can't afford it when they'll still be struggling in the future? Just focus on benefits/allowances/any kind of non-returnable support for the people that are going to be hit hardest. I can't think of any situation where this is a sensible, practical solution.

EssexHebridean

The irony of this entire thread is that it appears that almost everyone posting on it ranting about the £200 has the financial privilege to be able to cope with the increase to bills without it. Yes, it might not be a quite as warm as you’d really like. Sure, you might have to think about a bit of batch cooking. And absolutely, perhaps that shower timer you bought a few years ago “to save water because the eNviROnmEnT…” might make a reappearance. Chances are though you will not be having to make decisions about eating or heating - literally a choice between which of the two you do. And before people get up in arms and tell me they don’t have “financial privilege”  because “they’ve worked for every penny” - educate yourself and understand what financial privilege really is. I’ve worked for every penny too - but I can also acknowledge that through a combination of the jobs a I’ve had, having been given the opportunity to learn to cook, to manage money, and to clear debts, I’m unlikely to ever be back in the position I was in my late 20s where putting food on the table was a struggle. There are still all too many people for whom that struggle is real every single day - we see it all too often on DFW.  While “borrowing your way out of debt” isn’t usually a plan, there are a very few scenarios where that can be the only option - and indeed to not have to do that is again a reflection of privilege whether we like it or not. 

There are so many of us who ideally wouldn’t want this levy - or the increase costs that will follow down the line for it - but right now, the best thing we can do IMO is to accept that the system isn’t perfect, but right now this sticking plaster over the wound is the best that can be done, and come next winter it will mean there are some families being able to turn on their heating AND eat a hot meal rather than one or the other. 

If you’ve not already done it, watch or read the transcript of the video Martin has put out today as it does explain things very well.  And as others have already suggested - if you don’t need it and don’t want it then the easiest way of preventing it having impact on you is to leave the £200 credit accounted for and untouched, and then let it deplete naturally over the following 5 years.  

EssexHebridean

Have you even bothered reading the rest of this thread before posting?!  Every single part of the points you raised has been answered repeatedly. 

PennineAcute

swaledale_one said:

GingerTim said:

You can't, it's a universal measure applied to every bill, not to an individual.

If that's the case what happens if you move out of a house your not paying gas or electric and then move into a new home in November? Will you be happy to then pay back £200 that you never received over 5 years? If you move out of a home you are paying gas and electric and move back in with parents will the next occupant have to pay your debt on the the property? If you move suppliers will they expect payment in full before leaving? It's a total mick take designed to get every household into debt with their energy supplier to then allow them to claw back costs perpetually.

Are you eligible to claim WHD and do you get WHD if you are?  If you cannot claim, you are still paying for it in your current price.

Coffeekup

PennineAcute said:

All these people who are so against this £200 have yet to come up with a more realistic alternative.  Some people can cause an arguement in an empty room.

I'd take the £200 not in cash in gold weight... Otherwise I'm not Interested in the "loan" either.