surge pricing

Gerry1

@tghe-retford There are still plenty of electronic digital electricity meters in service.

The pushback against ToU tariffs that are more expensive than standard rate is now gaining traction in the MSM.

https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/comment/153278/the-sinister-plan-thatll-allow-your-smart-meter-to-charge-you-surge-pricing-like-a-cab

Not exactly my favourite paper and I'm not convinced it's 100% accurate (e.g. I rather doubt that his E7 cheap rate is just a third of his day rate) but it's good to see the reality behind the smart meter rollout is getting some long overdue publicity.

Similarly, Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers is highlighting how following government advice and installing a heatpump can trash your EPC rating and devalue your house.

https://www.mailplus.co.uk/edition/comment/153608/heat-pumps-are-not-the-answer-to-our-net-zero-prayers

EssexHebridean

Gerry1 said:

(e.g. I rather doubt that his E7 cheap rate is just a third of his day rate) 

Yes, that bit is still possible. Remains to be seen if it stays that way after April, though - I fear not! 

A._Badger

Hold on a minute. Weren't we being assured by the usual suspects not so long ago that this was just another 'conspiracy theory'?

We seem to have gone from a nice, simple system where a company produces electricity which it sells to consumers, who can, at the throw of a switch, get as much as they want, whenever they want it at an agreed price, to a situation where, in effect, the product is rationed by a variable price which has to be referred to in advance innumerable times per day and which may prove to be unaffordable.    

In other words, the customer now has his or her life shaped not by their own needs but by the supplier's. In effect, you will use your washing machine when the supplier wants you to. This not how markets are supposed to work. 

Even better, we are expected to believe that this is 'progress' and that it is 'inevitable'. It is. of course, neither. It has come about due to political meddling in the energy market by successive governments and could just as easily be stopped if politicians were told it was unacceptable. With luck, the current concern over high energy prices and the looming inevitability of power cuts may see that happen. 


  

Verdigris

In other words, the customer now has his or her life shaped not by their own needs but by the supplier's. In effect, you will use your washing machine when the supplier wants you to. This not how markets are supposed to work.

I think you'll find that when a commodity becomes scarce the price rises. That is exactly how markets work. The consumer then has the choice of paying the prevailing price or waiting until a more acceptable price point is available.

MWT

A._Badger said:

Hold on a minute. Weren't we being assured by the usual suspects not so long ago that this was just another 'conspiracy theory'? 

Not at all, this is exactly what a number of us said was already allowing us to reduce our overall spend on energy so we welcome the change.

To call it 'surge' pricing suggests that it is just about a price increase in peak periods when in reality it is about the balance between peak increases and reductions out of the peak allowing you to move your use to lower cost times of day.

c_smith

MWT said:

A._Badger said:

Hold on a minute. Weren't we being assured by the usual suspects not so long ago that this was just another 'conspiracy theory'? 

Not at all, this is exactly what a number of us said was already allowing us to reduce our overall spend on energy so we welcome the change.

To call it 'surge' pricing suggests that it is just about a price increase in peak periods when in reality it is about the balance between peak increases and reductions out of the peak allowing you to move your use to lower cost times of day.

Not everyone will be in a position to do that though due to work, family and other commitments.  Why should they be penalised? 

MWT

c_smith said:

MWT said:

A._Badger said:

Hold on a minute. Weren't we being assured by the usual suspects not so long ago that this was just another 'conspiracy theory'? 

Not at all, this is exactly what a number of us said was already allowing us to reduce our overall spend on energy so we welcome the change.

To call it 'surge' pricing suggests that it is just about a price increase in peak periods when in reality it is about the balance between peak increases and reductions out of the peak allowing you to move your use to lower cost times of day.

Not everyone will be in a position to do that though due to work, family and other commitments.  Why should they be penalised? 

It is perhaps worth noting that the current trial being run by Octopus doesn't penalise anyone, it does provide a reward for those able to reduce their consumption in the peak periods.

... but we can't carry on pretending that everyone can use what they want, when they want regardless of the costs forever, attributing the real costs of peak time use to those who are using it does not seem unreasonable...

The net result of the introduction of half-hour settlement for the suppliers is that they have a greater incentive to encourage and reward their customers who can shift their usage to cheaper periods so you will see more suppliers offering more time-of-use tariffs in future.

The flip-side of that is that those who cannot or will not adjust their usage patterns and those who continue to resist smart meters will gradually see a widening gap between what they are paying for their energy and the amounts paid by those who have been willing and able to adjust.

Resisting smart meters and doing nothing to alter consumption will still be viable for some time I suspect though, as those who can and do change will reduce the pressure at those peak periods, but there will inevitably come a point where it will get more painful to do nothing so it really does depend on how many try to make a change vs those who do not or cannot...

Effician

c_smith said:

MWT said:

A._Badger said:

Hold on a minute. Weren't we being assured by the usual suspects not so long ago that this was just another 'conspiracy theory'? 

Not at all, this is exactly what a number of us said was already allowing us to reduce our overall spend on energy so we welcome the change.

To call it 'surge' pricing suggests that it is just about a price increase in peak periods when in reality it is about the balance between peak increases and reductions out of the peak allowing you to move your use to lower cost times of day.

Not everyone will be in a position to do that though due to work, family and other commitments.  Why should they be penalised? 

Because that's life.

Why should my s/c increase just because millions of consumers chose the wrong bargain basement supplier ?  tough tittie , we suck it up & move along.

Verdigris

Not everyone will be in a position to do that though due to work, family and other commitments.  Why should they be penalised?

You have the option of being penalised all the time by hanging on to a dumb meter. On the other hand a home storage battery could provide cheaper electricity during the peak hours, if you really can't adjust your lifestyle, and you have a smart meter.

PennineAcute

c_smith said:

MWT said:

A._Badger said:

Hold on a minute. Weren't we being assured by the usual suspects not so long ago that this was just another 'conspiracy theory'? 

Not at all, this is exactly what a number of us said was already allowing us to reduce our overall spend on energy so we welcome the change.

To call it 'surge' pricing suggests that it is just about a price increase in peak periods when in reality it is about the balance between peak increases and reductions out of the peak allowing you to move your use to lower cost times of day.

Not everyone will be in a position to do that though due to work, family and other commitments.  Why should they be penalised? 

Times change.  People are struggling.  Two hundred years ago, we sent kids up chimneys so they .could help put food on the table.  Shall we go back to those days or implement easier alternatives?

After passing my driving test in 1987, I had many a fine hour under the bonnet when things stopped working.  Now you need a computer to work out what has gone wrong.  It's called changing with the times.  You may not like the change, but society never progresses unless they embrace change.