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Energy expenditure forecast and the State Pension

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I do live in a family house with four adults. I currently pay £260 a month for gas and electricity. My account balance is about £zero.

The Octopus crystal ball tool calculates that my monthly direct debit will increase from £260 to £515.94, i.e. an increase of 98.84%.

My State Pension amounts to £11,414 annually, including the cost of living allowance. My wife is far too young to receive her State Pension.

My energy will then cost £6,191 / £11,414 = 54% of my State Pension.

Thank goodness that I have other pensions.


I have osteoarthritis in my hands so I speak my messages into a microphone using Dragon. Some people make "typos" but I often make "speakos".
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Comments

  • Farway
    Farway Posts: 14,654 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Homepage Hero Name Dropper
    edited 21 August 2022 at 10:30AM
    I think your post & forecast demonstrates why the whole energy market & how to pay bills is going to explode with who knows what results & consequences

    It's not just pensioners, millions of lower paid & those on benefits will also be hard hit and just not able to pay
    I have no idea what the solution is, and I suspect no one else has either, glib shouts for nationalising, fracking etc are not going to resolve what is an international problem and lack of longer term planning in past decades

    In previous times the strong would simply invade & take the supplies but in a nuclear world that is not a good idea, if it ever was
    Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference said their cats preferred other peoples gardens
  • Farway said:
    I think your post & forecast demonstrates why the whole energy market & how to pay bills is going to explode with who knows what results & consequences
    Thank you, Farway, you have captured the problem in a nutshell. Some proposed political solutions deem that the better-off will pay more than their circa 100% increase to subside the less well-off. 
    I have osteoarthritis in my hands so I speak my messages into a microphone using Dragon. Some people make "typos" but I often make "speakos".
  • QrizB
    QrizB Posts: 18,150 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    Farway said:
    I think your post & forecast demonstrates why the whole energy market & how to pay bills is going to explode with who knows what results & consequences
    It's not just pensioners, millions of lower paid & those on benefits will also be hard hit and just not able to pay
    It's a popular common topic of debate on the Energy forum.
    There's a parcel of Government support measures underway for this winter, worth £400 for every household and up to (I think) £1650 for the worst-off.
    I do live in a family house with four adults.
    Hopefully the other adults are also contributing towards the household energy bills.
    And also hopefully, they will cooperate with whatever energy-saving measures are necessary.
    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
    2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 34 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
    Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.
    Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!
  • Kim1965
    Kim1965 Posts: 550 Forumite
    500 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Massive issues. Think when bills start landing on mats we will see organised non payment along with thosecthat cant pay. Goverments will be elected out of office. 
     The hike in energy prices will make many re plan retirement. For those on state pension only,  tough times,  numbers dont add up. Looks like a retiree needs a dc potvof 100k just to cover enethy bills!! 
  • Government has 2 years to go before it needs to call a general election.  Of the 2 candidates I would rather Rishi than Boris mark 2 a.k.a Liz Truss.

    I trust the energy sector to come up with a viable plan more than any government - listen to Today on R4 about 8.10 ish today.
  • Pollycat
    Pollycat Posts: 35,759 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Savvy Shopper!
    Is your £260 per month for gas & electricity a quarter of the bill?
    If you are paying the full bill, is there a reason why the other 3 adults are not paying a share of the bill?
    e.g. do they pay for food?
  • Albermarle
    Albermarle Posts: 27,808 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Seventh Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 22 August 2022 at 1:08PM
    I do live in a family house with four adults. I currently pay £260 a month for gas and electricity. My account balance is about £zero.

    The Octopus crystal ball tool calculates that my monthly direct debit will increase from £260 to £515.94, i.e. an increase of 98.84%.

    My State Pension amounts to £11,414 annually, including the cost of living allowance. My wife is far too young to receive her State Pension.

    My energy will then cost £6,191 / £11,414 = 54% of my State Pension.

    Thank goodness that I have other pensions.


    It is difficult to tell exactly, but it looks like your actual energy consumption is on the high side. 
    The figures often quoted for the price cap for a typical household, relate to 12,000 KWH of gas and 2,900 KWH of Electricity. ( per year)
    If you are using much more than that, then some discussion between the four adults on how to lower consumption would maybe be a good idea.
    If it is a larger older house, it will always be more difficult to heat, but there are things you can do to keep the energy consumption more under control and keep the bills down . Best to start working on it now with your household before the Winter comes.
  • arnoldy
    arnoldy Posts: 505 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    As the price of sunlight and the breeze has not changed the renewable generators (solar wind) are absolutely coining it in, at least there is some sympathy with the gas generators where the price of gas has increased multiple times.

    This should give scope for technical changes in the way power is charged (decouple the renewable price from the natural gas price), a windfall level on the excess profits of the green generators, and the green levies on the bills have to go - somewhat of a scandal when they are also making "windfall" profits.

    One despairs at OFGEM - supposed to be charged with keeping the lights on, but with a board stuffed full of professional quango salary collectors many of whom seem clueless about deep scientific (electrical) and Engineering nous. The grid is creaking, it's not as stable as it used to be with the loss of the steam turbine inertias that the coal and nuclear plants had. What a mess by OFGEM.

  • QrizB
    QrizB Posts: 18,150 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    arnoldy said:
    As the price of sunlight and the breeze has not changed the renewable generators (solar wind) are absolutely coining it in, at least there is some sympathy with the gas generators where the price of gas has increased multiple times.
    Those who are selling into the open market might be, but the majority are being paid on FITs or CfDs at fixed rates.
    The CfD dashboards for example show the energy generators making substantial payments back to the LCCC now, and forecast to continue for the next 18 months.
    N. Hampshire, he/him. Octopus Intelligent Go elec & Tracker gas / Vodafone BB / iD mobile. Ripple Kirk Hill member.
    2.72kWp PV facing SSW installed Jan 2012. 11 x 247w panels, 3.6kw inverter. 34 MWh generated, long-term average 2.6 Os.
    Not exactly back from my break, but dipping in and out of the forum.
    Ofgem cap table, Ofgem cap explainer. Economy 7 cap explainer. Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs, Best kettle!
  • Sterlingtimes
    Sterlingtimes Posts: 2,522 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Pollycat said:
    Is your £260 per month for gas & electricity a quarter of the bill?
    If you are paying the full bill, is there a reason why the other 3 adults are not paying a share of the bill?
    e.g. do they pay for food?
    I pay for my wife, son and myself. My father-in-law contributes to his portion. We all sit in different rooms in the evening: my wife watches entertainment television, my son sits in front of his computer and I sit in front of mine while my father-in-law watches sport on his television. Thus the house is well and truly utilised. I am thinking about programmable radiator valves.
    I have osteoarthritis in my hands so I speak my messages into a microphone using Dragon. Some people make "typos" but I often make "speakos".
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