Gov't support

VohnnyJegas

Sea_Shell said:

"They're not going to go back to reading books."

Well, that's a shame.   

Maybe people will reconnect with old fashioned pass times.

Borrow a draughts (or chess if they prefer a challenge!) set.  Play cards.  Jigsaw puzzles etc etc.

Not everything has to be electronic.

Draughts, and chess, are both incredibly hard games to play in total darkness when you're freezing to death.

wild666

Mstty said:

People need a big shock, education on energy and usage and to cut down their usage. Without this shock this will have to be funded for many years and the country is broke already.

I think we are going to see a cut in usage and the average usage figures will drop from 2900/12000 kWh down to 2700/9000 kWh or maybe lower. People will cut their usage by turning appliances off at the wall socket and lowering the boiler temperatures and the thermostat. 
There will be losers, families with children who are on the PC or games consoles every spare moment they get. Some will have no option to cut usage because of medical equipment need and/or heating needed to keep warm.

It's going to be a shock to some families as the children might be restricted to only an hour or so each day or so many hours per week and when they've used those hours they cannot use the console/PC for the rest of the week. 
There will be some who keep using the same then realise that their DD is being increased and they cannot afford the increase and cancel the DD without contacting the supplier. This would lead to them having prepayment meters installed or the meter switched to prepayment mode if they have smart meters.

Mr.Plinky

I think theres a lot of misconception re electronic devices, they really do not use a huge amount and furthermore a lot are rechargable so not necessarily the parent footing the bill - any power outlet or 12v connector can do the job - but Im digressing.
Its the washing machines, day to day cooking heating washing etc, incidentals that need to be covered.
Im not hugely political as I believe they're all on their own agenda and quangos - however I really cant understand the withdrawal of all these green schemes and if they were genuine - why stop! Wouldnt it be shrewder and wise to get people up and running with more solar panels, greener energies and lower living costs in general (here in lies the caveat - tax loses maybe Im being cynical).
I dont believe handouts are the answer in all cases however there will be people made destitute and worst still lose their lives with the increase in all this current wave. I am so saddened that no one in power has had any guts or forsight to take any initiative or action rather than throw good money after bad and withdraw help to those who struggle to afford it - and I am not just talking low income households here - families with kids! 2 parents working - kids at school - home working exponentially growing - child care costs higher than the mortgage - etc etc somethings gonna snap soon in this broken state! Maybe IM more political than I realise on reading this post (a socialist capatalist = someone who cars but has to make money to live)

wild666

Astria said:

chris_n said:

If the first X number of kWh was reduced in price the poorer, low users would not be hit as hard. The people who are then high users have the incentive to reduce usage as the extra kWh's are more expensive. There would obviously be a need for people with medical needs etc to be excluded from the higher pricing. It would need a lot of overseeing but would achieve reduced demand and targeting the most needy.

But it would make it more difficult to compare tariffs, which is why the standing charge was separated rather than included in the X amount of kWh hours it was usually. You could actually have a zero or very low standing charge by using very few kWh.

I have said for some time the SC should be divided by the average daily usage and added to the price per kWh. This would hit high users, have no effect on average users and benefit low users. 
I also think that the total SC amount wouldn't be greatly affected if it was put onto the kWh prices and might even increase the amount the SC generates through high users who pay more 

YoungBlueEyes

I wonder about this sometimes. I’m a very careful low user, for a few months of the year the s/c is the majority of my bill. So reducing my consumption doesn’t really affect my bills. Any reductions I can make now (there’s no fat left to trim tbh) would only have a teeny effect on my cost. 

I understand why the system is like it is, other than a big rethink and overhaul it’s probably the fairest/simplest it can be. 

GingerTim

YoungBlueEyes said:

I wonder about this sometimes. I’m a very careful low user, for a few months of the year the s/c is the majority of my bill. So reducing my consumption doesn’t really affect my bills. Any reductions I can make now (there’s no fat left to trim tbh) would only have a teeny effect on my cost. 

I understand why the system is like it is, other than a big rethink and overhaul it’s probably the fairest/simplest it can be. 

Completely agree that the current standing charge arrangement is the fairest/least worst way of doing this. I'm a low user, too, and have yet to see anyone provide a reason, other than self-interest, as to why it would be fair for high energy users to subsidise low users. 

[Deleted User]

Mr.Plinky said:

I think theres a lot of misconception re electronic devices, they really do not use a huge amount and furthermore a lot are rechargable so not necessarily the parent footing the bill - any power outlet or 12v connector can do the job - but Im digressing.
Its the washing machines, day to day cooking heating washing etc, incidentals that need to be covered.
Im not hugely political as I believe they're all on their own agenda and quangos - however I really cant understand the withdrawal of all these green schemes and if they were genuine - why stop! Wouldnt it be shrewder and wise to get people up and running with more solar panels, greener energies and lower living costs in general (here in lies the caveat - tax loses maybe Im being cynical).
I dont believe handouts are the answer in all cases however there will be people made destitute and worst still lose their lives with the increase in all this current wave. I am so saddened that no one in power has had any guts or forsight to take any initiative or action rather than throw good money after bad and withdraw help to those who struggle to afford it - and I am not just talking low income households here - families with kids! 2 parents working - kids at school - home working exponentially growing - child care costs higher than the mortgage - etc etc somethings gonna snap soon in this broken state! Maybe IM more political than I realise on reading this post (a socialist capatalist = someone who cars but has to make money to live)

The Government doesn’t need to support PV solar as the return on investment time is now shorter than it has ever been. The ‘problem’ is that there is now a shortage of properly trained and competent installers and waiting times are now months even years.

The other ‘problem’ is that solar, like wind, is fickle and solar is not that good during the Winter period. For example, my 6.35kWp array generated 110kWh last December: my lowest daily output was 350Wh.

This graph shows how fickle renewables can be. Note the date/time and how much electricity is being generated from gas.

pochase

I still fail to see any reason why a low user should not not pay for the services they get and instead want to be subsidised by high users?

I don't drive much, but I pay the same road tax my neighbour does who drives 50000 miles per year. So he uses the roads much more than I do. We should abandon road taxes and instead add it to the petrol price. It is his own fault that he drives that much, he can pay my share also.

ashe

It only costs a pound or two to charge an iPhone every day for a year I believe so an iPad or other tablet not much more 

pochase

An Ipad Pro 12.9 has a 40.88Wh battery. If you empty it daily complete and charge it again that would be 14.921KWh.

So even at October rates the annual cost is under 8£.