[News] The Energy crisis

[Neville's Breakfast]

This big time! At the turn of the year my average monthly bill for dual fuel with Bulb was £90. In February it jumped to £149 and now email today confirms next bill will be £200 ! And I live in a modest 3 bed semi WTF!

You could cut back on your usage and insist your supplier does not increase the direct debit by this much. That’s what we’ve done.
All of this is about to get worse as Russia has reduced gas flows into the EU and we have problems at Freeport with LNG. The only way forwards is to reduce demand.

 

[carlzeiss]

https://news.sky.com/story/uks-four...-is-nationalised-by-the-french-state-12647019

UK's fourth-largest household energy supplier EDF nationalised by the French state

Sky's Ian King explains why the French government has taken the decision to take full control of EDF, the company that supplies millions of UK households with gas and electricity and is building the much-delayed Hinkley Point 'C' nuclear power station.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Read this the other day. Another communal heating idea coming from Scandinavia:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61996520

Finnish researchers have installed the world's first fully working "sand battery" which can store green power for months at a time.

The developers say this could solve the problem of year-round supply, a major issue for green energy.

Using low-grade sand, the device is charged up with heat made from cheap electricity from solar or wind.

The sand stores the heat at around 500C, which can then warm homes in winter when energy is more expensive.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Just seen the latest figures for October. They are absolutely horrendous but unfortunately no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention

https://inews.co.uk/news/consumer/energy-price-cap-rise-2023-more-previously-predicted-1732347

 

[Rogero]

My electric bill for June was £70 and gas £20 . We cook with electric but have heating and hot water with gas in a two person house hold . How does that compare with others on here ?

 

[Berty23]

I was very very lucky and my provider went bust last summer and I was put on a fix until September 2024 with EdF. The problem we have is that they decided our direct debit should be about double what we use so they have a grand of my money that they won’t give back. On their website it says “it is common to be in credit at this time of year” but I have taken a photo every month since October with it saying the same thing. I want my grand back but they are being idiots.

 

[lawros left foot]

We were invited to have 7 solar panels installed on our house at the end of April with a 100% grant from Warma Homes. There are a couple of qualifying factors, under 30 grand household income per annum, a house that already meets certain insulation standards and you must own your own property.

So far, brilliant, our electric bill has actually gone down, and we have already sold £30 worth of power back to the National grid. Just hope the bright, sunny weather continues.

 

[severnside gull]

I was very very lucky and my provider went bust last summer and I was put on a fix until September 2024 with EdF. The problem we have is that they decided our direct debit should be about double what we use so they have a grand of my money that they won’t give back. On their website it says “it is common to be in credit at this time of year” but I have taken a photo every month since October with it saying the same thing. I want my grand back but they are being idiots.

Don’t worry. You’ll go through your credit this winter

 

[Berty23]

Don’t worry. You’ll go through your credit this winter

That’s the thing. I won’t. During the winter I built a credit of over 300 quid (sept to feb). I kept telling them the dd was too high but they said it wasn’t.

 

[severnside gull]

That’s the thing. I won’t. During the winter I built a credit of over 300 quid (sept to feb). I kept telling them the dd was too high but they said it wasn’t.

Sorry. My sardonic humour. Have a look on the Martin Lewis site maybe for advice?

 

[Rogero]

With my last provider you could set your own direct debit .

 

[beorhthelm]

UK gas price up 180% on the year, european price up 370%. energy companies being nationalised and emergency powers activated, rationing planned. its not going to be a good winter.

 

[WATFORD zero]

UK gas price up 180% on the year, european price up 370%. energy companies being nationalised and emergency powers activated, rationing planned. its not going to be a good winter.

I've been trying to find figures for the increases, but with no luck. Where did you get these and do they have the same for electricity ?

Thanks

 

[lawros left foot]

The energy sector in this country is a shambles.

Sky high prices, massive profits for mainly foreign owned Energy companies, a crumbling infrastructure, and no clear policy on renewables.
The privatisation of all the utilities has been an unmitigated disaster for customers. We have to beg the French owned EDF to build our new nuclear power stations if it ever happens, water companies pouring millions of gallons of sewage into our rivers, with the permission of the government, and the scrapping of our gas storage facilities, we know have less than 1/16 th of Germanys capacity.
There was one politician that would have taken these industries back into public ownership, but apparently his glasses were wonky, so, we didn’t vote for him.

 

[beorhthelm]

I've been trying to find figures for the increases, but with no luck. Where did you get these and do they have the same for electricity ?

Thanks

Trading Economics good snapshot for all commodities, though dosent cover electicity.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Trading Economics good snapshot for all commodities, though dosent cover electicity.

Got it thanks

 

[beorhthelm]

The energy sector in this country is a shambles.

Sky high prices, massive profits for mainly foreign owned Energy companies, a crumbling infrastructure, and no clear policy on renewables.
The privatisation of all the utilities has been an unmitigated disaster for customers. We have to beg the French owned EDF to build our new nuclear power stations if it ever happens, water companies pouring millions of gallons of sewage into our rivers, with the permission of the government, and the scrapping of our gas storage facilities, we know have less than 1/16 th of Germanys capacity.
There was one politician that would have taken these industries back into public ownership, but apparently his glasses were wonky, so, we didn’t vote for him.

this is nonsense. energy market is highly efficient, and over 40% capacity from renewables. storage is less significant when we have tap to north sea gas can be turned on and off. storage wasnt much help for other countries when they didnt fill up last year, leading the high prices starting through autumn. biggest problem we have with energy is pepole, who actively and vociferously object to any infrastructure, nuclear, wind, solar all get blocked and delayed for years.

 

[beorhthelm]

Got it thanks

TTF gas is the Dutch/EU market.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Sorry. My sardonic humour. Have a look on the Martin Lewis site maybe for advice?

Good advice…lots of help over there …..I’m currently in dreamland having taken out a fix in 2020 ….due to end this coming November and I’d built up a large credit with Ovo which I was happy to keep as it earns 5% interest …I’ve recently withdrawn this to avoid the same potential hassle

 

[Cheshire Cat]

That’s the thing. I won’t. During the winter I built a credit of over 300 quid (sept to feb). I kept telling them the dd was too high but they said it wasn’t.

The cap is likely to go over £3,000 in October so they might end being right after all.