Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

Richie said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vd57qzlqpo

Oh looky, British Gas owner Centrica starts putting out reports about potential gas storage level issues to panic the populous....

Next steps
  1. advise the suppliers that the price has went up and the suppliers (some of who are part of the same umbrella company as the gas producers) have to pay more
  2. said suppliers then complain to Government that the price cap is way too low
  3. Government is pressured to step in and help out the energy companies finanicially
/tinfoil hat

;)
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I mean it’s a bit of a joke if our supplies can’t handle a short cold snap.
 
Puzzled said:
Although isn't there always going to be some uncertainty about how much energy demand can be reduced through saving sessions.
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Yeah but I assumed this was why they ran all those tests. Most sessions in previous years were test events, they would have a decent idea of how much could be saved at a certain price point. They only needed to build in some contingency to the figures. Now they have no idea how much can be saved when they're only offering us 70p. It's just about worth it for us with batteries at that price but for most people just reducing usage - no chance!
 
Puzzled said:
Yep they aren't happy about it



octopus.energy

Pay people, not power plants

octopus.energy octopus.energy

Although isn't there always going to be some uncertainty about how much energy demand can be reduced through saving sessions.
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Yet another example of something else going extremely wrong for the consumer in a key service provision.

Is this a simple case of pure greed with various relevant parties, whether in power, influence or an interest in these entities or simply pure stupidity / ignorance of what the hell is going on?
 
200sols said:
Yeah but I assumed this was why they ran all those tests. Most sessions in previous years were test events, they would have a decent idea of how much could be saved at a certain price point. They only needed to build in some contingency to the figures. Now they have no idea how much can be saved when they're only offering us 70p. It's just about worth it for us with batteries at that price but for most people just reducing usage - no chance!
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the thing is... if it keeps the grid clean all things being equal I would help the grid out for free .... however all things are not equal.

if i set my battery to dump energy at the peak it puts wear on my battery which only has finite charge recycles (SOH of mine which is under 3.5 years old is 91% - albeit to be fair most of that went in year one it has leveled out a bit)
but also... as it is now in December/January my battery can't get me to my cheap energy at 11:30pm so i end up paying premium prices for a bit anyway even without dumping to the grid at in demand times

so sure I will happily help the grid.to be a good citizen even without making money.

but I am not gonna lose money doing it by wearing out my battery quicky than it would anyway or by paying more full price electricity when I don't have to. my civic responsibility does not go that far ;)
 
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Puzzled said:
Yep they aren't happy about it



octopus.energy

Pay people, not power plants

octopus.energy octopus.energy

Although isn't there always going to be some uncertainty about how much energy demand can be reduced through saving sessions.
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I seem to be developing a bit of a man crush on Greg.
He is seriously challenging the energy market and as Octopus grow he is getting more weight in doing so.

I really hope the industry don't manage to do a Laker* on him.
*Reference to someone who tried to do the same to aviation and they put him out of business. Eventually we got Easyjet etc but that took decades.
 
bigmike20vt said:
the thing is... if it keeps the grid clean all things being equal I would help the grid out for free .... however all things are not equal.

if i set my battery to dump energy at the peak it puts wear on my battery which only has finite charge recycles (SOH of mine which is under 3.5 years old is 91% - albeit to be fair most of that went in year one it has leveled out a bit)
but also... as it is now in December/January my battery can't get me to my cheap energy at 11:30pm so i end up paying premium prices for a bit anyway even without dumping to the grid at in demand times

so sure I will happily help the grid.to be a good citizen even without making money.

but I am not gonna lose money doing it by wearing out my battery quicky than it would anyway or by paying more full price electricity when I don't have to. my civic responsibility does not go that far ;)
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How much are these batteries, one's plug in wall, then consume during day at higher rates?
 
Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
I seem to be developing a bit of a man crush on Greg.
He is seriously challenging the energy market and as Octopus grow he is getting more weight in doing so.

I really hope the industry don't manage to do a Laker* on him.
*Reference to someone who tried to do the same to aviation and they put him out of business. Eventually we got Easyjet etc but that took decades.
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II have no issue with his statement there, I have the feeling the market has vested interests, and there is resistance to change, when you think hard about it, there is all sorts of obvious problems, but very little change.
I also think the government carbon investment is a sign of that as well, as it feels like a way to prop up fossil fuels.
How much difference would it make if people who can export were paid enough to entice them to do it?
 
Thanks, found some examples quickly, so how do they work?

So lets say I plug one into a socket, and then a device into the portable power station. Could it be programmed to e.g. pull power from the wall to charge at a programmed time, and then outside of that time, it uses battery power to power any connected devices automatically?
 
chrcoluk said:
II have no issue with his statement there, I have the feeling the market has vested interests, and there is resistance to change, when you think hard about it, there is all sorts of obvious problems, but very little change.
I also think the government carbon investment is a sign of that as well, as it feels like a way to prop up fossil fuels.
How much difference would it make if people who can export were paid enough to entice them to do it?
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Two things. Its not just export its also demand reduction. In fact the Demand flexibility scheme was really to reduce consumption initially.

It could make a lot of difference if they gave any certainty about it.
Eg I can supply around 4.5kwh in an hour slot if they make it worth my while.

chrcoluk said:
Thanks, found some examples quickly, so how do they work?

So lets say I plug one into a socket, and then a device into the portable power station. Could it be programmed to e.g. pull power from the wall to charge at a programmed time, and then outside of that time, it uses battery power to power any connected devices automatically?
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Basically yes but how the function vary so check each one for exactly what it does/allows.
Many will accept a solar input as well if you have a window that faces the right direction you could add one in the summer.
 
it's not resistant to change - the weakest link are the days when there ain't no sunshine or wind, and minimal hydro - 60% gas generation reported
need a thread, complimentary to people raving about the days solar output, for heat pump COP, to give us a taster of the future.

Greg got gifted his market position by the tory government - hasnt he put up sausage roll prices though.
 
Enjoying our 6.7p 12am-7am. Got to midnight last night, turned up the hot tub, turned on the dishwasher, two dehumidifiers and the washing machine. So so cheap at that price. I may become nocturnal :p

Should be good in the summer too, we mostly run our air con when we go to bed, so that should make it very very cheap to run.
 
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jpaul said:
it's not resistant to change - the weakest link are the days when there ain't no sunshine or wind, and minimal hydro - 60% gas generation reported
need a thread, complimentary to people raving about the days solar output, for heat pump COP, to give us a taster of the future.

Greg got gifted his market position by the tory government - hasnt he put up sausage roll prices though.
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You ever walked into somewhere, you identify all sorts of problems, and the people making the decisions are all just "comfortable" with how things they are, so dont change anything, quote often these sort of companies will just cease to exist as they dont move with the times, I could quite easily apply this to the state of the energy sector. But it continues to exist as its an essential resource to millions of people and has the protection of the government.
 
Jokester said:
Yep, I've been toying on getting a one, just enough to keep the freezer/fridge powered.
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This is the one I have, puts out 600w, which is plenty really considering even with some lights, TV etc house uses less than that.

Well impressed that photo taken just now, put a bit of petrol in it and it fired up first time no fuss, haven't run this for well over a year plus it's freezing this morning.

PXL-20250111-110414962.jpg
 
CaptainRAVE said:
Enjoying our 6.7p 12am-7am. Got to midnight last night, turned up the hot tub, turned on the dishwasher, two dehumidifiers and the washing machine. So so cheap at that price. I may become nocturnal :p

Should be good in the summer too, we mostly run our air con when we go to bed, so that should make it very very cheap to run.
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Surely that defeats demand reduction in one go. It may be cheap but you are still contributing yo greenhouse gases even marginally.

Planners design systems for the amount of demand which may come on at once. You are not really helping.
 
Hagar said:
Surely that defeats demand reduction in one go. It may be cheap but you are still contributing yo greenhouse gases even marginally.

Planners design systems for the amount of demand which may come on at once. You are not really helping.
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The juice is cheap because the energy and therefore the emissions are being generated anyway. It's coal etc that can't be modulated down low enough. CaptainRave is making use of power that would otherwise be wasted.

Go and read about Dinorwig/electric mountain. That hydro delivers 1kw for every 3kw it consumes; but can be turned on at the bat of an eyelid.
 
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