Energy Prices (Strictly NO referrals!)

[ci_newman]

Yeah we have smoke/fire alarms. Never really thought about the risk of running the tumble drier at night. We used to put it on and leave the house when we used it during the day.

A washer / drier running overnight is essentially what triggered the Grenfell fires. My Grandfather was a fireman too, so I was brought up that we never run electrical appliances unattended overnight.

Faulty appliances are the leading cause of house fires:

https://electricalcontractingnews.c...se-43-fires-a-week-in-england-research-finds/

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I honestly thought I'd never be in the 'heat or eat' category but that's basically happening now. Our heating kicks on for a couple of hours in the morning and then drops back to 17°C. That means that due to thermostat hysteresis, it fluctuates between 16.5° and 17.5°.

We just put more jumpers on.

Prices currently being estimated for the October cap are getting to a point it's going to affect families who would generally be considered as comfortable. Costs for the poor are already at a level where it would be laughable if it wasn't so serious.

 

[Haggisman]

I think that's a little extreme. A fridge/freezer on 24/7 might now cost an additional £20/year to run, but no where near £20/month extra.

Typical consumption is ~ 375kWh /year, which works out to around £112/year with an assumed rate of 30p/unit. On old rates of 20p/unit it would be £75/year.

I didn't mean £20 extra, £20 in total, to be fair I just googled the consumption which gave ~100w. 0.1kw*24hrs is 2.4kwh/day, or ~67p/day @ 28p/kwh = £20.16 for 30 days. If the consumption is lower than the maths is still correct but obviously based on a lower figure

You wouldn't need logs when there are plenty of other things to burn, recycle the rubbish before cutting down trees would make more sense. Burning the rubbish would also clean the place up a bit.

Not sure I would want to huddle around a campfire burning the kind of rubbish you find alongside the road. Plastic fumes aren't great for your health! Would be fine if you built some kind of high temperature industrial incinerator in your garden and used it for water heating, but I'm not sure your neighbours would be too happy about it

 

[Retro6]

Dodgy cheap nasty phone chargers are a big fire hazard because people leave them on, some have basic cheap components inside . I never leave things on standby. the only thing that is left on is my fridge and boiler everything else gets switched off at the outlet or unplugged entirely. The only things I really run often are my PC and some lights for my house plants which get turned one after 4pm then are switched off at midnight. I tried solar power once but I could never get enough current to charge a battery to power things.

 

[fez]

Prices currently being estimated for the October cap are getting to a point it's going to affect families who would generally be considered as comfortable. Costs for the poor are already at a level where it would be laughable if it wasn't so serious.

Yeah, my partner and I both earn good money but this is going to affect us for sure. Its not going to be crippling but it going to be very noticeable. We also don't have any kids yet so it will definitely go up in the future. People earning low salaries are going to have an absolutely miserable time.

 

[Shoza]

Yeah, my partner and I both earn good money but this is going to affect us for sure. Its not going to be crippling but it going to be very noticeable. We also don't have any kids yet so it will definitely go up in the future. People earning low salaries are going to have an absolutely miserable time.

Same for us being pretty well off but worried about all of this. We won’t go abroad this year now and we will buy fewer luxury items and eat out much less. We’ve cut back takeaways and eating out to almost nothing already as everything is costing so much more with further increases anticipated we won’t want to take the risk.

 

[413x]

Yeah, my partner and I both earn good money but this is going to affect us for sure. Its not going to be crippling but it going to be very noticeable. We also don't have any kids yet so it will definitely go up in the future. People earning low salaries are going to have an absolutely miserable time.

This is it isn't it.

If your expenses match your income (most have this) then this really will devestate a big swathe of the population and pressure those who would normally be immune.

It's directly funneling cash away from UK economic recovery.

If people with fat above median salaries are having to make changes it demonstrates how much impact this will have.

 

[Retro6]

What amazes is how people just roll over and let energy companies rip them off when its not households that are wasting tonnes of energy every day and night. People have no backbone or fight for whats right anymore. Many people will suffer the high energy costs while business, corporations waste more and more energy that could be keeping many poor families warm.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I didn't mean £20 extra, £20 in total, to be fair I just googled the consumption which gave ~100w. 0.1kw*24hrs is 2.4kwh/day, or ~67p/day @ 28p/kwh = £20.16 for 30 days. If the consumption is lower than the maths is still correct but obviously based on a lower figure

That's assuming the fridge/freezer is running constantly which it won't be, infact nothing like. Judging from how often ours kick in and out I doubt it'd be even a quarter of that power use.

 

[jpaul]

yes V

 

[Feek]

What amazes is how people just roll over and let energy companies rip them off when its not households that are wasting tonnes of energy every day and night. People have no backbone or fight for whats right anymore. Many people will suffer the high energy costs while business, corporations waste more and more energy that could be keeping many poor families warm.

What do you suggest people do?

 

[Diagro]

What amazes is how people just roll over and let energy companies rip them off when its not households that are wasting tonnes of energy every day and night. People have no backbone or fight for whats right anymore. Many people will suffer the high energy costs while business, corporations waste more and more energy that could be keeping many poor families warm.

Unfortunately large companies sometimes don't realise what's their loosing

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

What amazes is how people just roll over and let energy companies rip them off when its not households that are wasting tonnes of energy every day and night. People have no backbone or fight for whats right anymore. Many people will suffer the high energy costs while business, corporations waste more and more energy that could be keeping many poor families warm.

You do realise that 30 utility companies have gone bust in the last 6 months don't you? That's not because they were run poorly, it's because the cap forces them to sell for a loss. The remaining suppliers are still selling for a loss and regarding businesses, expect some fairly sizeable price rises across the board as they pass on their own substantial running cost rises onto the customer. There'll be quite a few smaller businesses going under as they struggle to cope with this.

 

[Fubsy]

Got heating oil in Jan for around 60p a litre. Hoping it will dip anlittle in the summer for a top-up.

Our electric is with Octopus. They've offered the below:
Electricity
Daily standing charge 24.11p /day
Unit rate 36.04p /kWh
Early exit fee £0

Not sure whether to risk it for the next 6 months on the variable. It'll be at the cap, but unless they put the SC up to the limit it should still be cheaper as the SC would be an extra £77 spread over the year, but paying 8p less per kWh until October, then if ilthe cap is close to 36p I'll be up still. Argh.

 

[ci_newman]

You do realise that 30 utility companies have gone bust in the last 6 months don't you? That's not because they were run poorly, it's because the cap forces them to sell for a loss. The remaining suppliers are still selling for a loss and regarding businesses, expect some fairly sizeable price rises across the board as they pass on their own substantial running cost rises onto the customer. There'll be quite a few smaller businesses going under as they struggle to cope with this.

Sort of.

The energy selling divisions are running at a loss, the energy generating divisions of those same companies are making record profits.

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Sort of.

The energy selling divisions are running at a loss, the energy generating divisions of those same companies are making record profits.

True, good point. I'm talking purely sellers, those who also deal with generation are fortunate because that side of the business will be propping up the other so are more likely to stay solvent.

It's fortunate the companies generation divisions are seeing record profits as the selling divisions are seeing record losses.

 

[Puzzled]

Unfortunately large companies sometimes don't realise what's their loosing

Many are cutting back though as commercial energy supply isn't covered by the price cap.

For some businesses the cost of energy is having a huge impact and will lead to further price increases on their goods.

 

[wingman]

What do you suggest people do?

Exactly.

 

[purplesky]

As unfortunate as the situation is, some people only have themselves to blame. Anyone who is earning OK money should have been saving over the years for a rainy day instead of blowing it on rubbish.
The day of reckoning was always going to come, and it's now coming fast. We're seeing the same types of people behaviour we saw in the 80's and 90's, and whether we see mass home repossessions remains to be seen, but highly likely.

 

[413x]

As unfortunate as the situation is, some people only have themselves to blame. Anyone who is earning OK money should have been saving over the years for a rainy day instead of blowing it on rubbish.
The day of reckoning was always going to come, and it's now coming fast. We're seeing the same types of people behaviour we saw in the 80's and 90's, and whether we see mass home repossessions remains to be seen, but highly likely.

I feel it has to come.
It's going to be the people who bought on 5 percent mortgages during the pandemic who took out short 2 year fixes that suffer.

Surely prices have to come down? A correction of as much as 20 percent still wouldn't drag this house down to what it was when bought in 2020.

I can't see it not happening.

And they are talking of loosening restrictions on earnings for mortgages! Crazy really. I think current levels are just right.