Energy Suppliers

[Journey]

How does it work when you have a 100% renewables tariff?

I'm not saying you're wrong, just curious.

They have to buy generation from the owners of the wind farms/solar generators or do it in terms of certificates or credits, so the generators of the actual energy have the credits to sell as well as the energy. Not sure if it has changed recently though, but it was relating to onward investment so more money went to the renewables, so they could build more etc.

 

[Russinating]

They have to buy generation from the owners of the wind farms/solar generators or do it in terms of certificates or credits, so the generators of the actual energy have the credits to sell as well as the energy. Not sure if it has changed recently though, but it was relating to onward investment so more money went to the renewables, so they could build more etc.

Yeah that's what I thought. I guess it's a shame that regardless of your tariff being green or not the source could be fully renewable (or not).

 

[BigBoy]

Ah, right what do you do in the electric industry?

Electro Chemical engineer, working mainline supply for EDF based in Barnwood but work all over the south west. Qualified as a cable jointer after leaving collage, was then working for SWEB and entered a program to become an electrical engineer. I have since done several other qualifications giving me a chemical engineering qualification. I also have more city and guilds/NVQ's than I can remember.

I have also worked metering both residential and commercial as well as nuclear supply monitoring.

 

[Semple]

Still no refund or final bill from Shell Energy, they are really dragging this out and I am getting rather fed up with this now.

Not heard a peep out of Shell either.

In fact the emails i do have from them seem to suggest they think i have an active account and my electricity is being provided by them.

I'm expecting a refund to take quite a bit of time.

 

[TNA]

Electro Chemical engineer, working mainline supply for EDF based in Barnwood but work all over the south west. Qualified as a cable jointer after leaving collage, was then working for SWEB and entered a program to become an electrical engineer. I have since done several other qualifications giving me a chemical engineering qualification. I also have more city and guilds/NVQ's than I can remember.

I have also worked metering both residential and commercial as well as nuclear supply monitoring.

Meh.

Spoiler

 

[Jokester]

It's electricity in a wire, also known as the national grid, it comes from whatever is generating closest to you at the time. You can't make the charge come from a wind farm on the east coast if you live in the south-west next to a nuclear power station.

Charge as in electrons or something else?

Electro Chemical engineer, working mainline supply for EDF based in Barnwood but work all over the south west. Qualified as a cable jointer after leaving collage, was then working for SWEB and entered a program to become an electrical engineer. I have since done several other qualifications giving me a chemical engineering qualification. I also have more city and guilds/NVQ's than I can remember.

I have also worked metering both residential and commercial as well as nuclear supply monitoring.

You've done well with yourself. To be honest you threw me when you didn't understand what I was talking about as regards synchronisation.

 

[martin363]

Charge as in electrons or something else?


You've done well with yourself. To be honest you threw me when you didn't understand what I was talking about as regards synchronisation.

I think there is strong evidence that electrical 'energy' does not flow in the wires themselves, but actually manifests as the magnetic field surrounding the wire. The wire itself is effectively a conduit for the magnetism. But I am probably wrong.

 

[Simon]

Either way it’s electron ‘movement’ they actually flow from neutral to live hence rcd trip when the neutral hits an earth

 

[Grim5]

The standing charge is a catch all, I actually only live in the UK for max 6 months a year, and turn the power off when not there, but the Standing Charge ensures I still pay every month

Then just close your account when you don't live there easy peezy and open new account when you do live there

 

[Grim5]

So you think you can tell where your electricity comes from by measuring "something" at the socket?

Impossible to do, anyone who claims they can is a liar - your energy comes from all sources, if a generator is generating and it's connected to your distribution network then that's where your electrons are coming from

 

[BigBoy]

Then just close your account when you don't live there easy peezy and open new account when you do live there

It would be counter productive to do this, as the only way to close an account would either to have some someone take over i.e new tennant, or have the meter removed from the MPAN, to do that usually incurs a cost then an extra cost to have the meter reinstated. It's not as simple as just closing an account.

 

[Grim5]

It would be counter productive to do this, as the only way to close an account would either to have some someone take over i.e new tennant, or have the meter removed from the MPAN, to do that usually incurs a cost then an extra cost to have the meter reinstated. It's not as simple as just closing an account.

So you're saying there is no vacant homes that stil have meters installed? What happens if someone doesn't pay their power bill, does someone come rip the meter off the wall?

It's counter intuitive, I'd have expected vacant properties would simply be remotely disconnected, it's stupid to remove the meter

 

[TNA]

I think there is strong evidence that electrical 'energy' does not flow in the wires themselves, but actually manifests as the magnetic field surrounding the wire. The wire itself is effectively a conduit for the magnetism. But I am probably wrong.

Too much Veritasium bro

 

[Zenduri]

So you're saying there is no vacant homes that stil have meters installed? What happens if someone doesn't pay their power bill, does someone come rip the meter off the wall?

It's counter intuitive, I'd have expected vacant properties would simply be remotely disconnected, it's stupid to remove the meter

A vacant property is still owned by someone, if its an individual or company and they will still be billed for the meter being on site even if there is no usage. As BigBoy said "the only way to close an account would either to have some someone take over i.e new tennant, or have the meter removed from the MPAN, to do that usually incurs a cost then an extra cost to have the meter reinstated."

Someone has to be responsible for the supply at all times regardless of who it is.

 

[BigBoy]

So you're saying there is no vacant homes that stil have meters installed? What happens if someone doesn't pay their power bill, does someone come rip the meter off the wall?

It's counter intuitive, I'd have expected vacant properties would simply be remotely disconnected, it's stupid to remove the meter

There is no such thing as remote disconnect. Even the latest gen smart meters do not have it. Pay as you go meters shut off when credit is used up, that is nothing to do with suppliers remotely turning them off. It's the way they are designed to work and the way PAYG meters have worked for the last 60 years (including old coin op meters).

 

[theone8181]

Impossible to do, anyone who claims they can is a liar - your energy comes from all sources, if a generator is generating and it's connected to your distribution network then that's where your electrons are coming from

I'm think it's like water (I know that's what it was compared too when first "invented/discovered"). If you have several rivers meeting, one does flow backwards they just combine. I do think balancing the grid must be quite a challenging job (stating the obvious I know), but it's probably the most crucial job in the country.

 

[Grim5]

There is no such thing as remote disconnect. Even the latest gen smart meters do not have it. Pay as you go meters shut off when credit is used up, that is nothing to do with suppliers remotely turning them off. It's the way they are designed to work and the way PAYG meters have worked for the last 60 years (including old coin op meters).

we have remote disconnection here down under, use it for vacant properties- it cuts the power without having to send a person to the property and without having to touch the meter - then just reconnect when the next person moves in, takes 10 minutes. It saves so much money

 

[gpuerrilla]

There is no such thing as remote disconnect. Even the latest gen smart meters do not have it. Pay as you go meters shut off when credit is used up, that is nothing to do with suppliers remotely turning them off. It's the way they are designed to work and the way PAYG meters have worked for the last 60 years (including old coin op meters).

There is we installed in on commercial made by EDMI. I think the Mk7 was the single phase. Even the Elster brand and I think one other did it back pre 2010 in the UK.

 

[BigBoy]

we have remote disconnection here down under, use it for vacant properties- it cuts the power without having to send a person to the property and without having to touch the meter - then just reconnect when the next person moves in, takes 10 minutes. It saves so much money

Where is down here??

There is we installed in on commercial made by EDMI. I think the Mk7 was the single phase. Even the Elster brand and I think one other did it back pre 2010 in the UK.

Pre 2010 is before SMICOP came in no operator is allowed to make use of any pre existing remote shut off facility. The DCC control all access to that and ability is limited for very special use cases. Commercial also falls under different regulation to residential.

 

[Journey]

Where is down here??

I think he means the penal colony know as Australia.