Energy costs. Oh dear.......

[CliffEdge]

If by 2030, we really do have 50GW of offshore wind, then a poor day might be 20GW and a good day might be 80GW+

What are we going to do with it all?

Vaillant electric drop in replacement domestic boilers, obviously

[Mike4]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but given that Russia has shown that one of its “battle plans” is to destroy energy infrastructure, aren’t those offshore windfarm assets a bit precarious?

Individual turbines are close to 1km apart, I believe, so each would need it's own missile strike. Rather costly to hit a significant number, I'd have thought.

Also, each turbine must be a desperately small target to actually hit. One thing to hit a building with sides tens of metres long, another to hit a vertical needle. Only their most expensive missiles can probably do this.

[BullDog]

Individual turbines are close to 1km apart, I believe, so each would need it's own missile strike. Rather costly to hit a significant number, I'd have thought.

Also, each turbine must be a desperately small target to actually hit. One thing to hit a building with sides tens of metres long, another to hit a vertical needle. Only their most expensive missiles can probably do this.

Strategy is likely to be to strike substations where one strike takes out the entire array of off shore turbines.

[monabri]

Also, each turbine must be a desperately small target to actually hit. One thing to hit a building with sides tens of metres long, another to hit a vertical needle. Only their most expensive missiles can probably do this.

Strategy is likely to be to strike substations where one strike takes out the entire array of off shore turbines.

Should be safe unless you rename the windfarm as "children's home" or " hospital ".

[Tedx]

We're getting in touch to give you more detail about recent announcements by the energy regulator Ofgem and the UK Government impacting the prices you will pay for your energy from 1st April 2023.

The price cap is set to decrease to £3,280 a year for a typical household* from 1st April 2023, however, the Government's Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) means the typical household* energy bill will remain at around £2,500 a year.

Although the typical annual household energy bill will remain at around the same level as it is now, some customers will see their prices change from 1st April 2023 and we're writing to let you know how this will impact you.

Why are prices changing?

Ofgem's calculation of the quarterly price cap takes into account changes in the costs to provide energy to customers in different areas of Great Britain, and on different payment methods. As the EPG applies a flat unit rate discount for all customers on a standard variable or default tariff, when the discount is applied to the updated energy price cap level, it means that some customers will see a change to their prices, which on average will still equate to around £2,500 a year for the typical household* energy bill.

Current prices until
31st March 2023* New prices from1st April 2023*
Electricity

Standing Charge (per day) 51.16p 59.07p
Unit rate - All/Day (per kWh) 47.331p 43.549p
Unit rate - Night (per kWh) 12.376p 15.535p

(The unit prices on my latest bill are actually slightly different than those in the 31st march numbers.)

That's quite a jump in the night rate (25%!). Luckily, were coming into the warmer weather and the reduction in the day rate (8%) is more important. Still though.......

[Tedx]

UK gas now trading below 100 pence. 90% down from its peak and back to mid 1991 levels.

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uk-natural-gas

[UncleEbenezer]

UK gas now trading below 100 pence. 90% down from its peak and back to mid 1991 levels.

Looks like that beer-and-curry diet won't pay for itself after all!

[Tedx]

UK gas now trading below 100 pence. 90% down from its peak and back to mid 1991 levels.

Looks like that beer-and-curry diet won't pay for itself after all!

Dunno what I was thinking when I typed in 1991.

2021.

[88V8]

Whatwhatwhat... latest bill from Ovo;

£1,017 opening balance
£ (359 usage)
£ 245 direct debit
Then there's £67 from the Energy Support scheme which they show as a debit.
And another £200 from the govt that they show as a debit
Leaving a balance of £717.

Since when was govt support a debit?

Surely the balance should be £1,251 ?

V8

[pje16]

Since when was govt support a debit?

Only if they are idiots or perhaps credited it twice by mistake

[88V8]

Whatwhatwhat... latest bill from Ovo;

£1,017 opening balance
£ (359 usage)
£ 245 direct debit
Then there's £67 from the Energy Support scheme which they show as a debit.
And another £200 from the govt that they show as a debit
Leaving a balance of £717.

Since when was govt support a debit?

Surely the balance should be £1,251 ?

V8

The opening balance should have been £1098... my typo... their agent on the Chat says that the £200 has been sent to our bank a/c, which may be true but if they show it as a debit then it has been negated.
They also say that the £67 is a credit when it clearly is shown as a debit.

To be continued....

[staffordian]

I have the dubious honour of having EDF as my energy supplier, so only get a bill every six-month and I've not had one since the support scheme started.

However reading about others who have, I gather EDF have also caused much confusion in how they account for the £66 and £67 payments. They apparently also show the payments as debits, but hidden away in another part of the bill is a corresponding credit, lumped with payments, or in some other confusing way. Thus the credits and debits cancel, as they should, but the only way to verify it is to work out the bill from first principles.

[Hallucigenia]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but given that Russia has shown that one of its “battle plans” is to destroy energy infrastructure, aren’t those offshore windfarm assets a bit precarious?

Everything is relative - I'd suggest that it's less of a risk than having 20% of our gas supply coming from a gas field in Qatar that's a few miles from Iranian waters, and then gets shipped out via the Straits of Hormuz. And 50% of our gas comes from domestic sources, the vast majority of which comes from a few gas platforms in the North Sea that are much easier to hit than a windmill. So you could say that using natural gas is a bit precarious.

And a nuclear power station was discussed as the target of the fourth plane on 9/11, although it looks like they preferred either the White House or Capitol....

[might I gently suggest that this kind of big picture stuff doesn't really belong on LBYM, especially when there's other threads covering the same areas, like on the Green Investing board? Talking of that thread, the recent report linked from there from the government’s advisory Climate Change Committee forecast a 50% increase in electricity consumption by 2035 due to heat pumps, transport etc, met by a supply that's 70% cheap wind/solar, 20% baseload (nuclear, biomass etc) and 10% variable, including 2% natural gas.]

[AF62]

I have the dubious honour of having EDF as my energy supplier, so only get a bill every six-month and I've not had one since the support scheme started.

Since every energy supplier's standard prices are the same then now seems the ideal time to change to an energy supplier that actually meets your needs.

My supplier will generate a bill every month or every time I send them a reading, whichever is earlier. And so I get a monthly bill for electricity (actual readings since a smart meter) and weekly bills for gas as that's how often I provide readings from the dumb gas meter.

[pje16]

I have the dubious honour of having EDF as my energy supplier, so only get a bill every six-month and I've not had one since the support scheme started.

I manage my dad's account, he is with EDF and I got his 6-month bill last week. It showed all 6 energy support receipts on that bill.

[staffordian]

Since every energy supplier's standard prices are the same then now seems the ideal time to change to an energy supplier that actually meets your needs.

I'm not going to swap until there is some price advantage in doing so. We were moved to EDF when our previous supplier went bust, but whilst I don't much care for their twice yearly billing, I have always read meters monthly and kept track of use and costs via a spreadsheet, so the billing frequency is not a major issue, rather something I find surprising, especially given today's prices, and how far in arrears someone could fall between bills.

And I have always found that EDF's gas and electricity works as well as anyone else's

[pje16]

but whilst I don't much care for their twice yearly billingI

In 2021, they billed monthly
last year it was quarterly
now it's twice a year
all changes without saying a word to their customers

Not sure if it makes any difference to what you pay
but paying full on receipt of bill gets you a monthly invoice
https://www.edfenergy.com/help-support/ways-to-pay

all seems a bit odd to me

[stevensfo]

Since every energy supplier's standard prices are the same then now seems the ideal time to change to an energy supplier that actually meets your needs.

I'm not going to swap until there is some price advantage in doing so. We were moved to EDF when our previous supplier went bust, but whilst I don't much care for their twice yearly billing, I have always read meters monthly and kept track of use and costs via a spreadsheet, so the billing frequency is not a major issue, rather something I find surprising, especially given today's prices, and how far in arrears someone could fall between bills.

And I have always found that EDF's gas and electricity works as well as anyone else's

I've often wondered how Electricité de France has survived the Brexit fiasco. Particularly as most of it comes from nuclear power plants. Or at least it used to come from them. As far as I know, many have been taken off line.

As a full-blown European, I'm pleased to see people supporting our Gallic neighbours!

Steve

[Adamski]

UK gas now trading below 100 pence. 90% down from its peak and back to mid 1991 levels.

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uk-natural-gas

That'll eventually feed into bills and lower (inflation) for food costs

[pje16]

That'll eventually feed into bills and lower (inflation) for food costs

yes, but my bet is a lot slower than it added to it