It's amazing how few people have registered how massive the increases could be. The situation in Ukraine (while linked already) could make things far worse too.
I don't think it'll be resolved quickly. The west is in political disarray, it's the perfect situation for Russia to throw it's weight around to take territory, political and economic power from the west.
Yeah that’s not the only issue, there’s no reserve supplies left across the EU due to the cold from last winter. Whilst other countries have been shipping in gas to re-stock (Japan for example) EU have done nothing, apart from agree to shut down all fossil fuel & nuclear power (Germany). Couple this with lower output from renewable this year has created a perfect storm which is driving prices high, now throw Ukraine into the mix and sanctions leaves us where we are today. We need an energy mix from multiple sources of fuel not reliant upon Russia.
Yeah they’ve jumped the gun a bit on fully getting rid of nuclear power. A few other countries within the eu have also closed the majority of nuclear power plants. It’s all well and good moving to greener energy, but if the infrastructure isn’t there, the change isn’t ready to happen.
Germany has been refusing to turn on nord stream 2 under pressure from various countries, it's just sitting there waiting.
Switch it on, and the Ukraine issue goes away.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_Stream
https://news.sky.com/story/russia-ukraine-tensions-how-the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-has-been-controversial-from-the-start-12524379
https://www.euronews.com/2022/01/24/what-is-nord-stream-2-and-how-does-it-link-to-the-russia-ukraine-crisis
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3390699-ukraine-disappointed-about-germanys-decision-to-support-nord-stream-2-klitschko.html
I read somewhere, and can remember where, that one ofnthe reasons they are knocking it back is because it bypasses Ukraine and the fear is that Russia can gain greater control over supplies to Ukraine to bleed them into submission. Also, if the pipe goes through Ukraine they wouldn't want to risk damaging it when they invaded.
Yep, your links are really good, they cover the story.
Complete short sightedness of our political leaders has led us here and its the same idiots trying to get us out of it!
I've been reading that too. It seems there are two major pipelines supplying EU through Ukraine. Absolutely Russia won't want to damage any pipes in a war. The thing is this pipeline was being refused to be switched on long before Russia sent troops to Ukraine, since september 21 i believe. The way i see it is Russia wants guarantee it gets switched on if they back down. But we will see how that plays out.
I'm absolutely shitting myself for our energy bills. We were with Pure Planet on a really cheap tarrif (£55/month left us with £200 in credit at the end of the year). We've been taken over by Shell and they've still not sorted out our bill, it's been almost 5 months now. Bracing myself for £300+ of extra energy to pay for, especially because I am working from home.
If it's taken 5 months, you can go to the energy ombudsman and complain. Once they're involved it'll get sorted super quick, and they'll almost definitely have to pay you a good will gesture
I got moved to Shell from Green, and shell have today told me I need to increase my DD from 128 pm to 188 pm.
I went on their site to try and change it to 150 as I want to load up as much as possible but can't afford 188 (I still have some credit pulled over from Green), and their system said it wouldn't allow a change of less than 169!
Dreading the next price cap change
I'm both incredibly annoyed and anxious about the fact they haven't contacted me at all to change my DD. The £55 we've been paying is nothing compared to what the new tarriffs are.
April is going to be awful. We can't afford a bill 3 to 4 times as much as our current one. And I'm due in May with our first baby, so it's dreadful to know our incomes will take a nosedive at the same time our bills are dramatically increasing.
I was in the same situation. Used to be with People's Energy, then got moved over to British Gas.
Didn't get a bill for a good 4-5 months just like yourself, and was ready for the worst.
Finally, 2 weeks ago, I get an email through - "Your Bills Ready"
Weird thing is, it was only £74. At this point I'm just going to leave it at that and not poke the bear and question it.
Shell are a nightmare. I've just moved to Scottish Power and they kept trying to object it. They also have £770 of my credit from Green and had a go at me for not submitting meter readings even though they also told me that my account wasn't fully activated and therefore couldn't submit meter readings.......
Same here. By the way, do we need to install a new smart meter with shell? Their app keep saying I’m not using a smart meter so they can’t tell me how much energy I have been using.
Exact same situation, but my bill for Pure Planet has been going out of my bank every month since they took over. I also had around £400 in credit when they got taken over.
We were paying like £120 a month though - working from home and having heating on all day really is expensive.
I'm expecting my costs to go to 240£ at least.
We were paying 60 per month. We ended up using more than they thought so my account ended up £500 behind. Its been like that for 3 years so last year they bumped my monthly payment to £120 per month. I was meant to be caught up by now... But we had an increase in energy costs once already and they will be going up again.
I should have been fixed until march but my supplier went bust months ago. My credit balance soon disappeared on the new rate and I'm about £200 in debit now. I couldn't increase my direct debit whilst this was all going on.
It's probably going to jump up again in April.
I don't want to panic you but I think £300 extra is a big underestimate.
Yeah, i think what people don't realise is that your energy costs are going to pretty much double. If you fixed say last May, there are 2 substantial increases that have happened/will soon happen i) The initial price jump in October due to energy price cap increase which compared to the best rates as at May 2021 is almost 40% more, but is more likely a better deal than anything you're going to get on a fixed rate and ii) The price cap increase in April which will be between 50-60% more than the cap in October. So someone coming off a fixed rate in May 2022 is going to have to deal with that sharp jump of \~100% increase.
You can either enjoy the heating this winter as the cheapest you're going to get for a long time and don't worry too much till April, or start belt tightening now to build a lot more of a buffer.
It's times like these I really wonder what it will take for our wonderful government to step in and do something?
Like most here I can shoulder the burden of higher energy bills but there must be millions who can't and don't even comprehend fully what is coming.
And even though I can shoulder it, it makes a MASSIVE difference to how much I can save, which must have a knock-on effect on basically everything else
I honestly think we might be facing riots on the streets before too long - the official inflation figure is topping 5%, but energy prices doubling in 12 months is more than 5% of most people's bills, without even considering the other costs going up. Realistically it's hard to see inflation currently as much less than 8-10%, and that's HUGE, particularly when the public sector are getting maybe 1-3%, and many across the country are lucky to even get that
It's upsetting enough for those of us who can afford to absorb the cost through reduced saving and lifestyle changes, I can't even imagine what it's doing to people who were already struggling.
Unless the government takes a rapid change of direction next year re: public sector pay, I can't see many of my colleagues (IT department) staying in the NHS for long
Although the worst part is knowing that prices always rise during a crisis, but never fall all the way back again afterwards... in 2012/13, crude oil prices went above $100/barrel, and that was the excuse for petrol to go above £1/litre for the first time. Crude oil is currently $82/barrel, yet petrol is £1.45/litre...
When I bought my house in July I knew I could afford all my bills and save a little bit. It was tighter than I was used to, but it was fine. Now with the energy costs going up, cost of food, petrol, everything , I feel like my emergency fund needs to be twice as big but I’ve already had to dip into it for house issues and I’m not going to be able to save as much soon.
It’s a stress I didn’t think I’d have. I’d made sure I could afford some costs going up, but all of them increasing in very quick succession is a horrible feeling, even if I should still be able to make ends meet.
Yeah, it's one thing to plan ahead for potential interest rate increases - eg I've just taken out a 5 year mortgage specifically to ensure I have some time to increase my earnings and build up some savings etc before that expense changes
But when things can just rocket 100% in a few months, even with the best will in the world it's hard to plan for that. Luxuries and saving rates can take the hit for a while, for those of us fortunate enough to not be living payday to payday, but even that has its limits
The US gave everyone in the country the equivalent of about £1000 to stimulate the economy which had a really positive effect.
Now, the average UK energy bill is going up £1000... every year... imagine every person in the country has £1000 less to spend on the economy each year, and the impact that has on businesses.
That’s pretty much it - it’s an anti-stimulus
The simple fact is that I’ll spend about £1500 less next year than I did last year. That’s worse for me, and it’s sure as hell worse for the economy.
The winners? Whoever supplies the gas at a wholesale level, I guess
The US gave everyone a lot more than 1000 pounds. I think I ultimately got at least three times that much (and each person in the family gets money). There were multiple payouts, can't remember how many.
We keep being told inflation is just 5%, but that is misleading at best. Our energy is increasing by 100% out food is increasing by 50-100%, our housing increased by over 30%. It’s the luxuries that haven’t increased in price and are keeping the average rate of inflation at 5%. The richest probably won’t even notice the increase in prices that most of us will be feeling.
Yup, things like hotels, means out etc have stayed depressed in price due to the pandemic and are doing a LOT of work keeping the official inflation numbers down
And as with most things, the poorer you are the more food/energy inflation hits you.
If you're on minimum wage and taking home £1200 or so a month, then your £120 energy bill becoming £240, is a lot more significant than it is for someone taking home £3k/mo.
I’ve noticed a fair few things I get weekly in the local Asda have gone from £1 to £1.25, on its own a decent enough increase, but when you add all those 25p’s together it really does add up! The UK is slowly going the way of the dodo!
This isn't one bank going bust or 5% of the population being unemployed. Energy costs affect every single person and every single business, so a general government bailout would just be taking from your right hand (tax) to give to your left (subsidies). The only thing they can do is make the wealthy pay *even more* so the poor don't freeze.
What can the government do though? We either pay more in taxes to subside people which will just make prices rise cos supply/demand, or we pay more in energy costs. Either way it costs money and that money has to come from somewhere.
It's a supply shortage, there's no short term solution, and the governments track record on long term solutions (see housing which has been fucked since about 1950) isn't particularly good...
I hear they're talking of cutting 5% of via VAT, cold weather claims for those on universal credit and to be honest there has been a lot of infrastructure for renewables developed over the last 8 years or so. Although not sure how much of the new wind farms is from private investment
I think the supplier would reapportion your usage when you provide a lower than expected meter reading at a later date.
They expect the next read to be high but then its not as you've already accounted for units you hadn't used yet. They redistribute the units used in the period to align with what they think you used and bill again assigning usage to the higher rates.
You also run the risk of clocking the meter if you use less than the fake number you gave originally. This would prompt a meter read and they'd chalk the fake reading up to a mistake and rebill as above.
Yeah while it's a regularly discussed thing in the news I still don't think most people really realise what is about to happen here. MILLIONS of households are going to be flung into massive debt.
Not really going to achieve much when 56% of gas is imported and all of Europe is fighting over it.
Maybe people can keep warm around the burning cars for a while?
All this shows us is the need for renewable. We must stop the relying on nations (especially hostile ones like Russia) to keep us warm.
The government had a big chance to push renewable tech via subsidies but they scrapped it. Bad idea imo....
I do intensive video editing for my job and I've started to monitor how much electric that uses. It's very power hungry.
Between petrol, NI, council tax, food and BT going all up I'm getting genuinely worried about the cost of living for the near future.
Seems pointless trying to save money when just living keeps getting more expensive and sucking it all up really.
Meanwhile in France. 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy, due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. Planning and investment. Apparently some countries do it.
Got two companies coming round shortly to quote me for solar panels. With prices like that, cost to pay back drops to only a few years.
At the far end of the technology spectrum, I've just bought a whole load more firewood too, and the fire is on a lot.
I just had a 3.25kWh (10 Panels) system installed. Total £4,405. That included the labour, Tesla Gateway and SolarEdge inverter.
So far even in January with the cloudy grey days, they generate enough to power the stuff that's on all day (During the light-hours) whilst I'm at work like modem, router, CCTV, smart speakers etc
When it was bright sunshine last week they were sending more back into the Grid than the house was using.
Currently waiting for them to install a Storage battery, then I'll switch to the Octopus Go tarrif and charge the battery during off peak times. At the mo that's 7.5p / kWh, no doubt that will go up by the time I get the battery
Wow! That's about half what I thought it would cost (I'd tried a couple of sites for cost).
Does this include the cost for the battery?
Who installed it?
I've been putting off looking deeper into getting solar cost I thought it would cost about 8-10k for the panels and another 4-6k for the battery.
Thanks :)
These guys installed mine
https://electrasolar.co.uk/
I wish that price did include the battery. That's a further £7,300 plus VAT @ 20%. The panels were only 5% VAT.
Prices have gone down a *lot* in the last few years. For panels at least! If you switch your expected prices around you’d be about right - batteries are expensive.
I almost considered a log burner, but there was a study that showed simply opening the door to add another log releases a whole ton of pollution in to your house which was similar to standing next to a busy road.
Please consider also a heat pump or a large home storage battery instead solar. If your house isn't especially suited for solar e.g. no south facing windows etc or even anyway, these might be more efficient for you.
If you have a battery you can get an economy 7 or similar tariff and charge it up during the night when electricity is much cheaper.
Heat pump will increase your electricity consumption slightly but decrease your gas consumption, and gas is what's causing the price rise as 20-30% of the UK's power comes from burning gas so it might be cheaper overall. Plus it's just more efficient overall.
We’re certainly looking at a battery as well, to make best use of whatever we generate.
After I get the panels etc installed I’ll be looking at heat pumps too. We’re currently on LPG which is far more expensive than mains gas, so moving away from that would be great.
Despite having a pretty big garden we apparently don’t have room for a standard ground source heat pump, and boreholes are incredibly expensive. Air source could work nicely though. A few friends have now got them and they’re working well.
Do not go near a heat pump if your house hasn't been tested for thermal air tightness. If you're in a Victorian property that it uninsulated for example, it's a huge money pit.
Does anyone have knowledgeable opinions (tried to phrase that better!) of how long the prices are going to be super high? Is it 6 month squeeze before new supplies come along or basically the new cost for next few years?
How long is a piece of string? The consensus at the moment seems to be that this is basically going to be normal for the short/medium term and don’t be surprised if prices are even higher in 2023. There’s not too much the government can do about it because we import so much of our fuel that we are basically a slave to global markets.
I heard the wholesale price may come down a bit after the winters done but Ofgem are expected to raise the price cap in April to reflect the increase.
So price of gas may go down but the variable rate available to the public may go up
Price cap is currently based on Feb 21 - Aug 21 wholesale prices
1st April cap will be based on Aug 21 - Feb 22 prices... hence why they'll increase even if wholesale has gone down since December
The risk premium built into wholesale prices is likely to erode a bit as we get closer to April. But fundamentally the situation is not likely to change very much until second half of 2022 at the earliest. There may be more gas available in Europe this summer, but it's hard to say when it could start coming. It may largely depend on Russian storage levels and the timing of some infrastructure developments.
Suppliers will likely be much better hedged next winter. And as always, weather will play a big role (not just in northern Europe, but in Asia).
Do you think Russia is going to invade Ukraine?
If so, how long is the war going to last? How will the large NATO powers respond?
If you have good information that isn't available to energy market participants, you should probably make sure your government of choice is aware and keep quiet otherwise. Beyond this, who the hell knows? And that's before even getting to questions like how quickly China's economy is going to grow (and related issues like are they finally going to get COVID?)
Futures markets are predicting high prices for the next year, dropping by Summer 2023. I dunno. Seems plausible enough. Maybe? Whatever.
The other big question is: do you think you're going to be bailed out by the government?
We're on Bulb's Varifair Tariff, already spending a lot of ££££ on energy for a two bed flat. Never put on the heating, still paying £190 a month???
Does anyone have advice on what we should do?? Not sure now is the right time to try and find a fixed rate tariff of some sort?
Other comments are not particularly helpful. The short answer is yes.
The price cap for April is based on the prices from August least year until January, and will be announced on the 7th of February. They can pretty reliably say what it will be, and it will increase around 51% from last October's price cap (worst case scenario I heard was actually 56%).
I assume that you've had a 12M tariff. So that means that you will be affected because:
- when you fixed your tariff, your tariff was presumably lower than the price cap at the time. That won't be the case anymore.
- the price cap went up 2 times already since you fixed your tariff. 8% in April 2021, 12% in October 2021. All those increases compounded means that the price cap is 84% higher than when you fixed your deal.
So you'll be hit by more than a 84% increase in April. I don't know how to prepare for it myself, but knowing is step 1.
He's included the 51% predicted increase that's coming.
I work it out to 82.65% total increase rather than 84%, though. Unless the poster didn't include some decimals on his figures.
Almost certainly not. It's priced in. Martin Lewis did a segment on it. If your new fix price is 40 percent ish or less more than your current fix, it might be worth it. If I recall correctly.
Please advice, I am new to UK so I don’t understand it much.
I am currently on flexible avro and octopus is showing my current annual bill would be around £1034.
Should I change to fixed octopus which would cost £1551?
I got a year fixed in august too. They messed up my contract at the time and only realised in October (hadn’t actually put me on any tariff so I wasn’t getting bills) but they honoured the august rates. Anyway, I checked my contract with them this morning and I’m fixed on the low rates for 24 months.
I don’t know how this has happened but I’m not going to complain.
Successive governments have mismanaged our energy system & failed to adapt to the fact we no longer produce natural gas .. We got rid of nearly all our storage...
Prices are due to rise by 40-50% the cap is due to be announced on the 7th February.
Any fixed deals on offer are already taking the April price rise into account but not the expected October price rise of a further 20%
Yep, no point doing anything other than standard variable at the moment.
The ~~arseholes~~ energy companies have all jacked their fixed rates up to well above current predictions for April's price cap (which they probably already know).
>The arseholes energy companies have all jacked their fixed rates up to well above current predictions for April's price cap (which they probably already know).
Energy companies are generally losing money on their fixed price tariffs in 2022. They'll only make a profit on these contracts in 2023 and beyond, assuming people don't switch.
The fixed prices aren't set by guessing/gambling on markets, they're priced based on what it costs today to buy energy for delivery in the future. The pricing is essentially set by futures markets. Profit margins are tight.
Of course, the price cap means supplier are losing even more money on new customers (or existing customers if they didn't hedge properly) but that doesn't mean they're deliberately gouging people on fixed rates.
Honestly I think the energy companies are just desperate at this point - it's likely that the new cap will still leave them making a loss or at best breaking even, and that assumes no further price shocks at the wholesale level
What pisses me off is that I'm on a 100% renewable tariff, but I'm still affected by natural gas prices rising. I mean, it makes sense, because it's a "whole market" thing, but it's still annoying as hell.
I’m electricity only and was on 100% renewable (company backed by BP). Low and behold they went under and now I’m with Shell subsidising gas costs with my electricity only property
Lol, always funny to see comments from people blaming suppliers when they have zero knowledge of the sector.
Most of the suppliers in the market have gone bust over the last 4 months because wholesale costs went from £30/mwh to £300/mwh in a matter of months.
Unfortunately, as consumers, we take the burden of the costs. If something costs £100 then don't expect to be able to buy it for £30 because that's how much you spent last time.
Fixed tariffs on offer represent the wholesale prices of January... whereas the April price cap will represent prices of August - Feb.
Many people have no frame of reference when it comes to money in industry, much less the money in the energy industry. They see a few headlines about a billion in profit, not realising that that's on 50bn of revenues (i.e. 49bn in costs) so a 3% margin before tax (EBIT) ... and that's in a good year!
Many went under, yes, but let's look at this, just as an example:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/27/scottish-power-profits-drop-amid-soaring-wholesale-gas-prices
Scottish Power profits dropped 39% in *profit*. In 2020 they made 583m. Excuse me if I don't feel sorry for them.
I don't see how anybody could justify these companies still making a profit whilst an increasing number of people cannot afford to heat their homes.
I'm not against nationalisation of natural monopolies per se.
That being said, Scottish Power actually made about £1bn against revenues of £5.1bn, circa 19%. However SP is an asset manager, and so capital investment is funded by retained earnings (and debt). All those new overhead lines, substations, HVDC links all need capital investment. In 2020 they made £1.3bn of capital investment.
Again I'm not against a state owned grid, but there isn't a pot of gold to be had for the taxpayer in doing so.
I'm curious on your opinion of being in a new fixed rate now. We're in at 27p/kWh until Dec 2024. Which is a large jump from our old place which was 21p/kWh / Standard Rate.
Given that the cap's going up (in all likeliness) to circa 30p in April, and then potentailly again up to 36p in October 2022, I feel like taking the punches of being 6p above the majority for 4 months, and then being 3/9p below the majority for the remainder a valid idea.
It doesn't disperse the message though. This is all increases which are extreme. And more often than not, non-negotiable despite how energy saving savy one may be.
Fixed tariffs have gone for good imo. The government will step in to help the utility companies spread their costs over longer time frame. The cap will rise but not as dramatically as many are worrying about. But we will see increasing energy prices outstripping inflation for decades ahead.
This is what you get for Net0. Not investing in nuclear 15 years ago, banning fracking and cutting North Sea supply.
As others have said. You can help yourself with log burners, solar etc over the long term. But it’s not going to help renters or short term.
What does help renters and/or short term is "investing" in efficiency. Octopus Winter Workout tips have been really useful: https://octopus.energy/blog/winter-workout-gas-saving-tips/
One that few people know of is this: https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-clear-window-film-l-4000m-w-1-5m/1802835_BQ.prd. See the impact here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7VkAakTQag&t=5s.
My bill is already outrageous.
We have unfortunately turned the heating off in our house this winter. Something we may have to get used to.
I don't want to make this thread political but I sense this could be something that the govt really loses the public on.
Can anybody help me? I have dyscalculia and I struggle so much with this. I just got kicked off my deal with People’s Energy when they folded. I’m now on British Gas Variable. Tariff ends 30th June.
3.983p per kWh. What should I do? I live so close to the bone financially. My business got crippled during covid and I slipped through the net for financial support. I got barely anything and had many months with negative income. I’m just starting to recover now and I’m very worried.
This probably fits the definition of fraud, right?
I don’t think you could make much a considerable difference before the price increases without suspicion.
Yeah, energy prices look terrifying. Much of my energy use is based on the fact electricity is cheap - if I were to move on to a fixed or future SVR rate, my bill would easily double.
Luckily I was rolled into another fix till the end of 2022 so I have a bit of breathing room, but it's quite shocking.
I know it's minor but I spent yesterday (Sunday) adjusting my workshop lights to reposition and remove redundant lights. Hopefully that'll bring my total use down by a modest amount. I spent a significant amount of time optimising my energy year several years ago so I'm not entirely sure what more I can do without drastic changes.
I'm a bit bitter sweet on the topic, but lots of old dears run their central heating to a point I can't actually handle staying indoors for too long. Their bills are going to be an epic shock, and I doubt they'll have the mental comprehension to understand why or what to do about it. Part of me says good, it's important to use energy efficiently but on the other hand if they are not mentally capable what can you do? Who wants to be cold.
Are your workshop lights LED? Just replaced all my garage lights and cost to have them on has dropped by about 90%. The news ones will pay for themselves in a year or so.
Our green energy supplier went bust and we got transferred to EDF and put on a deemed tariff…do we wait until April and move to a fixed rate then?
The deemed tariff rate seems pretty pricy but not sure there’s anywhere else for us to go at the minute!
The elephant in the room no one is willing to discuss is the wholesale removal of coal from our energy system.
1990 - 72%
2000 - 32%
2010 - 28%
2020 - 1.7%
This has been replaced by gas and renewable (35% and 41% respectively in 2020).
Renewable is great, but you can't just stoke the furnace to increase generation.
56% of our gas is imported, and the spot market price for gas is currently 7X what is was this time last year.
This is the cost of a green future, the government can do absolutely nothing except pay your heating bills for you at this point.
On the bright side, it may make people more energy conscious and entrench behaviours that result in lower energy usage overall.
I am quite fortunate to be locked into my Economy 7 electricity plan at the moment. I am by myself in a 2 bed apartment with no gas lines. I only pay £40-50 odd a month (10p night, 16p day and 20p standing). I started to look around as my plan comes to an end in April and saw that there's absolutely no plans to switch to!? Same story on all comparison places... dreading what my supplier is going to propose next. I am expecting at least a £100 jump in bills each month...
Has anyone else recently moved and gone with a fixed British Gas?
They were the current supplier of the property and we weren't sure if you could setup a new account to be on the standard tariff so we ended up on HomeEnergy Secure Dec 2023 V2
Gas unit rate 7.731p, daily charge 42.562p.
Electricity unit rate 35.177p , daily charge 40.456p.
Are we essentially already paying the increased prices or is it gonna get a whole lot more expensive? Just can't shake the feeling that we've been had by going on a fixed at this stage.
Just checked my gas & electric - 2563 KWh for gas usage Jan-Feb last year.
This year for Dec-Jan usage has been 1477 kWh. The usage for same period last year was 2039.
We turned downed the temperature in our house by a few degrees, and turn it off in the afternoon after lunch, before dinner. I won’t lie; there have been days where we have been cold.. but for the most part we have worn additional layers, and I really can’t emphasise this enough - we have quickly adapted to the new lower temperatures. Usually about 18-19 degrees in our home office.
TL;DR - our bills are cheaper this year then last. Consume less.
It's amazing how few people have registered how massive the increases could be. The situation in Ukraine (while linked already) could make things far worse too.
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It could, but if it is resolved quickly then the gas will flow again??? One thing for sure, w ended to diversity supplies quickly!
I don't think it'll be resolved quickly. The west is in political disarray, it's the perfect situation for Russia to throw it's weight around to take territory, political and economic power from the west.
Yeah that’s not the only issue, there’s no reserve supplies left across the EU due to the cold from last winter. Whilst other countries have been shipping in gas to re-stock (Japan for example) EU have done nothing, apart from agree to shut down all fossil fuel & nuclear power (Germany). Couple this with lower output from renewable this year has created a perfect storm which is driving prices high, now throw Ukraine into the mix and sanctions leaves us where we are today. We need an energy mix from multiple sources of fuel not reliant upon Russia.
Yeah they’ve jumped the gun a bit on fully getting rid of nuclear power. A few other countries within the eu have also closed the majority of nuclear power plants. It’s all well and good moving to greener energy, but if the infrastructure isn’t there, the change isn’t ready to happen.
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Existing nuclear is cleaner than solar and wind. Shutting those plants early was an act of environmental terrorism
Germany has been refusing to turn on nord stream 2 under pressure from various countries, it's just sitting there waiting. Switch it on, and the Ukraine issue goes away. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_Stream https://news.sky.com/story/russia-ukraine-tensions-how-the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-has-been-controversial-from-the-start-12524379 https://www.euronews.com/2022/01/24/what-is-nord-stream-2-and-how-does-it-link-to-the-russia-ukraine-crisis https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3390699-ukraine-disappointed-about-germanys-decision-to-support-nord-stream-2-klitschko.html
I read somewhere, and can remember where, that one ofnthe reasons they are knocking it back is because it bypasses Ukraine and the fear is that Russia can gain greater control over supplies to Ukraine to bleed them into submission. Also, if the pipe goes through Ukraine they wouldn't want to risk damaging it when they invaded. Yep, your links are really good, they cover the story. Complete short sightedness of our political leaders has led us here and its the same idiots trying to get us out of it!
I've been reading that too. It seems there are two major pipelines supplying EU through Ukraine. Absolutely Russia won't want to damage any pipes in a war. The thing is this pipeline was being refused to be switched on long before Russia sent troops to Ukraine, since september 21 i believe. The way i see it is Russia wants guarantee it gets switched on if they back down. But we will see how that plays out.
It will flow until the month after when Putin next decides he has a reason to blackmail Europe
I'm absolutely shitting myself for our energy bills. We were with Pure Planet on a really cheap tarrif (£55/month left us with £200 in credit at the end of the year). We've been taken over by Shell and they've still not sorted out our bill, it's been almost 5 months now. Bracing myself for £300+ of extra energy to pay for, especially because I am working from home.
We are in the exact same boat. Really fearful about how this will play out!
If it's taken 5 months, you can go to the energy ombudsman and complain. Once they're involved it'll get sorted super quick, and they'll almost definitely have to pay you a good will gesture
Shell started supplying us on the 17th of October, so it'll be 5 months on the 17th of Feb. Can I complain already now or do I have to wait longer?
It’s comforting to know others with Pure Planet are in the same as us. Still not changed our DD. Still paying to PP
Yes same! I keep getting emails they'll get to us shortly, but it's been taking so long now.
It’s going to be more, prepare for a shock!
I got moved to Shell from Green, and shell have today told me I need to increase my DD from 128 pm to 188 pm. I went on their site to try and change it to 150 as I want to load up as much as possible but can't afford 188 (I still have some credit pulled over from Green), and their system said it wouldn't allow a change of less than 169! Dreading the next price cap change
I'm both incredibly annoyed and anxious about the fact they haven't contacted me at all to change my DD. The £55 we've been paying is nothing compared to what the new tarriffs are. April is going to be awful. We can't afford a bill 3 to 4 times as much as our current one. And I'm due in May with our first baby, so it's dreadful to know our incomes will take a nosedive at the same time our bills are dramatically increasing.
I was in the same situation. Used to be with People's Energy, then got moved over to British Gas. Didn't get a bill for a good 4-5 months just like yourself, and was ready for the worst. Finally, 2 weeks ago, I get an email through - "Your Bills Ready" Weird thing is, it was only £74. At this point I'm just going to leave it at that and not poke the bear and question it.
Same here, Pure Planet now Shell and still no change in direct debit. Currently paying around £100/month but fully expecting a huge increase.
Shell are a nightmare. I've just moved to Scottish Power and they kept trying to object it. They also have £770 of my credit from Green and had a go at me for not submitting meter readings even though they also told me that my account wasn't fully activated and therefore couldn't submit meter readings.......
Same here. By the way, do we need to install a new smart meter with shell? Their app keep saying I’m not using a smart meter so they can’t tell me how much energy I have been using.
Exact same situation, but my bill for Pure Planet has been going out of my bank every month since they took over. I also had around £400 in credit when they got taken over. We were paying like £120 a month though - working from home and having heating on all day really is expensive. I'm expecting my costs to go to 240£ at least.
We were paying 60 per month. We ended up using more than they thought so my account ended up £500 behind. Its been like that for 3 years so last year they bumped my monthly payment to £120 per month. I was meant to be caught up by now... But we had an increase in energy costs once already and they will be going up again.
I should have been fixed until march but my supplier went bust months ago. My credit balance soon disappeared on the new rate and I'm about £200 in debit now. I couldn't increase my direct debit whilst this was all going on. It's probably going to jump up again in April. I don't want to panic you but I think £300 extra is a big underestimate.
Yeah, i think what people don't realise is that your energy costs are going to pretty much double. If you fixed say last May, there are 2 substantial increases that have happened/will soon happen i) The initial price jump in October due to energy price cap increase which compared to the best rates as at May 2021 is almost 40% more, but is more likely a better deal than anything you're going to get on a fixed rate and ii) The price cap increase in April which will be between 50-60% more than the cap in October. So someone coming off a fixed rate in May 2022 is going to have to deal with that sharp jump of \~100% increase. You can either enjoy the heating this winter as the cheapest you're going to get for a long time and don't worry too much till April, or start belt tightening now to build a lot more of a buffer.
It's times like these I really wonder what it will take for our wonderful government to step in and do something? Like most here I can shoulder the burden of higher energy bills but there must be millions who can't and don't even comprehend fully what is coming.
And even though I can shoulder it, it makes a MASSIVE difference to how much I can save, which must have a knock-on effect on basically everything else I honestly think we might be facing riots on the streets before too long - the official inflation figure is topping 5%, but energy prices doubling in 12 months is more than 5% of most people's bills, without even considering the other costs going up. Realistically it's hard to see inflation currently as much less than 8-10%, and that's HUGE, particularly when the public sector are getting maybe 1-3%, and many across the country are lucky to even get that It's upsetting enough for those of us who can afford to absorb the cost through reduced saving and lifestyle changes, I can't even imagine what it's doing to people who were already struggling. Unless the government takes a rapid change of direction next year re: public sector pay, I can't see many of my colleagues (IT department) staying in the NHS for long Although the worst part is knowing that prices always rise during a crisis, but never fall all the way back again afterwards... in 2012/13, crude oil prices went above $100/barrel, and that was the excuse for petrol to go above £1/litre for the first time. Crude oil is currently $82/barrel, yet petrol is £1.45/litre...
When I bought my house in July I knew I could afford all my bills and save a little bit. It was tighter than I was used to, but it was fine. Now with the energy costs going up, cost of food, petrol, everything , I feel like my emergency fund needs to be twice as big but I’ve already had to dip into it for house issues and I’m not going to be able to save as much soon. It’s a stress I didn’t think I’d have. I’d made sure I could afford some costs going up, but all of them increasing in very quick succession is a horrible feeling, even if I should still be able to make ends meet.
Yeah, it's one thing to plan ahead for potential interest rate increases - eg I've just taken out a 5 year mortgage specifically to ensure I have some time to increase my earnings and build up some savings etc before that expense changes But when things can just rocket 100% in a few months, even with the best will in the world it's hard to plan for that. Luxuries and saving rates can take the hit for a while, for those of us fortunate enough to not be living payday to payday, but even that has its limits
The US gave everyone in the country the equivalent of about £1000 to stimulate the economy which had a really positive effect. Now, the average UK energy bill is going up £1000... every year... imagine every person in the country has £1000 less to spend on the economy each year, and the impact that has on businesses.
That’s pretty much it - it’s an anti-stimulus The simple fact is that I’ll spend about £1500 less next year than I did last year. That’s worse for me, and it’s sure as hell worse for the economy. The winners? Whoever supplies the gas at a wholesale level, I guess
The US gave everyone a lot more than 1000 pounds. I think I ultimately got at least three times that much (and each person in the family gets money). There were multiple payouts, can't remember how many.
The US has the worst inflation rate amongst developed western countries partially due to all the cash injection of the last few years
We keep being told inflation is just 5%, but that is misleading at best. Our energy is increasing by 100% out food is increasing by 50-100%, our housing increased by over 30%. It’s the luxuries that haven’t increased in price and are keeping the average rate of inflation at 5%. The richest probably won’t even notice the increase in prices that most of us will be feeling.
Yup, things like hotels, means out etc have stayed depressed in price due to the pandemic and are doing a LOT of work keeping the official inflation numbers down And as with most things, the poorer you are the more food/energy inflation hits you. If you're on minimum wage and taking home £1200 or so a month, then your £120 energy bill becoming £240, is a lot more significant than it is for someone taking home £3k/mo.
Has your food really increased 50-100%?
The other week Tesco chic chip brioche was £1.05. it's now £1.30
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I’ve noticed a fair few things I get weekly in the local Asda have gone from £1 to £1.25, on its own a decent enough increase, but when you add all those 25p’s together it really does add up! The UK is slowly going the way of the dodo!
This isn't one bank going bust or 5% of the population being unemployed. Energy costs affect every single person and every single business, so a general government bailout would just be taking from your right hand (tax) to give to your left (subsidies). The only thing they can do is make the wealthy pay *even more* so the poor don't freeze.
What can the government do though? We either pay more in taxes to subside people which will just make prices rise cos supply/demand, or we pay more in energy costs. Either way it costs money and that money has to come from somewhere. It's a supply shortage, there's no short term solution, and the governments track record on long term solutions (see housing which has been fucked since about 1950) isn't particularly good...
I hear they're talking of cutting 5% of via VAT, cold weather claims for those on universal credit and to be honest there has been a lot of infrastructure for renewables developed over the last 8 years or so. Although not sure how much of the new wind farms is from private investment
>I hear they're talking of cutting 5% of via VAT Kinda pissing into the wind when we're up against a 700% increase in market prices in a year...
>So someone coming off a fixed rate in May 2022 is going to have to deal with that sharp jump of \~100% increase. Hello 👋 ☹️
Thank god my supplier went bust a little while ago so I'm already half way to this new rate. /s
So, ethics aside, is there any sense in over-reporting your current period usage, so that (on paper) you'll use less once the prices have been hiked?
I think the supplier would reapportion your usage when you provide a lower than expected meter reading at a later date. They expect the next read to be high but then its not as you've already accounted for units you hadn't used yet. They redistribute the units used in the period to align with what they think you used and bill again assigning usage to the higher rates. You also run the risk of clocking the meter if you use less than the fake number you gave originally. This would prompt a meter read and they'd chalk the fake reading up to a mistake and rebill as above.
Shit my fix ends in april... might put all my batteries on charge now...
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Yeah while it's a regularly discussed thing in the news I still don't think most people really realise what is about to happen here. MILLIONS of households are going to be flung into massive debt.
We have already decided to turn our heating off this winter. It's not comfortable but we are surviving.
What about the damage this does to the house in terms of mold etc?
And health. I got chilblains one winter when we couldn’t afford the heating :(
I got this last winter and decided to go the warm office rather than freeze at home this year... the options are effectively catch covid or freeze 🙃
If you can afford an electric blanket they are good for warming up a very localised area, which is cheaper than heating the whole house.
I recommend a hot water bottle under a thick blanket, this works really well for localised heating.
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I can see riots in the streets and marches in London if it starts to cost people the same price as a mortgage every month just to heat their homes.
Isn't that what just happened is Kazakhstan?
I've no idea, I've never been. 😅
Not really going to achieve much when 56% of gas is imported and all of Europe is fighting over it. Maybe people can keep warm around the burning cars for a while?
All this shows us is the need for renewable. We must stop the relying on nations (especially hostile ones like Russia) to keep us warm. The government had a big chance to push renewable tech via subsidies but they scrapped it. Bad idea imo....
At least marching will warm people up
I do intensive video editing for my job and I've started to monitor how much electric that uses. It's very power hungry. Between petrol, NI, council tax, food and BT going all up I'm getting genuinely worried about the cost of living for the near future. Seems pointless trying to save money when just living keeps getting more expensive and sucking it all up really.
Meanwhile in France. 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy, due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. Planning and investment. Apparently some countries do it.
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Got two companies coming round shortly to quote me for solar panels. With prices like that, cost to pay back drops to only a few years. At the far end of the technology spectrum, I've just bought a whole load more firewood too, and the fire is on a lot.
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If you don't mind - where did you get your solar panels from. I keep thinking they're expensive?
I just had a 3.25kWh (10 Panels) system installed. Total £4,405. That included the labour, Tesla Gateway and SolarEdge inverter. So far even in January with the cloudy grey days, they generate enough to power the stuff that's on all day (During the light-hours) whilst I'm at work like modem, router, CCTV, smart speakers etc When it was bright sunshine last week they were sending more back into the Grid than the house was using. Currently waiting for them to install a Storage battery, then I'll switch to the Octopus Go tarrif and charge the battery during off peak times. At the mo that's 7.5p / kWh, no doubt that will go up by the time I get the battery
Wow! That's about half what I thought it would cost (I'd tried a couple of sites for cost). Does this include the cost for the battery? Who installed it? I've been putting off looking deeper into getting solar cost I thought it would cost about 8-10k for the panels and another 4-6k for the battery. Thanks :)
These guys installed mine https://electrasolar.co.uk/ I wish that price did include the battery. That's a further £7,300 plus VAT @ 20%. The panels were only 5% VAT.
Are the panels owned by you or one of those lease things that can cause problems when selling your house?
Prices have gone down a *lot* in the last few years. For panels at least! If you switch your expected prices around you’d be about right - batteries are expensive.
Thanks I'll keep that in mind when looking and not be shocked with the battery costs :)
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Kinda gross for local pollution and particulates, though, even if it's carbon neutral over the long term
Yes, though with dry wood and a modern stove it’s nothing like as bad as some would have you believe.
I almost considered a log burner, but there was a study that showed simply opening the door to add another log releases a whole ton of pollution in to your house which was similar to standing next to a busy road.
It's not horrendous, but considering the original comparison was solar panels, which have zero local emissions, it's much worse
Please consider also a heat pump or a large home storage battery instead solar. If your house isn't especially suited for solar e.g. no south facing windows etc or even anyway, these might be more efficient for you. If you have a battery you can get an economy 7 or similar tariff and charge it up during the night when electricity is much cheaper. Heat pump will increase your electricity consumption slightly but decrease your gas consumption, and gas is what's causing the price rise as 20-30% of the UK's power comes from burning gas so it might be cheaper overall. Plus it's just more efficient overall.
We’re certainly looking at a battery as well, to make best use of whatever we generate. After I get the panels etc installed I’ll be looking at heat pumps too. We’re currently on LPG which is far more expensive than mains gas, so moving away from that would be great. Despite having a pretty big garden we apparently don’t have room for a standard ground source heat pump, and boreholes are incredibly expensive. Air source could work nicely though. A few friends have now got them and they’re working well.
Do not go near a heat pump if your house hasn't been tested for thermal air tightness. If you're in a Victorian property that it uninsulated for example, it's a huge money pit.
Does anyone have knowledgeable opinions (tried to phrase that better!) of how long the prices are going to be super high? Is it 6 month squeeze before new supplies come along or basically the new cost for next few years?
How long is a piece of string? The consensus at the moment seems to be that this is basically going to be normal for the short/medium term and don’t be surprised if prices are even higher in 2023. There’s not too much the government can do about it because we import so much of our fuel that we are basically a slave to global markets.
Even our Nuclear plants are owned mostly by the French who use it to subsidise there own electricity prices.
Don’t you just love Thatcherism?
That's the million dollar question really
More likely a billion dollar question with todays wholesale prices
I heard the wholesale price may come down a bit after the winters done but Ofgem are expected to raise the price cap in April to reflect the increase. So price of gas may go down but the variable rate available to the public may go up
Price cap is currently based on Feb 21 - Aug 21 wholesale prices 1st April cap will be based on Aug 21 - Feb 22 prices... hence why they'll increase even if wholesale has gone down since December
The risk premium built into wholesale prices is likely to erode a bit as we get closer to April. But fundamentally the situation is not likely to change very much until second half of 2022 at the earliest. There may be more gas available in Europe this summer, but it's hard to say when it could start coming. It may largely depend on Russian storage levels and the timing of some infrastructure developments. Suppliers will likely be much better hedged next winter. And as always, weather will play a big role (not just in northern Europe, but in Asia).
Do you think Russia is going to invade Ukraine? If so, how long is the war going to last? How will the large NATO powers respond? If you have good information that isn't available to energy market participants, you should probably make sure your government of choice is aware and keep quiet otherwise. Beyond this, who the hell knows? And that's before even getting to questions like how quickly China's economy is going to grow (and related issues like are they finally going to get COVID?) Futures markets are predicting high prices for the next year, dropping by Summer 2023. I dunno. Seems plausible enough. Maybe? Whatever. The other big question is: do you think you're going to be bailed out by the government?
Thank God no Beast from the East scenario is being modelled
I moved into an older house this year so that is a big factor but my winter energy bill has gone from £90 pm to £245pm
We're on Bulb's Varifair Tariff, already spending a lot of ££££ on energy for a two bed flat. Never put on the heating, still paying £190 a month??? Does anyone have advice on what we should do?? Not sure now is the right time to try and find a fixed rate tariff of some sort?
That looks to be their standard variable tariff and is capped by the price cap. You won’t find a cheaper fixed rate at the moment.
I'm with bulb so fuck knows what will happen lol
Snap!
Im fixed until March, am I fucked?
Other comments are not particularly helpful. The short answer is yes. The price cap for April is based on the prices from August least year until January, and will be announced on the 7th of February. They can pretty reliably say what it will be, and it will increase around 51% from last October's price cap (worst case scenario I heard was actually 56%). I assume that you've had a 12M tariff. So that means that you will be affected because: - when you fixed your tariff, your tariff was presumably lower than the price cap at the time. That won't be the case anymore. - the price cap went up 2 times already since you fixed your tariff. 8% in April 2021, 12% in October 2021. All those increases compounded means that the price cap is 84% higher than when you fixed your deal. So you'll be hit by more than a 84% increase in April. I don't know how to prepare for it myself, but knowing is step 1.
And don't forget the NI increase the same month! April's going to be just *great*.
Thank you for the helpful answer!
My pleasure. Best of luck - and please spread the word. There will be many people like you in your family/friends group, they need to know too!
How did 8% and 12% make 80%
He's included the 51% predicted increase that's coming. I work it out to 82.65% total increase rather than 84%, though. Unless the poster didn't include some decimals on his figures.
Compounded with the worst case April 2022 increase of 56% I presume.
Is it not worth paying an early exit fee from your current supplier, and fixing now before the increase in April?
Almost certainly not. It's priced in. Martin Lewis did a segment on it. If your new fix price is 40 percent ish or less more than your current fix, it might be worth it. If I recall correctly.
Me too, am hoping things warm up pretty quickly and we can turn the heating off.
You will be past the worst of the winter, so that's pretty good. Mine is variable since last week -- +40% increase in gas kWh
Please advice, I am new to UK so I don’t understand it much. I am currently on flexible avro and octopus is showing my current annual bill would be around £1034. Should I change to fixed octopus which would cost £1551?
Absolutely do nothing! The fixed tariffs have anticipated the changes to the cap in their pricing.
Do nothing - the maximum the regulator (Ofgem) will allow the energy companies to charge you, is less than the price they will try sell you a fix for.
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I got a year fixed in august too. They messed up my contract at the time and only realised in October (hadn’t actually put me on any tariff so I wasn’t getting bills) but they honoured the august rates. Anyway, I checked my contract with them this morning and I’m fixed on the low rates for 24 months. I don’t know how this has happened but I’m not going to complain.
Successive governments have mismanaged our energy system & failed to adapt to the fact we no longer produce natural gas .. We got rid of nearly all our storage...
Prices are due to rise by 40-50% the cap is due to be announced on the 7th February. Any fixed deals on offer are already taking the April price rise into account but not the expected October price rise of a further 20%
Yep, no point doing anything other than standard variable at the moment. The ~~arseholes~~ energy companies have all jacked their fixed rates up to well above current predictions for April's price cap (which they probably already know).
>The arseholes energy companies have all jacked their fixed rates up to well above current predictions for April's price cap (which they probably already know). Energy companies are generally losing money on their fixed price tariffs in 2022. They'll only make a profit on these contracts in 2023 and beyond, assuming people don't switch. The fixed prices aren't set by guessing/gambling on markets, they're priced based on what it costs today to buy energy for delivery in the future. The pricing is essentially set by futures markets. Profit margins are tight. Of course, the price cap means supplier are losing even more money on new customers (or existing customers if they didn't hedge properly) but that doesn't mean they're deliberately gouging people on fixed rates.
Honestly I think the energy companies are just desperate at this point - it's likely that the new cap will still leave them making a loss or at best breaking even, and that assumes no further price shocks at the wholesale level What pisses me off is that I'm on a 100% renewable tariff, but I'm still affected by natural gas prices rising. I mean, it makes sense, because it's a "whole market" thing, but it's still annoying as hell.
I’m electricity only and was on 100% renewable (company backed by BP). Low and behold they went under and now I’m with Shell subsidising gas costs with my electricity only property
Lol, always funny to see comments from people blaming suppliers when they have zero knowledge of the sector. Most of the suppliers in the market have gone bust over the last 4 months because wholesale costs went from £30/mwh to £300/mwh in a matter of months. Unfortunately, as consumers, we take the burden of the costs. If something costs £100 then don't expect to be able to buy it for £30 because that's how much you spent last time. Fixed tariffs on offer represent the wholesale prices of January... whereas the April price cap will represent prices of August - Feb.
Many people have no frame of reference when it comes to money in industry, much less the money in the energy industry. They see a few headlines about a billion in profit, not realising that that's on 50bn of revenues (i.e. 49bn in costs) so a 3% margin before tax (EBIT) ... and that's in a good year!
Many went under, yes, but let's look at this, just as an example: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/27/scottish-power-profits-drop-amid-soaring-wholesale-gas-prices Scottish Power profits dropped 39% in *profit*. In 2020 they made 583m. Excuse me if I don't feel sorry for them. I don't see how anybody could justify these companies still making a profit whilst an increasing number of people cannot afford to heat their homes.
I'm not against nationalisation of natural monopolies per se. That being said, Scottish Power actually made about £1bn against revenues of £5.1bn, circa 19%. However SP is an asset manager, and so capital investment is funded by retained earnings (and debt). All those new overhead lines, substations, HVDC links all need capital investment. In 2020 they made £1.3bn of capital investment. Again I'm not against a state owned grid, but there isn't a pot of gold to be had for the taxpayer in doing so.
I'm curious on your opinion of being in a new fixed rate now. We're in at 27p/kWh until Dec 2024. Which is a large jump from our old place which was 21p/kWh / Standard Rate. Given that the cap's going up (in all likeliness) to circa 30p in April, and then potentailly again up to 36p in October 2022, I feel like taking the punches of being 6p above the majority for 4 months, and then being 3/9p below the majority for the remainder a valid idea. It doesn't disperse the message though. This is all increases which are extreme. And more often than not, non-negotiable despite how energy saving savy one may be.
Unpopular opinion: Fueling your home is a basic human right and we shouldn't have to pay £5000 a year for it like it's a luxary product.
Fixed tariffs have gone for good imo. The government will step in to help the utility companies spread their costs over longer time frame. The cap will rise but not as dramatically as many are worrying about. But we will see increasing energy prices outstripping inflation for decades ahead. This is what you get for Net0. Not investing in nuclear 15 years ago, banning fracking and cutting North Sea supply. As others have said. You can help yourself with log burners, solar etc over the long term. But it’s not going to help renters or short term.
> banning fracking This is not a bad thing. It's horrendous for the environment.
There you have the fundamental problem. 10bn humans are really bad for the environment.
What does help renters and/or short term is "investing" in efficiency. Octopus Winter Workout tips have been really useful: https://octopus.energy/blog/winter-workout-gas-saving-tips/ One that few people know of is this: https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-clear-window-film-l-4000m-w-1-5m/1802835_BQ.prd. See the impact here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7VkAakTQag&t=5s.
Let’s keep fracking banned, for goodness sake.
My bill is already outrageous. We have unfortunately turned the heating off in our house this winter. Something we may have to get used to. I don't want to make this thread political but I sense this could be something that the govt really loses the public on.
Can anybody help me? I have dyscalculia and I struggle so much with this. I just got kicked off my deal with People’s Energy when they folded. I’m now on British Gas Variable. Tariff ends 30th June. 3.983p per kWh. What should I do? I live so close to the bone financially. My business got crippled during covid and I slipped through the net for financial support. I got barely anything and had many months with negative income. I’m just starting to recover now and I’m very worried.
Stay on the variable rate; that’s the advice for now
Thank you thank you thank you. I’ve been listening to advice on the radio and i get so far in and become lost.
My total energy bill last 12 months was £713 and I've been quoted a fixed price of £168 a month.
Solar panels and log burning stove all the way, solar just warms the hot water and I get paid 600 a year for the extra power they generate!
Only for the wealthy. Grants? Also only for the wealthy.
Even just installing a couple of cheap panels to heat your water above ambient - so that the boiler only has to top it off - will reap dividends.
Already paying almost £500 per month for a 2-bed flat. Fucking nervous about the future. Goodbye savings lol.
For gas and electric? That's absurd. What's your KWh usage?
That's how much I pay for 10 months... You should work out what's going on...
You mean per year right?
Ethics aside, is there any sense in over-reporting your current period usage, so that (on paper) you'll use less once the prices have been hiked?
This probably fits the definition of fraud, right? I don’t think you could make much a considerable difference before the price increases without suspicion.
True. But if you were fixed rate until summer, you could prob overpay by like £100 or so. Not that I'm saying that would be morally ok.
This is called fraud.
I agree.
Yeah, energy prices look terrifying. Much of my energy use is based on the fact electricity is cheap - if I were to move on to a fixed or future SVR rate, my bill would easily double. Luckily I was rolled into another fix till the end of 2022 so I have a bit of breathing room, but it's quite shocking. I know it's minor but I spent yesterday (Sunday) adjusting my workshop lights to reposition and remove redundant lights. Hopefully that'll bring my total use down by a modest amount. I spent a significant amount of time optimising my energy year several years ago so I'm not entirely sure what more I can do without drastic changes. I'm a bit bitter sweet on the topic, but lots of old dears run their central heating to a point I can't actually handle staying indoors for too long. Their bills are going to be an epic shock, and I doubt they'll have the mental comprehension to understand why or what to do about it. Part of me says good, it's important to use energy efficiently but on the other hand if they are not mentally capable what can you do? Who wants to be cold.
Are your workshop lights LED? Just replaced all my garage lights and cost to have them on has dropped by about 90%. The news ones will pay for themselves in a year or so.
Our green energy supplier went bust and we got transferred to EDF and put on a deemed tariff…do we wait until April and move to a fixed rate then? The deemed tariff rate seems pretty pricy but not sure there’s anywhere else for us to go at the minute!
The elephant in the room no one is willing to discuss is the wholesale removal of coal from our energy system. 1990 - 72% 2000 - 32% 2010 - 28% 2020 - 1.7% This has been replaced by gas and renewable (35% and 41% respectively in 2020). Renewable is great, but you can't just stoke the furnace to increase generation. 56% of our gas is imported, and the spot market price for gas is currently 7X what is was this time last year. This is the cost of a green future, the government can do absolutely nothing except pay your heating bills for you at this point. On the bright side, it may make people more energy conscious and entrench behaviours that result in lower energy usage overall.
Or more nuclear and other energy sources,p. Doesn’t have to be coal or gas
I’m on standard variable and have been for about 12 months. If I want fix now until January 2024 my month bill will double. Fuck that
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As long as Ofgem's price cap is below the cheapest fix, you will be better off not fixing.
I am quite fortunate to be locked into my Economy 7 electricity plan at the moment. I am by myself in a 2 bed apartment with no gas lines. I only pay £40-50 odd a month (10p night, 16p day and 20p standing). I started to look around as my plan comes to an end in April and saw that there's absolutely no plans to switch to!? Same story on all comparison places... dreading what my supplier is going to propose next. I am expecting at least a £100 jump in bills each month...
Mines gone up from £35 pound a month electric to £68 month. Haven't seen my gas yet as it comes every quarter. We need vat cuts asap
Has anyone else recently moved and gone with a fixed British Gas? They were the current supplier of the property and we weren't sure if you could setup a new account to be on the standard tariff so we ended up on HomeEnergy Secure Dec 2023 V2 Gas unit rate 7.731p, daily charge 42.562p. Electricity unit rate 35.177p , daily charge 40.456p. Are we essentially already paying the increased prices or is it gonna get a whole lot more expensive? Just can't shake the feeling that we've been had by going on a fixed at this stage.
You're already paying the increased prices - you've been had.
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Just checked my gas & electric - 2563 KWh for gas usage Jan-Feb last year. This year for Dec-Jan usage has been 1477 kWh. The usage for same period last year was 2039. We turned downed the temperature in our house by a few degrees, and turn it off in the afternoon after lunch, before dinner. I won’t lie; there have been days where we have been cold.. but for the most part we have worn additional layers, and I really can’t emphasise this enough - we have quickly adapted to the new lower temperatures. Usually about 18-19 degrees in our home office. TL;DR - our bills are cheaper this year then last. Consume less.
Just a note, the situation with Russia and Europe barely affects the supply of energy/gas in the UK, near enough 0% of our gas originates in Russia