Utility companies - price rises

[thenry]

Seems like I've been throwing money away so this is just advice to get things checked over. I had a gas leak in my boiler which got fixed today. The boiler had a new valve fitted and pilot kit if thats correct anyway the guys were great and checked over the boiler and made a few tweaks elsewhere too. The new kit and tweaks have boiled water in 10-15minutes rather than 20+ prior to the fixes and a test on heating heated the place up a lot quicker than before.

what pee's me off is ive had annual checks done with nothing found as a fault even though these guys found a fair few including no bonding to the gas meter outside. the gas leak could have appeared anytime really, theres a window by my boiler which is normally open so the gas could gone straight out the window. i only noticed it by leaning down to grab something so not an everyday event. that said it is my own fault for the gas leak, for however long its been going on because i had no carbon monoxide alarm by the boiler.

[Doug P]

Originally Posted by TheDaddy

Darn right, prices have risen a third in three years and profits were up 25% iirc for at least one those companies in the cartel.

Se graph someone posted on here showing that the worst rises were well before 2010....

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

Amazing that there was virtual silence from the Labour government at the time despite the nearly TRIPLING of fuel bills between 2004 and 2009 but then a substantial proportion of the rise was due to their "green" taxes and economic mismanagement.

Green Taxes are not the worst causing of the rises as I said in few posts ago. They make up around 9% but haven't increased that much in relation to the massive increases we're seeing elsewhere. They're also a far wider ranging set of tax measures than just eco ones, i.e the warm home rebate.

To be honest though I don't think TheDaddy was having a Labour vs Tory bash, he was having a go at the energy companies generally.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Damien

Green Taxes are not the worst causing of the rises as I said in few posts ago. They make up around 9% but haven't increased that much in relation to the massive increases we're seeing elsewhere. They're also a far wider ranging set of tax measures than just eco ones, i.e the warm home rebate.

To be honest though I don't think TheDaddy was having a Labour vs Tory bash, he was having a go at the energy companies generally.

That 9% is based on an average across gas and electricity. For electricity alone it is 14%, and for Gas it is 5%. And that is nothing compared to the future impact. 41% by 2030.
LINK

On that picture households will be paying 41% more for their electricity bills as a result of green policies than the retail price is expected to be.

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Damien

Green Taxes are not the worst causing of the rises as I said in few posts ago. They make up around 9% but haven't increased that much in relation to the massive increases we're seeing elsewhere. They're also a far wider ranging set of tax measures than just eco ones, i.e the warm home rebate.

To be honest though I don't think TheDaddy was having a Labour vs Tory bash, he was having a go at the energy companies generally.

Correct Damien I wasn't, labour, conservative, different cheeks of the same arse imo.

What annoys me more than anything is they say that they are going to help the poor vunerable pensioners.. Whilst I agree with this in my personal situation I am POORER than a pensioner yet what are they saying? Because I am 40 and not 70 I can just freeze? I have to run my house and eat on less than £5 a day which might sound alot but i've yet to put my heating on for the whole of 2013. Which is good with the warm summer we've had.

What they forget to realise is that since 2007 the majority of pensioners who live in accomodation that has a warden have heating as a part of their rent (which is always council based) I often make a joke about competing against my Nan to get the lowest bill, And yet I always win. Not because I meant to either!

where as for me? Well I have a onesie but I still freeze my tits off. basically.

---------- Post added at 23:36 ---------- Previous post was at 23:34 ----------

Originally Posted by Taf

Notification of gas and electricity price increase has arrived by post. No mention of percentages, but the big increases have been in the Standing Charges which we pay even if we use no gas or electricity.

I calculate gas is up 8.2% and electricity up 8.9%

They reckon our annual bill will be around £1550

Of my last quarter gas bill which was £70 over £50 of that was standing charge.
For Electricity I use about £10 a month and bill was £91

total rip off!

---------- Post added at 23:49 ---------- Previous post was at 23:36 ----------

Originally Posted by tizmeinnit

I could not afford a fine or the hassle if ever I was to get a knock otherwise I would not pay either

That's the common misconception which is totally and utterly wrong.

You wouldn't get either. You get a knock you tell them to go away - they have no more powers than the postman as they are capita.. an outsourcing company.

Im another who has not had a TV licence for some years yet I enjoy all of Iplayers content daily.

You do not need a TV licence to watch any catch up TV, you only need one for tv that's being broadcast live. I watch all the stations catchup services most days.

So why be worried about something which will never happen and you're legally allowed to avoid if you don't have a need for one?

You tell the TVL that you don't need one every 2 years and that's it. I've never had anyone from TVL knock on my door. Well I've not been in if they ever have and I am home most of the time!

You do not need a licence to own a TV or a DVD player or a console or a smart TV which gets it's content from the internet.

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-i...-needed-top12/

---------- Post added at 23:58 ---------- Previous post was at 23:49 ----------

Originally Posted by Qtx

Yeah yeah, people will use any excuse for purchasing a onesie....

You'd have a heart attack and thus save on your gas and electric if you saw me without one on I can assure you!

---------- Post added 26-10-2013 at 00:09 ---------- Previous post was 25-10-2013 at 23:58 ----------

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

You do realise that over 60% of the cost of transport fuel is down to El Govs taxes and duty?

Our neighbour makes his own bio fuel in his garage with a machine. He makes about 2000L a year and so is under the limit for paying tax. he gets the fat free from the chippys as it saves them £150 a time for it to be collected so all he pays for is the cost of the machine's power and the chemicals he has to use.

He's well smitten

haha!

Just heard on sky news Ed Millaidiot got stung for a high energy bill so he had to swap suppliers.

Made me LOL

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...nto-doubt.html

Wholesale prices only went up by 1.7% However, data from Ofgem, the energy regulator, suggests that wholesale prices rose by only 1.7 per cent over the last year.

According to the analysis, the element of the average energy bill due to wholesale prices would only have gone up from £600 to £610.

However, Ofgem estimates that the energy companies’ average net profit margin has more that doubled over the past year from £45 a household to £95.

Maybe it was just simple profiteering....

[thenry]

The big six energy companies made £23 more in average profit from each UK household on aggregate last year - a rise of 75% on 2011 - and profits are still rising, according to the industry's regulator.

http://news.sky.com/story/1173380/bi...-profits-storm

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Damien

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/p...nto-doubt.html



Maybe it was just simple profiteering....

It found that the average profit margin for supply to household customers was 4.3% - in line with the claims made by the industry - as energy use rose and bills went up.

But it calculated the profit margin made in generating energy in 2012 at 20% - slightly lower on the previous two years
...
The study sought to explain the disparity between supply margin and that for generation by pointing out that the generation part of a business needed significant sums of money over the long term to invest in building new power stations.

Stop misleading.

[Pierre]

Well green taxes and subsidies still aren't enough to make this project viable

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...r-project.html

I think this is the thin end of the wedge. And many of the R3 wind projects will probably not get built.

It's a potential election winner/loser.

We the people will not put up with paying through the nose for unreliable wind energy.

[denphone]

Its alright as we will sneakily slip out our price rise when this country is in the midst of a severe cold snap.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...ay-of-the-year

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by denphone

Its alright as we will sneakily slip out our price rise when this country is in the midst of a severe cold snap.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...ay-of-the-year

i keep reading that we are on the verge of running out of gas supplies.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

i keep reading that we are on the verge of running out of gas supplies.

l think that has been exaggerated somewhat...

[heero_yuy]

Quote from papa smurf:


i keep reading that we are on the verge of running out of gas supplies.

What we have is a temporary situation where the flow required is slightly higher than can be provided from North Sea and Continental sources. As there is negligible storage in the system, demand from big industry has to be moderated to safeguard domestic supplies.