The energy crisis

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Anyway, back on topic....


Do you think the government is going ot step in to stop the constant price hikes?

They could cut out vat and the green levy but i doubt they will.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Anyway, back on topic....


Do you think the government is going ot step in to stop the constant price hikes?

Energy costs are largely influenced by global prices, though the UK's lack of gas storage has kept energy prices more volatile than some other countries. So if the UK government said no price rises to energy suppliers, they would go out of business.

Expect a new price cap on 7th February with some limited assistance to those most in need.

---------- Post added at 11:50 ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 ----------

Originally Posted by papa smurf

They could cut out vat and the green levy but i doubt they will.

Agreed. Also most of the so-called green levy goes to pay things like the winter fuel allowance for pensioners so if it was cut then how would these benefits be funded?

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

Energy costs are largely influenced by global prices, though the UK's lack of gas storage has kept energy prices more volatile than some other countries. So if the UK government said no price rises to energy suppliers, they would go out of business.

Expect a new price cap on 7th February with some limited assistance to those most in need.

---------- Post added at 11:50 ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 ----------


Agreed. Also most of the so-called green levy goes to pay things like the winter fuel allowance for pensioners so if it was cut then how would these benefits be funded?

Do you have a link to that, I can't find any info on how it's funded.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

Do you have a link to that, I can't find any info on how it's funded.

It's on the Ofcom site, the government regulator.

For a dual fuel customer, the environmental/social obligation costs comprise 15.33% of the bill. See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication...es-and-profits

What are the environmental/social obligations?
See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environment...social-schemes

[Halcyon]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

They could cut out vat and the green levy but i doubt they will.

If anyone is going to get help it will be the poorest of people, which fair enough is needed, but other people who are not swimming in money and have families to feed are also going to struggle but will get burger all becuase we earn slightly more than the capped rate for receiving benefits.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by 1andrew1

It's on the Ofcom site, the government regulator.

For a dual fuel customer, the environmental/social obligation costs comprise 15.33% of the bill. See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication...es-and-profits

What are the environmental/social obligations?
See https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environment...social-schemes

That's actually less than what's been touted by some of the media, they were talking about it being about 25% when I heard a discussion about it.

AIUI, the Winter Fuel Allowance is paid for out of general taxation. It's the £140 for those on means tested benefits that comes out of the levy.

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

You have absolutely nothing to support your allegation that this is the definitive truth and are either simply trolling or, for reasons that aren't difficult to work out, are purposely trying to cause upset and unpleasantness for a severely disabled member of this forum.

FFS, Ive had enough of you constantly playing the "disabled" card.
You are banned from this topic for 7 days (of course, you wont be able to see this message, its for the benefit of others).

Ok, Back to the topic in hand please.

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Anyway, back on topic....


Do you think the government is going ot step in to stop the constant price hikes?

Gas and oil prices are not set by governments, but by bodies like OPEC and Putin's oligarchs.

Putin has a lot of Europe by the danglies over natural gas supplies.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Taf

Gas and oil prices are not set by governments, but by bodies like OPEC and Putin's oligarchs.

Putin has a lot of Europe by the danglies over natural gas supplies.

And the evidence..............?
Europe gas prices: How far is Russia responsible?

"A significant section of the mainstream European media has attributed this to Gazprom intentionally withholding supplies in order to force the German regulator and European Commission to approve Nord Stream 2," says Jack Sharples, of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
But he adds that this analysis "is questionable".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she was not aware of any instances where Russia had not met its contractual obligations.
"Russia can only deliver gas on the basis of contractual obligations and not just like that," she was quoted as saying.

The UK's gas storage is currently at full capacity - but Russia only provides about 5% of the country's usage, so it's less reliant on Russian imports than other European countries.
Russia's own gas storage is also down.
Adeline Van Houtte, a Europe analyst at the Economist's Intelligence Unit, says: "Currently, the Russian domestic gas market remains tight, with output already near its peak and winter is looming... limiting gas export capacity."
There are several other factors affecting the situation in Europe, such as:

• cold weather at the start of 2021 depleting stocks
• rising prices in spring and summer put traders off buying to sell later in the year
• limited supply from Norway because of maintenance issues
• reduction in other energy sources such as wind power
• growing demand for gas elsewhere in the world

How is Russia responsible for any of those?
It doesn't mention a factor is that Germany scaled back nuclear and coal energy production, and tried to rely on unreliable wind power, and as a result had to rely on gas instead.

The UK's gas storage is currently at full capacity

However, wasnt it mentioned that said capacity is a lot smaller than it used to be ?

Originally Posted by Paul

However, wasnt it mentioned that said capacity is a lot smaller than it used to be ?

Quite correct. Centrica closed an enormous storage facility in 2017 because it needed some expensive upgrades to keep going. They asked for government assistance but were refused. We lost about 70% of our storage capacity at that point, although even before that we were storing less than is typically the case in European countries. Today we store 2% of annual demand while the average in the EU is 25%.

Some stats from a storage provider that still operates in the UK: https://www.storengy.co.uk/medias/ne...er-gas-storage

[TimeLord2018]

From 1st of April average energy bills will go up by 54%

Bills for the average customer on a default tariff will rise to £1,971 a year from £1,277
Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-60236456

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by TimeLord2018

From 1st of April

Bills for the average customer on a default tariff will rise to £1,971 a year from £1,277
Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017

Did they announce a unit rate for this as I find these total rates uses less when it comes to working out for the individual

Rishi rides to the rescue …

£150 council tax rebate for bands A-D (boo, I’m in band E)
£200 energy bill discount for every household this October, followed by a £40 annual surcharge once a year for the next 5 years, to smooth out the shock.

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by Chris

Rishi rides to the rescue …

£150 council tax rebate for bands A-D (boo, I’m in band E)
£200 energy bill discount for every household this October, followed by a £40 annual surcharge once a year for the next 5 years, to smooth out the shock.

So we get £200 to cover the price rise we are going to see in October anyway and have to pay it back? does nothing for the shock of this price rise

The CT rebate I will not see as I get most of it paid anyway unless that comes off the bit I do have to pay