*Delayed start - starting c 12.45pm* Webchat about energy-saving with Ed Davey, Energy and Climate Change Minister, Wednesday 13 February, now 12.45pm

[JustineMumsnet]

Hi all,
We'll be welcoming the Rt Hon Edward Davey, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, for a webchat on this Wednesday, Feb 13th at 12.30pm - 1.30pm.

Ed Davey has been the LibDem MP for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997 and lives in Surbiton with his wife and son. He served in a number of shadow roles since 2001, including Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Shadow Education and Skills Secretary, and became a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) in May 2011, after the forming of the current coalition government.

Ed is interested in hearing your thoughts on a wide range of issues, including the Government's new Green Deal policy, which launched in late January

Please post your question in advance on this thread, or join us live on Wednesday from 12.30pm-1.30pm.

Given the disaster at Fukushima, which caused widespread radioactive contamination, shouldn't Britain follow Germany in closing down nuclear power plants - especially since climate change is resulting in more and more freak weather events, including earthquakes, tornados and the like, which cause Fukushima-style disasters?

Do you think society as a whole and any of the main political parties have really taken on board the severity of the threat of global warming and the importance of developing a significant and even radical green agenda ?
I feel there is a danger of green initiatives being too little too late, and am inclined to support the Green party, who put this issue at the centre of their policies.
Green deal seems fairly encouraging but needs more publicity and support I feel.

Given the vastly greater numbers of people who have been killed or injured by pollution from coal- and gas-fired power stations than have ever been killed by nuclear power stations (poorly-run sites such as Windscale, Chernobyl and Fukushima included), and given our ever-dwindling fossil fuels, shouldn't Britain actually bite the bullet and start building some new nuclear power stations before the old ones go off-line and coal/gas prices rise to extortionate levels?

Snorbs.

Dear Ed

Thanks for coming to Mumsnet. I would like to say Green Deal is a very good idea if it helps the government reach their carbon reduction target. And so are smart meters.

But what about the cost? Don't give me any of that bs political answer. Green deal costs more and maybe over 20 years you might just save enough to pay back your outlay - yes, it goes off my fuel bill, but that is just an advanced form of HP. What about the smart meters? Isn't it true that we are all going to have to pay more than £50 per year per family because we have got a smart meter?

Oh yes, you might reach your target (although I doubt it) and that will be by....us using less electricity and gas ( because we cannot afford it ) and by us spending to insulate our homes and paying it off over the next 20 years.

So, government target, customers paying.....interesting.

What are the government doing - without customers paying - to reach the carbon reduction target?

Sorry change of question.

What are you doing about fuel poverty?

Energy prices up by 7%, 300,000 more homes on brink of fuel poverty, including mine

With energy bills for the average family going up and up, I'd like to know what you are doing to get energy companies to simplify their tariffs?

It's so hard to work out which supplier is genuinely offering the best deal...

Do you think the government has done enough to let small local businesses access Green Deal work? As a Mum who helps run a small renewable energy firm and who also gets people to do work on my house, this is a big concern, because generally people trust their small local traders who rely on word of mouth.

The Green Deal seems to suggest that people of limited means might take out a 25 year loan to carry out works eg a new boiler and heating that will only have a 10 year guarantee.

Wouldn't people be better off getting a loan from a credit union?

Also what happens when the house is sold, inherited or repossessed? No-one seems to know.

Hii
When people move suppliers or move address- as a result of estimated bills on most accounts which do not have a smartmeter- the credit balances are often kept by the energy companies. These amount to tens of millions a year- if not reclaimed by customers the energy companies are legally allowed to keep this money after 6 years. Why does this unclaimed money not go towards fuel poverty or green initiatives? Thank you

Hello Ed. My question is about energy waste by business. Why are ordinary consumers facing ever higher bills to pay for renewable energy, etc, and millions being wasted on wind farms with dubious environmental credentials, whilst office buildings are still being lit 24 hours a day, computers left on day and night, and so on. Why are you not concentrating properly on, not paying lip service to reducing large scale energy waste before passing on ever more costs to individuals?

By "you" I mean the government in conjunction with the energy companies.

A cheeky second question if there's time. What is being done to help bridge the large gap in heating costs faced by on grid and off grid consumers? I don't mean hardship tariffs, I mean bringing baseline heating costs into line for all.

When social housing is built, why is there not an onus on building green technologies into it? Heat exchangers, solar PV or wind turbines would save/provide energy for those who need it most, and bring families out of fuel poverty. Councils should be able to negotiate bulk deals on technologies, and use FITs to maintain communal areas.
I cannot use a smart meter as I have solar PV and the meter cannot measure the direction of the power in the cable (The sun coming out gives the same reading as boiling a kettle!). How will the smart meter roll out deal with more complex cases such as mine?

What do you think about Earth Hour? Do you support such initiatives? Thank you

Hello,

The Green Deal offers a very positive step forward for energy usage and should have been in place many years ago.

While the dropping of energy consuption is important, it is also important that we reduce our waste in general ( the 3 R's). I notice that some Scottish Councils have tax breaks for those who use reusable nappies, would it be possible to do this in England? Yes, it would require some central gvmt funding but surely the amount is relatively small for the potential level of impact?

Thanks

DL

I've looked into The Green Deal recently, as I need to replace my windows. I read the MoneySavingExpert article on it and to be honest, I find it baffling. It's not very easy to understand how it works and what the implications are.

How do you think taking on The Green Deal will affect the sell-ability of a house?

We have a 20+ year-old boiler that works brilliantly but is not terribly efficient. Every time we think we should really get a new one the engineers tell us that this one is likely to go on forever and new ones are rubbish and break all the time. We are tempted to stick with the old one (mainly to save a couple of grand) but feel guilty that we're not being very environmentally friendly. What advice would you give to people who can't really afford to upgrade their homes to make it greener but still want to do their bit?

My question is about recycling - we do loads (with the support of our local, Epping Forest, Council) but I wonder how much support/ demand there is from businesses (small and large) for recycling consumables? I am thinking about cafes like M&S cafe or McDonalds or other places where you get, say a can of coke or a burger in a cardboard tray - these all seem to be put into general waste bins and then disposed of - what happens to them?
Do businesses get any extra bins for recycling cans/ glass bottles etc or do the council deal with it or is it all just put into land fill? If so it seems a shame when we as householders do our bit.

It's all very well encouraging individuals to live sustainability with the Green Deal, but the damage caused by aviation is greater than all domestic energy use put together. Can you guarantee that you'll resist pressure from the CBI and not build the third runway at Heathrow?

Hi Ed. Which Green Deal measures will you be having installed at your home?

I'd like to know how to find a Green Deal Installer.
When I get an assessment done will they recommend someone or can I sort that out myself using local tradesmen I have used in the past

Hi Ed,

How did it feel rescuing a woman from being hit by a train? That was pretty brave... I'm impressed!

Is Mr Cable really as cuddly as he seems on tv?

Hi Ed, You've said previously you're not a fan of on-shore wind turbines is that purely an issue of aesthetics?

How is the price of energy in the future calculated within the green deal? Can you please let me know where I can find this information? Thank you.

How do I go about applying for an ECO grant to get insulation work done on my property?

I think I qualify for some work to be done under ECO (loft, cavity wall etc) but having a hard time trying to find anyone who will sign me up. And can part of the work be done on ECO then I pay the extra?

How do I find out about the eligibility criteria for ECO?