Energy prices to increase dramatically from April - but support will be targeted. How would you target it?

[cakeorwine]

The energy guarantee will go from April instead of for 2 years.

The support will be targeted on the most needy.

Personally I think we need to look at some kind of tiered rates. It would need to be based on your home usage, domestic needs but some system where you get a certain amount of KWH for a certain price and then pay more for KWH if you go over that usage.

I would also look at insulating houses and try to reduce usage so less subsidy is needed for energy as well.

Even when then introduced the price cap I thought they should only cap the price for up to average usage, otherwise where is the incentive to reduce usage?

There should be an incentive to reduce usage. If people knew that above a certain usage, they would pay more.

I don’t think they can do it fairly, honestly. Is it really fair for others to have to pay god knows how much while they also subsidise everyone else’s bills? If middle class people end up paying all their spare cash to energy bills, how does that help the economy? Nobody should be paying these energy suppliers extortionate amounts at all.

People in the south of the country won’t need heating as much so those up north are going to use more through no fault of their own. Those with more children will have higher usage, those with one or two kids will be able to cut usage a lot more… I just don’t think there’s a fair way of doing this.

Nobody should be paying these energy suppliers extortionate amounts at all

Well - that's the price of gas and electricity on the market. So I don't know how that would work.

But they have to get this right. Whilst there are a lot of people who could afford the increased prices, there are a lot who don't have much disposable income. Add on increased mortgage / rent costs, fuel costs, inflationary pressures and that's going to be a struggle. And a lot of money out of the economy.

It's a difficult one. I don't know what I'd do. I think they will just go the easy way and help people on UC and pensioners to be honest. Less admin cost.

that's the price of gas and electricity on the market

so they don’t make any profit then?

The thing is now the needy often aren't classed as that because they don't get any benefits. My DP is unemployed and as I work we are entitled to absolutely nothing. I work part time because I don't keep well enough to manage fulltime. None of my health conditions are (apparently even though I have an ileostomy amongst a few other chronic conditions) bad enough to entitle me to anything. Hence we aren't needy when in reality we absolutely are. I would have the same income if I stopped working. Crazy.

Yes, I agree on tiers, alongside elderly getting a winter fuel payment and disabled a one off reduction each year. Has to be something easy to operate and encourage people to take responsibility for their own use.

There should definitely be some kind of incentive to reduce usage and I think it should be targeted at the wealthy with large homes too. It's not fair that a wealthy person can afford to heat multiple rooms, swimming pools etc, and poor people are shivering in small poorly insulated houses.

I'm surprised that you're not entitled to anything at all? Is your DP looking for work, is he not getting job seekers allowance?

But some of the neediest families use more - people with disabilities have machines that use a lot of electricity, they need more heating to stay well etc. They shouldn’t be fearful of using more.

Bit of a clickbaity title, in that we don’t actually know the prices will go up. Prices have been going down, recently.

But some of the neediest families use more

exactly this.

I just think it should continue as it is. All that’s going to happen is the middle will be squeezed even further.

Families.

My mum and her house of 1 recieved the same £65 as my house of 5.

She doesn't use that in a month so she is saving money. Where as I'm already half way down from using it last week 🙃.

I don’t know how they can do it fairly.

we usually manage our finances quite well. We aren’t loaded but do generally manage ok and are able to save for days out or a dinner. With the increases on energy and food and petrol, we are feeling the pinch and having to cut back and watch what we are doing. The £66 back over the next 6 months is a help. We are supposed to get £100 for oil. Not sure how or when that comes. I just can’t see how they can fairly help or even decide who gets help. Obviously those who are struggling severely need more help but what’s the cut off. Who gets help and who doesn’t?

They have 6 months to get this right - people's use goes down over summer so next October is when things would really hit.

They need to be having these difficult discussions now.

She will do when it comes to winter. You still need to heat your house in winter. Regardless of how many people there are.

They rent out a property which perhaps they could sell?

What are you talking about? Prices haven’t gone down. They’ve gone up. Everyone has been given a reduction on their bill and the unit prices have been capped but that’s not prices going down…!

Really

Do you want the Daily Mail, Guardian , BBC or Express link?

www.theguardian.com/money/2022/oct/17/energy-price-guarantee-cap-household-bills-4347-april-hunt
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11325835/Millions-facing-cliff-edge-energy-support-Goverment-scaled-new-Chancellor.html

As we all know, the prediction was £3500 then up to £6000 in January

So yes, they are going down. To £4500

@Afterfire wholesale gas prices have been falling

and yet the unit prices have increased….