Gas and electricity bills to soar

[Cosmos123]

This is worrying as it will push many into fuel poverty.
Rising food prices and empty shelves.
Is anyone worried?

I'm amazed anyone would have heating on at night - honestly

Yep, old school... hot water bottles, jumpers, thicker duvets, thick curtains etc. Can't harm.

Agree, not having heating on at night is probably a good way for a number of people to cut costs.

Obviously a bit late now with regards to saving money, but well worth investing in extra duvets, blankets and hot water bottles. Plus thermal tops/leggings to wear under pj’s etc.

Not so handy for those living on their own, but am sure a few survival shows I’ve seen say that the best way to keep warm is to actually sleep naked against someone - could be some fun to be had in the interests of saving money!

Just seen this Gas price rise: Government considering loans for energy firms www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58620167

UK energy company seeks funds to stay afloat www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58619418

^And we've gone old school with a hot water bottle to go in each bed before bedtime so I can knock the heating off over night unless it's really really cold night.

Hoping to get away with only having the heating on first thing in the morning for an hour and then 5-8 at night^

If you're out all day, that's normal use of heating surely, not some 'old school economy measure'?

We've never had the heating on at night, because the house would be too warm for sleeping, and we don't use hot water bottles either, or even have thick duvets. Genuinely confused as to how warm you think your house needs to be.

I posted the below back in February. I don’t want to be alarmist, but this has been brewing for a while. It is only the start I’m afraid.
As I said before, pips are going to squeak.
People need to get prepared. You need to figure out how to economise, and how to create alternate sources of income.
If you have investments, you need to think carefully how they are positioned.
Good luck. We’re all going to need it.

Dayofpeace Fri 05-Feb-21 09:02:35
Yes. Also energy prices are going up now too. A large part of this is because of worldwide lockdowns caused supply chain issues and QE caused an unprecedented increase in the broad money base. All those people that think lockdowns were the right thing to do and the govt. needed to pay people to sit at home for months on end are now starting to see what the repercussions are.

Buckle up, it’s going to be quite a ride for the next decade or so.
Food prices up, energy prices up, all raw materials prices up, housing up, rent up, employment down, wages flat, increased social fracturing and disharmony, increased taxes, reduced freedoms.

Our pips are going to squeak. Better get your plans in place.

As long as my two animals are fed, then I will happily go down to beans on toast every meal. I’ve got loads of (unfashionable) jumpers in the wardrobe.

People survived years ago with no central heating etc. So that’s the direction I’m sending my mindset. It probably won’t be pleasant, but it’s hopefully doable.

Again, one way to reduce costs is less heating. Layer up (extra duvets, blankets, thermal underwear etc).

A (very small, cynical) part of me is wondering whether this is a lead-in to promoting the “heat your home from the soil” thing I’ve seen mentioned

@changingsheets

Mines payg and already I'm putting £30 in the electric per week 🙈

Jesus, how big is your house? I spend £5-£7 a week on electric.

@earsup interesting post. Dh works in the sector and has said the same about the closure and demolishing of coal powered power stations for ages.

Nuclear is also declining I believe with old plants reaching the end of their lives and new ones not coming back on stream quickly enough.

The reality is that renewables simply don't provide the capacity that we need and that's before the government expects everyone to have an electric car.

God imagine if we have blackouts and people can’t charge their electric cars and can’t get to work! I vaguely remember the 70s blackouts and they went on for days.

One thing to remember about smart meters is that their purpose is not just to automatically report your readings to your energy company to save you the bother and allegedly give more accurate bills, but to give the energy companies the ability to increase the price during times of high demand, effectively limiting or capping use as people won't be able to afford it.

Renewables are part of the energy mix which we will need to reach Net Zero, which is really important. But nuclear needs to be seen in a more positive light.

National Grid and people in the energy industry are going to be having a busy winter and I don't envy them, already stressful for the people we know.

Last winter we were trying to be more environmentally friendly by using heating sparingly, even though we work from home. Big duvet on the sofa, we already had thermals and jumpers but they're a good investment,

Years ago we house shared with someone who wouldn't let us turn the heating off at night and I get sweaty just remembering how horrible it was.

Blackouts are hugely unlikely. There are systems in place and the Grid don't just let them happen, power stations can't just be 'turned back on', it can take weeks to do that so it's definitely avoided.

So do we think it's sensible to move to a fixed even though more expensive or stay with a variable which is subject to the price cap?

@tiddlysquat Having just watched the news I still don't really have an idea

Buckle up, it’s going to be quite a ride for the next decade or so.
Food prices up, energy prices up, all raw materials prices up, housing up, rent up, employment down, wages flat, increased social fracturing and disharmony, increased taxes, reduced freedoms.

I don't understand how house prices will keep rising against this backdrop?

I've just checked my tariff/projected costs with EDF and a fixed tariff will cost me over £70 more per month for electricity alone. There is no point in that. I'm better off on the capped like an earlier poster said.

"Mid-level suppliers will be placed into administration if they fall into trouble this winter in an attempt to protect consumers from costlier bills, he revealed on Sunday, after spending a frantic weekend thrashing out contingencies for Britain’s looming gas crisis.

Kwarteng said small firms would be allowed to go bankrupt, with their customers auctioned off to the company prepared to offer them the cheapest rate.

It is hoped the meeting will contain the fallout caused by the rise in market prices, which led to a frantic weekend of meetings and phone calls, culminating in the minister drawing up plans to deal with future insolvencies among the 60-plus gas suppliers"

This is what the guardian is reporting this morning. What happens to credit balances if firms go bankrupt? Is the money still protected via Ofgem?

@tiddlysquat

So do we think it's sensible to move to a fixed even though more expensive or stay with a variable which is subject to the price cap?

If you fix, you start paying higher prices straight away, but you have certainty for a year or two.

If you choose the cheaper variable, you'll pay less in the short term, but prices could rise above the cap, but then again they could fall after winter or for any other reason, the current peak could simply be a blip, who knows?

The price cap is currently about £1277 pa for the typical annual use, and the same amount of usage would cost around £1500 or so on the cheapest fix, so prices would have to increase significantly for you to be worse off by choosing the standard variable rate.

Fixes generally have a level of caution built into them and are rarely cheaper over the long term, same for mortgages. We've never fixed our mortgage and it's been cheaper to be on a tracker rate for all but about 6 months in the last 25 years.

This is what the guardian is reporting this morning. What happens to credit balances if firms go bankrupt? Is the money still protected via Ofgem

It's protected by somebody, possibly OFGEM. I think all the suppliers pay a levy that would be used to offset credit balances if a supplier goes bust.

So if you're with small supplier X with a credit balance of £200 and they're one of the ones who fails this week, you'll be transferred to one of the big six and will still have the £200 credit on your account when you join them.

Do those electric throw things really only cost pennies to run? Seriously considering getting some!

Thanks @BarbaraofSeville. I must stop reading about this, it is making me a bit anxious!

It is hoped the meeting will contain the fallout caused by the rise in market prices, which led to a frantic weekend of meetings and phone calls, culminating in the minister drawing up plans to deal with future insolvencies among the 60-plus gas suppliers

It could be that the competition in the energy market hasn't worked and they want to quietly reduce it. After all, in the past, anybody could start an energy company and many of the smaller ones will have been literally one person, or a small team, with a laptop and a phone, and contacts in the energy supply and futures market.

Maybe someone who's worked in the industry and gone it alone, or someone in wider energy procurement - very high users in industry have in house negotiators to buy their energy.

Instead of just taking a supply from British Gas or whoever at a standard price, they'd work with the suppliers to agree a price for a certain amount of energy over a certain amount of time. One of my industrial clients once told me that a large part of how profitable their business was how good a price they got for their electricity, because they used a huge amount of it.

@Claudethecat

Do those electric throw things really only cost pennies to run? Seriously considering getting some!

I don't know about those, but last winter I got a Kuddly, which is a giant thick furry hoodie, similar to an Oodie, to wear while WFH to avoid putting the heating on during the daytime. It was very warm and worked well as far as I can recall.