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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be really really worried about energy prices

141 replies

Letshaveablackcelebration · 26/12/2021 05:01

Sorry, this isn’t very Christmassy but it’s been in the news a lot the last few days. I don’t think I had really grasped until the last week how serious the energy price hike is going to potentially be. At the moment we are on some super saver deal with Scottish power that I got through Martin Lewis so we pay around £100 all in for gas and electric. the cheapest I have found so far in comparison is £240 - it’s really horrific and partly because there are very few deals about.

Aibu to be really very concerned about the coming price rises- and the Inflationary pressures that will go with it. It’s a proper shitstorm and likely to bring 50% rises in bills.

OP posts:
earsup · 26/12/2021 15:45

Our price fix ends in 2023 august, managed to do a long term fix before prices went up....we only get a little gas from russia so thats not the issue, its other countries willing to pay more so they get it first and push prices up....we are fitting solar panels in a few years and already insulate and have curtains...not much more we can do...use the wood burner in lounge more often now as it heats the hallway etc too...
as mentioned, industrial prices also gone up....my hairdressers has put up prices and the sun beds also gone up !!...it will impact costs all over.....i get so tired or reading the constant tips about how to save and reduce bills....we have had those tips for years....there is nothing left to do other than just turn it off and freeze !!

Obsidiansphere · 26/12/2021 15:48

Yanbu, we moved last month to a smaller property and it’s double what it was in the previous property.

Claudethecat · 26/12/2021 15:59

It is scary. I fixed for 2 years before prices went mad, but I am with s small supplier so they could go bust any time.

The price cap won't increase until April so at least we can all get through winter first.

Claudethecat · 26/12/2021 16:02

Landof do you like lentils? If so there are loads of tasty meals you can make with them and they are cheap. I was v poor for a while and lentils were a bit of a godsend!

FanGirlX · 26/12/2021 16:03

Use NHS and roads are free at source for everyone

They are free at the point of service but paid for by taxes. Some people don't contribute, so others pay for them.

Do you understand what a net contributor is? A single, childless person earning 30k or above is a net contributor, this means they are paying for the services they use plus a proportion of the services others use. A family of 2 parents and 2 children would have to have a family income of 80k plus to be a net contributing family. This is something that isn't widely understood on mumsnet, I've seen posters claiming that they are paying for the services others use because they pay a small amount of tax and NI on the minimum wage, while claiming child related top up benefits - these posters aren't even paying for the services they consume, never mind anyone else.

Smokeahontas · 26/12/2021 16:05

There’s a fantastic thread in Classics -

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mumsnet_classics/1911061-NO-MORE-COLD-MUMSNETTERS?pg=1

I’m currently with a dodgy boiler until next month. Quite a few of the tips on here have been great - especially bubble wrap on windows.

Bedsheets4knickers · 26/12/2021 16:06

It's horrendous my solution is to do 3 extra shifts a month so cover it, certainly not ideal but I'm glad I've got that option . Everything just feels so hopeless doesn't it .

milly74 · 26/12/2021 16:12

Yes its a worry. £90 per month I pay atm (gas and electric) level pegging on electric, £50 in credit on gas but not sure how long that will last for. New build house so energy efficient but its a worry

milly74 · 26/12/2021 16:13

Also incoming is the additional healthcare tax (LOL!!!( and rise in NI (double LOL!) given the NHS is a Covid NHS atm and largely closed

nannybeach · 26/12/2021 16:32

Ivycat44,lucky,I have a pension pot,it's actually meant to last me my lifetime,I have no savings,my DH is 64 forced to give up work last year,after damaging his arm in a fall 3 years ago,he's not pension age. We don't have holidays,we go out once a month,I drive a 13 year old diesel
We downsized 10 years ago,to a 2 bed 1960s bungalow,and he put in central heating gradually over the last few years as we could afford it. Our fuel has gone up £330 this year. My pension hasn't. We had a 25 year old boiler,and condemned gas fire when we moved here. I spent 40 years working for the NHS

Landof · 26/12/2021 16:49

@Claudethecat

Landof do you like lentils? If so there are loads of tasty meals you can make with them and they are cheap. I was v poor for a while and lentils were a bit of a godsend!
Good idea, thank you! I do love lentils. I'm with family over Xmas and New year but planning a big aldi shop when i get back and will fill the cupboards up with cheap tins / pasta / rice etc... and will meal plan for the month (maybe 4 meals a week) and try to only buy milk and bread weekly.
HopefulProcrastinator · 26/12/2021 18:26

The tricky bit is that energy suppliers only actually have control of 5% of your bill. The rest is dictated by taxes, environmental levies and distribution costs. They have marginal control over the price of wholesale energy via negotiation but hedging strategies are getting more and more expensive (although the companies with good ones are the ones still trading).

It's easy to say "Let's cut the tax and environmental levies" but that just increases the tax burden elsewhere, ultimately still costing us either money or essential services.

This problem is not going away, in fact it'll get worse when the government ban the burning of solid fuel at home (log burners, coal fires etc).

Whilst the fuel poor in Britain freeze, super polluting countries have no intention of reducing their environmental impact and burn fossil fuel with impunity.

wastingtimeagain · 26/12/2021 18:30

Really worried too.

5keletor · 26/12/2021 18:34

It doesn't worry me personally as our bills would have to increase much more than this to have an effect, but it isn't right. It's ridiculous that so many people are worried about being able to afford to heat their homes in this day and age, I don't know what the solution is but it really shouldn't be a problem so many are having to face. Everything is getting more and more expensive, it doesn't seem tenable.

OddBoots · 26/12/2021 18:49

I do wonder with cost of living going up so much if more people will join unions to put pressure on for pay rises that keep up.

stingofthebutterfly · 26/12/2021 18:52

Both our suppliers went bust so we've been thrown onto whoever Ofgem deemed worthy. Whilst our gas dd went up by £8 a month, our electric has stayed the same, meaning we pay around £200 a month on the variable tariff.

I looked at a fix for curiosity's sake. £450 a month...

mogsrus · 26/12/2021 19:17

Pay rises will never keep up

FanGirlX · 26/12/2021 19:33

@OddBoots

I do wonder with cost of living going up so much if more people will join unions to put pressure on for pay rises that keep up.
A lot of industries don't recognise unions and haven't for about 40 years.
pastypirate · 26/12/2021 19:34

@milly74

Yes its a worry. £90 per month I pay atm (gas and electric) level pegging on electric, £50 in credit on gas but not sure how long that will last for. New build house so energy efficient but its a worry
This is me too but I'm much more in credit. Watching closely for clues how much my bill will rise.
Kshhuxnxk · 26/12/2021 19:54

Bloody terrified - mine has more than doubled and i only work 4 days and DP lost his job in covid. One of the reasons I refuse to wfh. If I'm at work someone else is paying for the heating!

Noimaginationforaun · 26/12/2021 19:56

YANBU. Our fixed price ended in November. We went from paying £100 a month to £190. Such a massive jump for us and with pay freezes we are now worse off. Feels shit.

Iamanicepersonreally · 26/12/2021 20:06

Does anyone know what the energy price cap is in terms of pence per kWh for electricity? All I can see is a cost per year, which is obviously just an average and not helpful. I'm on Economy 7 so trying to utilise it as much as possible but my bills are horrendous

dementedpixie · 26/12/2021 20:18

Apparently it can vary depending on where you live. I can show you what mine is going to be for a rough idea

To be really really worried about energy prices
JassyRadlett · 26/12/2021 20:51

@YourenutsmiLord

Here in Scotland foreign firms are building huge windfarm after windfarm all funded by extra costs added onto your bills. But hey lets go green - let the punters pay whilst destroying the beautiful countryside, it's what everyone wants right?
Given the coming every price increase driven by extraordinary global wholesale gas prices, and is made more severe by our over-reliance on gas for not only heat but electricity production, renewables are looking incredibly cost effective in comparison.

I thought new onshore wind in Scotland coming online now and in the future is mostly or all subsidy-free now anyway? So no addition to bills through CfDs.

We do some extra base load too - whether nuclear or battery. The latter is the future but the tech isn’t quite there yet and still v expensive.

Either way, relying on a global commodity that can be so massively affected by external events isn’t feeling like a good bet, even if the climate impacts weren’t awful.

ivykaty44 · 26/12/2021 21:01

FanGirlX And your point is? I did say free at source/point of use, as that implies that it’s not actually free but paid for through taxes.

nannybeach Well if you’re in fuel poverty why you’re against an organisation that want you to be lifted out of fuel poverty is beyond me - doesn’t make sense to me. They are protesting for you not to be cold in your old age and choose between food and fuel