Surely they can’t expect us to pay 240 per month for power!

[Ellie198712]

Just read Martin Lewis’s latest email and it’s predicting average bills of £2900 per year!! Surely the government will need to step in and subsidise this cost. Our current bill is about 100 per month, and this just seems untenable for the vast majority

@Luxplus no. Each house has its own boiler- usually powered by gas. Those of us not on mains gas have oil or LPG delivered in a lorry into a tank in the garden.

Or electric heaters
Or a heat pump. (Usually air source, but sometimes ground source)

Then each house has its own central heating system pumping hot (usually water, sometimes air) round the radiators, or underfloor heating.

There are some houses which have wood burners (stand alone) or wood burners with a back boiler that heats hot water and radiators. And some houses have wood pellet boilers but they are rare.

@Blossomtoes I have no idea what source you have linked too but it only goes up to 1900. That's not 70 years ago 😆

[quote lorking]@Blossomtoes I have no idea what source you have linked too but it only goes up to 1900. That's not 70 years ago 😆[/quote]
No, it’s 122! Maths not your strong point?

But my question was referring to 70 years ago? I didn't ask about Victorian times.

comprehension not your strong point? 😆

I mean you made the below statement, which is what I questioned.

Boomers were the last properly educated generation.

I take it you're not a fine example!

@lorking

But my question was referring to 70 years ago? I didn't ask about Victorian times.

comprehension not your strong point? 😆

I mean you made the below statement, which is what I questioned.

Boomers were the last properly educated generation.

I take it you're not a fine example!

Let me explain. If almost 100% of the population was literate in 1900 and 99% of it was literate in 2006, it seems to indicate consistency across more than a century.

You asked Do you think it's been at 99% for the past 70 years?. Yes, I do, so would most people whose minds work in a logical fashion. It seems highly unlikely that literacy levels would suddenly take a nose dive in the 1950s.

I won’t embarrass you by detailing either of my degrees but, yes, I am pretty well educated.

Again boomer,

Do not post about things you clearly do not understand.

The definition of "literacy" in 1900 was very, very different vs 2000+

Seriously. Just stop this charade.

Its just sad at this point.

Oh look, the rude and arrogant actuary is back. Literacy has always meant ability to read and write. It’s not some kind of mutable and transient concept which changes in a century.

You’re right @BambinaJAS, it’s very sad indeed that you’re so desperate to win points that no amount of bollocks is too great for you to post.

Sorry @Handsoffreturns but I’m not prepared to sit back and let idiots insult me.

Is there going to be a new thread for ways to help save energy? It would be helpful for lots of us.

We already pay 229 per month duel fuel...we're suddenly 1k in debt (we were always about right previously) and British Gas are suggesting our dd is increased to almost £600 a month... Jesus....

handsoff I like the pork one! one of my favourites is “I can only explain it to you, I can’t understand it for you”.

@Ceci03

I don't understand - forgive me if I am thick - but with Shell and others announcing BILLIONS AND BILLIONS in profit - why can't they be allowed to absorb the price rise?????

This is what I don't understand. Whilst shareholders could get a profit, they don't need to get billions when other people can't afford to heat their houses. Given the state of insulation on many houses much of what people are paying for is going to be leaking out anyway, although that's a whole other issue. It's utterly despicable that these sorts of rises are permitted.

Making all those profits, yet we have to pay more and the govt get 5 percent vat and the shareholders rake it in too :(
It is just so unfair , but we all have to just put up with it !
Makes my blood boil that there isn't anything we can do either, it's disgusting

Thanks for the explanation. Just sounds like really high sky prices compared to us.

Should we all have smart meters now to help monitor usage? I never bothered getting one but now wondering if I should try and get one put in.

@Porcupineintherough

Electric cars start at c £16,000 for brand new bottom of the range, with some second hand available and others available on HP schemes. Lots of people spend more than this on petrol vehicles (though not me personally) and theres no eye rolls about those being on the market or being a valid choice someone might make.

I've never spent more than £7k on a car, ant that was significantly my most expensive.

Here is the thing I don’t get about so closed cost effective electric vehicles.. if petrol is expensive then so is electric? It’s going to cost a fortune to charge these vehicles surely?

[quote SquirrelG]@SamphiretheStickerist - loving your sensible posts.

Honestly, some of you on this thread don't have a clue. According to you, no older person has ever known poverty or hard times. As I said, you haven't a clue!!!

I don't live in the UK, but in another similar country, where people hurl the same accusations at boomers. I'm old enough to remember how some people have suffered financially due to various reasons, mostly out of their control, and certainly don't begrudge them any comforts they might have when they are older - and I don't remember them blaming previous generations for every ill in their lives!

Those who say why should we have to return to the days of the 70s, when people had to cope with cold weather without the benefits you enjoy today - that was how boomers lived, they had no choice. But according to some of you they have lived charmed lives with not a worry in sight. Sheer ignorance.[/quote]
Exactly.......they are contradicting themselves.

@Clarabe1

Here is the thing I don’t get about so closed cost effective electric vehicles.. if petrol is expensive then so is electric? It’s going to cost a fortune to charge these vehicles surely?

It’s all relative.

Let’s say a reasonably economical petrol car will do 50mpg. How much is petrol now - £1.50/l? For every 100 miles you drive, you need two gallons of fuel, which is 9.1 litres and will cost you £13.65.

A reasonably economical electric car does 4 miles per kWh, so to drive 100 miles, you need 25kWh of electricity. How much this costs varies greatly depending where you get it.

Public rapid chargers vary from 30-50p/kWh, so your 100 miles will cost between £7.50 and £12.50.

At home on the energy price cap of 21p/kWh, it will cost £5.25, rising to £7 next month.

But the smart thing to do is get on Octopus Go and charge during the cheap 4 hours overnight at 7.5p. So your 100 miles costs you £1.88. Or if you signed up before the price rise in January, it is only £1.25. Or if you charge at Tescos while shopping, or have solar panels, at least some of your charging is completely free.

All of those options are cheaper than petrol.

@Lovinglavidaloca

Should we all have smart meters now to help monitor usage? I never bothered getting one but now wondering if I should try and get one put in.

Wouldn't make a difference to my usage. I already know what uses a lot and what doesn't and I've been tracking it weekly on my meters.

It's really worrying me. It's not a nice time to be alive.