Energy bill price cap predicted to go to £3850 - 3 x what it was a year ago

[cakeorwine]

There is an AIBU here - but really it's posting for traffic

Russia is having 'maintainance issues' so has reduced the gas flow to Europe to a low level.

Gas prices have soared again.

Price cap prediction - £3850 - about 3 x what it was a year ago.

This is going to affect all of us

www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jul/27/uk-energy-bills-forecast-to-hit-3850-pounds-russia-cuts-gas-supply-further-europe-pipeline

@amijustparanoidorjuststoned I must admit I sometimes wonder what the Conservatives and conservative-supporting press would have made of a JC government paying £bns on COVID furlough and grants and on the cost of living payments already made.

Am surprised Sunak hasn't had more criticism in the leadership debates about the furlough and grant payment fraud nor for the 1.4m? self-employed who received no support. Together with the silence on his Green Card commitment to locate to USA and become a US citizen while an MP for 6 years and Chancellor for one, it seems at least some of the powers that be has his back.

Just in Twitter feed. Martin Lewis energy news 😟

If you look at worlds largest offshore wind farms

The UK had some of the biggest and lots of them with more to come

You can not say this resource has not been noticed by the government and is being used,

With more to come

They are also making more nuclear power plants

Gas 9.71 (standing charge 26.1)
Electric 36.21 (standing charge 25.08)
Octopus fixed until March

Mine was already installed when I bought the house. I wouldn't have bought one. However, it will be handy if there is energy rationing.

Electricity - 19.12p per kWh (17.9p daily charge)
Gas - 4.26p per kWh (17.1p daily charge)

We fixed last year until March 2024 and I'm thanking my lucky stars we did.

Nobody is sitting around in shorts an t-shirt at 20 degrees. That isn't hot, it's normal room temperature. My thermostat is set at 21 degrees in winter and that's with a jumper on and a layer underneath.

It is warm though and you don't need a jumper at that temperature.

We will be using our log burner more it can heat the majority of the house if we keep the doors open. We can only store 1 5 te of wood at a time though but have already pre ordered wood. We live in a part of the country which has power cuts with weather so a burner is essential for winter.
We are on a fix rate til June 2023 I'm very thankful I sat and did the maths in Feb but we will struggle once that ends so want to keep usage low. We have already cut out electricity usage in half from last year!

Gas: Octopus Tracker (changes daily based on wholesale prices, but capped by them). I was lucky enough to jump onto it when the cap was 6p/kWh and SC 15.01p - if you apply now it’s capped at 16p/kWh and 27.2p SC.Today’s rate for my region is over 14p, but I’m paying 6p.

Electricity: I have been on Octopus Go - 5p from 00:30-04:30, 16.26p the rest of the time and 25p SC. This was fixed until November, but I’ve just asked to move onto the current rates, which are 7.5p in the cheap period, 40.9p the rest of the time and 51.36p SC.

It will double my monthly bill, but fixes rates for another 12 months. And having seen the build up of price pressure over the last few weeks, accelerating over the past few days, I think it’s highly likely rates will rise further before November. Hence my decision to pay more now in return for knowing where I stand for the next year.

I have an EV, plus solar panels and a battery. 80% of my import is at the cheap rate, so although 40.9p/kWh is horrendous, I don’t use that much at that rate. A further increase on the cheap rate would hit me proportionately harder.

Not if you're walking around, doing housework etc, but I often work from home and it's not warm to be sitting still.

Nobody is sitting around in shorts an t-shirt at 20 degrees

I am….

Horses for courses. Our thermostat is set to 18, and if feels a bit cool I’ll put a fleece on. But I’m mostly sat there in jeans and T shirt.

Very good call there.

In the 6 months leading up to your fix ending, it would be sensible to keep across what is happening in the market, so you have some idea what to expect. If (please God) prices do come down next year but then (please, no!) start rising again in early 2024, it might be worth you leaving your fix early to get onto one before they go up too much. Even if that means moving onto a higher fix.

Honestly, it’s so hard keeping abreast of the changes and reacting at the right time. But people who consistently do that are the ones who will pay less overall.

I agree. DS had a maths question for homework, would you be wearing a t-shirt or jumper at 20 degrees. Answer was t-shirt.

Meanwhile Centrica and Shell report massive profits and will be paying out large dividends to shareholders.

These price rises are ludicrous; even more so with the announcement of the billions in profits being made.

I’m disabled. I’m in debit with my energy company and it’s an uphill struggle as the prices just keep rising. I can’t fix as the debit means the fix being offered is near to £600 per month. Who the duck can afford that?

I’m getting very very worried about how things are going to look in January. It’s a disgrace.

Not if you're walking around, doing housework etc, but I often work from home and it's not warm to be sitting still.

It's still warm if you are doing nothing, you are too used to the temperature that's the problem.

In Germany

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/28/german-cities-impose-cold-showers-and-turn-off-fountains-in-face-of-russian-gas-crisis

Cities in Germany are switching off spotlights on public monuments, turning off fountains, and imposing cold showers on municipal swimming pools and sports halls, as the country races to reduce its energy consumption in the face of a looming Russian gas crisis.

Hanover in north-west Germany on Wednesday became the first large city to announce energy-saving measures, including turning off hot water in the showers and bathrooms of city-run buildings and leisure centres.

Municipal buildings in the Lower Saxony state capital will only be heated from 1 October to 31 March, at no more than 20C (68F) room temperature, and ban the use of mobile air conditioning units and fan heaters. Nurseries, schools, care homes and hospitals are to be exempt from the saving measures.

...................................................................................

Maybe we should in the UK start to look at what we should be doing?

It seems a sensible precaution.

I'm kinda glad we lived rurally for twenty years. We had a log burner and oil central heating but there's only so much you can do to a stone built property built in 1804. So sweaters and rugs it was. Our modern home seems so cosy we have five radiators in use in the winter none in the bedrooms.

Our neighbours lived in Germany for many years they're worried about friends there it's so much colder in the winter

Maybe someone knows more re Germany

How does it work are they reliant on Russian gas so more at the mercy of Putin and supply - or do they have other options?

We’ll have high prices due to increased market demand but will have supply

DS had a maths question for homework, would you be wearing a t-shirt or jumper at 20 degrees. Answer was t-shirt

How can that be a maths question?

Some people feel the cold more than others. If someone is sitting still they could well be cold enough to want to wear a jumper, I know I would.

I could also happily walk around the house or go for a walk and a t-shirt would be fine.

How can that be a maths question?
They learn about temperature in maths.

I know that, but maths tends to have definitive answers, which you cannot give to the question 'would you be wearing a t-shirt or jumper at 20 degrees'.

What are you doing?
20 degrees what? Fahrenheit, Kelvin, Celcius?
How much do you weigh and do you have any relevant health conditions?
Are you male or female?

All the above would be relevant to the question 'would you be wearing a t-shirt or jumper at 20 degrees'

I agree with you, it’s a strange maths question

At 20 degrees it could easily be different between people

It must have said Celsius, I wasn't copying it out from something in front of me. My 85 year old grandmother would be in a jumper, but I'd think it would be pretty clear cut for a KS1 child or their parent.