To think these energy price predictions are just scaremongering now

[Butterflyfluff]

The annual energy price predictions are literally going up by about £500 a day.

There’s absolutely no way most people can sustain £4/5/600 per month energy bills for any length of time.

I'm starting to think it’s all a ploy to just get people to reduce consumption - scare the shit out of people so they use less.

No need to be so rude. We're just having a discussion

My elderly mil was taking about moving downstairs to avoid needing her stairlift that costs an absolutely tiny amount , something like £10 a year in electricity.
She has a state pension and a small private pension and not on the breadline. I told her to switch gmb and Martin Lewis off!

People do need to know what devices in a house use a lot of energy and devices that don't use much energy, so they can make sensible choices.

Exactly. People are so defeatist in this country. Literally accept anything that is thrown at them

'Green Agenda' as in trying to mitigate climate change and provide some kind of future for the next generations?

@GreenLunchBox well I mean I’m not sure what else I’m meant to do ? Take a stand and not top up my meter so me and my dc can sit in the dark ??

I don’t have to be happy with it to accept there isn’t a whole lot I can do

however my point wasnt that I accept it happily it was that having done the maths I won’t be paying anywhere near 500 quid a month but I keep seeing that figure thrown about and i think there is an element of scaremongering by the media that will panic some of the most vulnerable

Oh my goodness - seeing people with their engines idling gives me the rage. The amount of parents that do it near our school at pick up time.

And the weather this week is going to be the hottest; coldest; dryest; wettest; windiest on record.

People used to watch the news once or twice a day. They had their favourite newspaper which, whilst criticising 'others', reassured them they were 'right thinking'.

I am not saying the situation is not dire as it clearly is - but every (supposed) news outlet now has to have the most 'clickbait' headlines (inc BBC and ITV). We remain one of the most affluent countries in the world and it is nobodies interest that we all starve or freeze (even the most strident Tories need the minions to meet their needs).

It's crap but we have got through crap before - we will (most of us) survive our allotted years - and it is unlikely to be as bad as some have predicted.

Martin Lewis was accused of scaremongering when he said what the new cap would likely be back in March. He's been proven right. It's not scaremongering it's just fact given the current level of energy prices.

Believe me, this government do not have the competency to achieve any kind of conspiracy.

I thought you'd be more comfortable if I addressed you in the way you're accustomed to. If you didn't mean to sound so ignorant you probably should have kept your mouth closed.

Not scaremongering, just reality. And you have the UK government to thank for that - yes, the war is affecting supply, but other European countries are not having anything like the rises that the UK is, because they didn't privatise all their utilities, and are not allowing ludicrously high energy caps.

It's honestly scary how wrong you've got this.

Having read reports from people who have no reason to over exaggerate how much higher bills will go I think it is highly likely that many of us will receive monthly bills of around £500. Whether or not we can actually afford to pay those bills is another matter entirely.

Ok, fair enough

Anyone using much over the price cap is obviously using too much unless they have a disability or illness that needs to use extra energy. These are people that are using their washing machines loads or have heating on a lot so could cut down

@GreenLunchBox sorry if I sounded a bit ranty . It’s a stressful situation all round isn’t it

I think it is reality, bills are going to go up massively and many will be left cold and hungry this winter. It's a huge worry.

Very worrying that people believe that this is what the price cap is. It is a misleading name. It's not the maximum. It's what the price per KW and standing charge will now cost you on average usage. I'm in a normal semi with 2 kids and use more than that, its not a lot. Not great that people don't even understand it but complain about how everyone goes on about it.

Same here. I snapped at you then realised we're all on the same side ☹️

as the calculation for the price cap is hardly a state secret (and if it was would probably have been left on a train seat or park bench by now) and with only one main variable forecasts are hardly going to be scaremongering.

BEIS publish loads of consumption date down to full postcode level so its not that difficult to get a feel for how the "average" sits in terms of distribution.

This graph is at neighbourhood / lower super output area level showing the median (not average) electricity usage in each LSOA. Cuts off those areas with median usage below 1500 kwh and those above 5000 kwh

There are some extremes but it pretty much shows at that level a 50:50 split between neighbourhoods where the median usage was below or up to the 2900 figure used by OFGEM and those above it.

45% within + or - 10% of the 2900 figure

62% + or - 15%

73% + or - 20%

82% + or - 25%

of the remainder 5.4% have a median usage of 2175kwh or lower, with just 39 out over 40,000 being below 1500kwh; and around 13% have a median usage over 3625 kwh. 570 neighbourhoods, or c.1.3% of the total, had a median usage of 5,000 kwh or more.

This is really interesting, thanks for sharing.

It's not an empty threat, if usage doesn't drop then prices will rocket. We may be facing rationing and loss of supply too.

I’m not entirely sure if there is “scaremongering” going on as much as “angermongering”. Martin Lewis has been using very passionate and dramatic language but I think that’s because he actually understands how badly these energy suppliers + OFGEM have failed and he is genuinely as angry as he is coming across. Not sure he has a hidden agenda.

I do fear as a nation we will all just shrug and say a combination of “oh well what can I do”, “mine was below £500 though” and “it’s Putins fault” and allow these companies to get away with their massive failures. Where surely an appropriate response would be collective outrage and use our power via Government to take ownership of the industry away from private businesses.

Can you expand on why you say the private companies and Ofgem have failed?

It is late as I’m waiting for Ds to get home from work, so maybe I missed it

That’s not to say there couldn’t be another set up but how have they failed

As the pp pointed out, what you are missing is your understanding and use of the word literal.

Because if that were the case re your original post, then I’m not sure there would be many people left posting on here.