Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Meanwhile....energy bills and the cost of living crisis

39 replies

cakeorwine · 09/09/2022 07:15

Announced yesterday - a freezing of the unit price of energy (for 2 years) for households and 4 months for businesses. Paid for by borrowing.

Unit price to be announced soon

4 months for business is not a long time. And the price of gas is not going down

There is also high inflation affecting fuel and food prices.

I hope the Queen's passing does not distract people from this real issue - which is only a few weeks away

OP posts:
carefullycourageous · 09/09/2022 07:17

Handing billions & billions of taxpayers' money to the energy companies is still making me Angry

carefullycourageous · 09/09/2022 07:18

The news is going to be focused on the Queen though, which is understandable, but reality never goes away for long. It sounds like party conferences may get cancelled so that Parliament closes for the mourning period but then reopens, otherwise it would have been closed until October which given all that is going on is just not do-able.

ClottedCreamAndStrawberries · 09/09/2022 07:23

carefullycourageous · 09/09/2022 07:17

Handing billions & billions of taxpayers' money to the energy companies is still making me Angry

This is the bit that’s making me so angry. It’s a huge smokescreen that is hiding the fact that we’re the ones actually paying for these freezes and lining the pockets of the energy companies. We’re just putting the problem off until another day. I’m a lifelong Tory supporter and have supported them even when others told me it was ridiculous but they won’t be getting my vote next time. The only trouble is, I don’t know who’s any better…

carefullycourageous · 09/09/2022 07:27

@ClottedCreamAndStrawberries Maybe it is time to stop voting for the worst. This incarnation of the Tories genuinely is the worst. They are going to ramp up the debt to support big business, they are killing the NHS and they are now going to restart fracking. They plan to stuff the Lords and gerrymander constituencies because they can't win fairly.

Just look for whoever might beat the Tories in your constituency and vote for them. We need the principles of our democratic system held up first and ALL the other parties are a much better bet on that score.

I don't fully understand how it, has happened to the Conservatives but they no longer conserve, they destroy.

FourTeaFallOut · 09/09/2022 07:33

Did they get around to say how it will be paid for, through general taxation or through higher energy bills over time? I'm sure they will have said but I shut the TV off mid-speech in frustration with all the braying and expecting to see the detail later on the evening news.

Original poster
cakeorwine · 09/09/2022 07:36

If businesses are only getting 4 months support, then the cost of energy is really going to hit them. Some of the bills they are posting are eye watering

OP posts:
Person18885 · 09/09/2022 07:37

Lets not forget an ex wife of a BP exec donated 100 thousand to the new PM's leadership campaign

SpinCityBlues · 09/09/2022 07:38

carefullycourageous · 09/09/2022 07:17

Handing billions & billions of taxpayers' money to the energy companies is still making me Angry

Same here. It’s worse than the PPE / covid contracts.

carefullycourageous · 09/09/2022 07:41

FourTeaFallOut · 09/09/2022 07:33

Did they get around to say how it will be paid for, through general taxation or through higher energy bills over time? I'm sure they will have said but I shut the TV off mid-speech in frustration with all the braying and expecting to see the detail later on the evening news.

I think they have not yet said Hmm

Truss's mates at Shell (she used to work there) and BP (as a PP said donations are coming in) are definitely not paying though Angry

starpatch · 09/09/2022 07:43

I agree I am sad about the Queen but her passing should not stifle debate about the energy plan. This is eye watering sums of money the country is about to borrow and I don't think we will recover from this, meaning the younger generation will suffer. I am worried we won't have money for the investment we need in insulating homes, renewables. It seems crazy we are going heavily into debt and will be causing more climate change in the process. Plus it won't work as there is a world shortage of gas, we should be working with our countries to share available supply and limit price rises, this plan is a recipe for blackouts. I think we should have had another windfall tax and the help should have been more targetted, although I admit even middle income households are hit hard by this.

FourTeaFallOut · 09/09/2022 07:43

It's a tough balance to crack. Some people wouldn't be happy unless Truss walked into their homes and wiped their arse for them personally, meanwhile others would happily watch the poor freeze to ice just to maintain the free market spirit. Dizzyingly, these extremes seem to hail from both sides of the commons.

Original poster
cakeorwine · 09/09/2022 07:46

People won't be encouraged to reduce their use of gas - which is a problem when there is a limited supply of gas.

At least we haven't got headlines about Liz saves the energy crisis. Fuel bills to be capped at £2500.

So people won't get confused by this

OP posts:
Bubblebubblebah · 09/09/2022 07:47

cakeorwine · 09/09/2022 07:36

If businesses are only getting 4 months support, then the cost of energy is really going to hit them. Some of the bills they are posting are eye watering

It is not "going to " hit them. It IS hitting them. SMEs who are majority employers in UK are having to pay thousands in deposits when changing suppliers now and the quotes are ludicrous. From 20k to 90k easy.
As I said on another thread. We will end up with maccies and wetherspoons only

dudsville · 09/09/2022 09:00

In addition to the fuel crisis, that we will fund while the owners get loads of cash, we're also about the pay for the most expensive funeral ever and followed by a do for Charles. It makes me angry.

Mumoblue · 09/09/2022 09:02

No windfall tax, just more borrowing. And some people say they vote Tory for economic reasons. Fuck me sideways.

ancientgran · 09/09/2022 09:08

cakeorwine · 09/09/2022 07:46

People won't be encouraged to reduce their use of gas - which is a problem when there is a limited supply of gas.

At least we haven't got headlines about Liz saves the energy crisis. Fuel bills to be capped at £2500.

So people won't get confused by this

Madness isn't it. I think there should be two prices, you get a certain basic amount of gas/electricity at a low price and then for anything above that you pay more. People won't have to go without power but will still try to cut back.

justaladyLOL · 09/09/2022 09:11

Really??
Another thread about the same thing?
The world has changed
We have it easy for many years
Now it is going to be hard for ever

justaladyLOL · 09/09/2022 09:11

"And some people say they vote Tory for economic reasons."
As a business owner I would never ever trust Labour with business.

Mybeautifulfriend22 · 09/09/2022 09:14

The Tory party came in twelve years ago saying labour had borrowed too much and we had to stomach Austerity. It’s been twelve years and we are in a state.

Im actually furious that there’s no windfall tax on the high profits that are occurs g through which would help pay for this. But many of the government party have their dirty fingers in so many lies that they can’t hurt their business interests now can they?

Mybeautifulfriend22 · 09/09/2022 09:16

justaladyLOL · 09/09/2022 09:11

Really??
Another thread about the same thing?
The world has changed
We have it easy for many years
Now it is going to be hard for ever

yes our monarch has died but so will normal people because of the cost of living crisis. It doesn’t go away for the mourning period. People are very worried. Even with the government help we still have high fuel, high foods, low wages not rising anywhere near inflation, mortgage rates rising and so on.

it’s a huge talking point. You can see what it is from the title so you can just scroll on….

PeekAtYou · 09/09/2022 09:17

Please be careful with your wording OP.

Fuel bills aren't being capped at £2500. The average bill will be about £2500. Some households will pay more and some will pay less. There are people online who believe that they can use unlimited energy for £2500pa which isn't the case.

Businesses are getting 6 months support. Is this because Liz is going to see what the January figures are and reassess?

Flockbee · 09/09/2022 09:20

Allegedly they have renegotiated a lot of the agreements so its not just propping them up, but to be honest it's not the suppliers that have driven prices up its the producers. They are businesses and will go where the money is, if we won't pay above £x they will sell in a country that will. There's also the long game to consider, windfall tax has implications beyond the here and now but I'm sure it has been considered. Its not ideal to have so much debt but as we rely on companies to provide utilities they aren't doing it out of the kindness of their hearts and supply and demand means they can line their coffers; a government can't intervene too much in that (people usually moan about government interference with things so presumably this is a good thing).

Flockbee · 09/09/2022 09:21

PeekAtYou · 09/09/2022 09:17

Please be careful with your wording OP.

Fuel bills aren't being capped at £2500. The average bill will be about £2500. Some households will pay more and some will pay less. There are people online who believe that they can use unlimited energy for £2500pa which isn't the case.

Businesses are getting 6 months support. Is this because Liz is going to see what the January figures are and reassess?

Ironically it's because fuel has been cheap to now considering that many people haven't had to consider their usage or understand their bills.

Alexandra2001 · 09/09/2022 09:23

FourTeaFallOut · 09/09/2022 07:43

It's a tough balance to crack. Some people wouldn't be happy unless Truss walked into their homes and wiped their arse for them personally, meanwhile others would happily watch the poor freeze to ice just to maintain the free market spirit. Dizzyingly, these extremes seem to hail from both sides of the commons.

Not really seen that from either side tbh, all Tories see the need for help & no one from Labour is saying freeze prices at last years cap for 5 years.

As for a "tough nut to crack" why isn't the support targeted? i'm sure many of us know folk who are extremely well off and fair play to them but in a national crisis, why should tax payers money be used to help people who don't need it? yet at the same time, the less well off, even with this price cap freeze, will see avg bills double from just a few months ago, they could barely afford the previous cap.

Then there is the little fact that in 18 months time, we will be in exactly the same position.

Truss wont be able to change global commodity prices.

Bubblebubblebah · 09/09/2022 09:25

Just an FYI there is a cost of living topic here with some good threads on so the fact AIBU isn't full of it at this point is because there is a designated space not that people forget about it. Most can concentrate on two things at once