Energy price rises and price cap discussion.

[joebassman]

Dig a big hole and put it in the hole.

Is there not a risk of the waste contaminating the surrounding soil?

Have there been many studies on the long term effects both on this from radiation leakage?

What about the risk of leakage when transporting the waste?

 

[HSTEd]

Is there not a risk of the waste contaminating the surrounding soil?

There isn't much surrounding soil at 400m+ depth!

Have there been many studies on the long term effects both on this from radiation leakage?

The normal procedure for Geological Disposal analysis is to consider all engineered barriers in the repository to fail instantly at repository closure - they take no credit for them at all.
Despite this the biosphere doses from the repository are extremely small, at least for many millenia, indeed the vast majority of the activity in the repository never makes it out because it decays away before it can.

What about the risk of leakage when transporting the waste?

Leaks from transport canisters are extremely rare - indeed I'm not sure I can remember a significant incident in the UK ever, and we've been moving spent fuel and other waste around for nearly seven decades at this point.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

You just can't tut when a volcano erupts and blasts matter a matter of kilometers high into the atmosphere, a not altogether unheard of occurrence.

Is there not a risk of the waste contaminating the surrounding soil?

Have there been many studies on the long term effects both on this from radiation leakage?

What about the risk of leakage when transporting the waste?

There was a test carried out on a nuclear flask being in collision with a heavy rail locomotive some years ago and the flask was undamaged.

 

[joebassman]

You just can't tut when a volcano erupts and blasts matter a matter of kilometers high into the atmosphere, a not altogether unheard of occurrence.

True, but then that is a natural occurance and not man made. Or person made or whatever term one is supposed to use now days.

Though I suppose someone can tut if they like. Wouldn't do much good though. I wonder how many were tutting in Pompeli

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

4,200 GBP is mentioned as a possible fuel charge for a year, is that for an 'average' family with 1.5 children? I suspect that many households pay much less or much more than 'average'.

What might happen if millions of households seriously try to save and reduce consumption by 20%, 30% or more? Would the unit price go up? Or down?

 

[Howardh]

4,200 GBP is mentioned as a possible fuel charge for a year, is that for an 'average' family with 1.5 children? I suspect that many households pay much less or much more than 'average'.

What might happen if millions of households seriously try to save and reduce consumption by 20%, 30% or more? Would the unit price go up? Or down?

I'm puzzled why they use an "average" figure in pounds. They should give the cost per unit/kwh so you can adjust for your own use. Example, my gas used to cost something like 3p/kwh less than two years ago, now it's 7p and I'm expecting it to rise to 14p.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

True, but then that is a natural occurance and not man made. Or person made or whatever term one is supposed to use now days.

Though I suppose someone can tut if they like. Wouldn't do much good though. I wonder how many were tutting in Pompeli

Let us not fool ourselves into thinking that only human-made events are responsible for climate change.

It was only a mere 10,000 years ago that where I am at present was under a kilometre of ice cap.

 

[joebassman]

What about coal pollution mitigation or clean coal?

Could that be a viable option?

 

[JamesT]

4,200 GBP is mentioned as a possible fuel charge for a year, is that for an 'average' family with 1.5 children? I suspect that many households pay much less or much more than 'average'.

What might happen if millions of households seriously try to save and reduce consumption by 20%, 30% or more? Would the unit price go up? Or down?

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/price-cap-increase-ps693-april says

The £1,971 per year level of the cap is based on a household with typical consumption on a dual electricity and gas bill paying by direct debit.

I doubt they go into any details on the inhabitants of households, probably just take total consumption and divide by the number of households then multiply by the capped unit costs.
If consumption were to drop by that kind of amount, you would expect the unit price to fall as there would be less time when we're generating electricity from expensive gas having overshot the capacity of the cheaper generators. The standing charge might not change.

I'm puzzled why they use an "average" figure in pounds. They should give the cost per unit/kwh so you can adjust for your own use. Example, my gas used to cost something like 3p/kwh less than two years ago, now it's 7p and I'm expecting it to rise to 14p.

Because people can't do maths? Usage * 0.0.7 + 365 * 0.26 and a similar calculation for electricity. The rates also vary by region due to differing transmission costs, so people may be confused by an average unit rate/standing charge that doesn't match theirs. Whereas the headline illustrative number is sufficiently abstract that hopefully people aren't relying on that being what they'll be charged.

 

[najaB]

As far as Nuclear power stations, is there not the issue of what to do with the waste?

The average coal-fired power station will release more radiation into the environment over the course of its lifetime than a nuclear plant will. And the waste from nuclear plant will be concentrated in the form of (liquid/solid waste), rather than being released up the chimney.

 

[ainsworth74]

It was only a mere 10,000 years ago that where I am at present was under a kilometre of ice cap.

An in-person observation by yourself?

 

[Baxenden Bank]

4,200 GBP is mentioned as a possible fuel charge for a year, is that for an 'average' family with 1.5 children? I suspect that many households pay much less or much more than 'average'.

What might happen if millions of households seriously try to save and reduce consumption by 20%, 30% or more? Would the unit price go up? Or down?

I'm puzzled why they use an "average" figure in pounds. They should give the cost per unit/kwh so you can adjust for your own use. Example, my gas used to cost something like 3p/kwh less than two years ago, now it's 7p and I'm expecting it to rise to 14p.

They cannot give a pence per KwH or unit as it differs according to your region, tariff and payment method*. The price cap is published for all those variables but, to be honest, it would be beyond many people - see the attachments. I don't agree with the headline average figure but I accept that it is perhaps the best way of presenting it. OFGEM could however make it a little easier to find the detail on their website! Or at least admit that the information is actually available!

*14 regions, 3 tariffs (gas, electric, multi-rate electric), 3 payment methods (standard credit, other credit and prepayment).

PS ignore the yellow highlighting in the spreadsheet, that is merely my amendment so I can find information relevant to me!

 

[Trackman]

Just a thought 'worse case scenario' kind of thing:
If someone is vulnerable to the cold, needs medical equipment or have a new born baby or something can the utility companies cut them off or fit a pre-pay meter which would run out?
Just curious. Fortunately I don't know anyone who would face this predicament.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Just a thought 'worse case scenario' kind of thing:
If someone is vulnerable to the cold, needs medical equipment or have a new born baby or something can the utility companies cut them off or fit a pre-pay meter which would run out?
Just curious. Fortunately I don't know anyone who would face this predicament.

Hardly anyone actually gets cut off nowadays - there will be statistics and reports online. Instead they put you on a pre-payment meter. Then you cut yourself off instead.

Ofgem came to a decision and made modifications to supply licences back in 2020.

We want to see a retail market that works for all, delivering a quality customer service and meeting the specific needs of consumers, including those in vulnerable circumstances.
We have decided to introduce a package of new protections to improve outcomes for prepayment meter (PPM) customers who go off supply or ‘self-disconnect’ and those who deliberately limit or ‘self-ration’ their energy use, and for consumers who struggle to pay their energy bills.
This decision follows extensive stakeholder engagement over the past two years and our June 2020 statutory consultation. We have carefully considered and taken into account responses received to our statutory consultation.
We can confirm that we are introducing new requirements on suppliers to identify PPM customers who are self-disconnecting and to offer short-term support through emergency and friendly-hours credit as well as to offer additional support credit to PPM customers in vulnerable situations who have self-disconnected or self-rationed. We are also introducing enhanced requirements on suppliers to support all customers who are facing financial difficulties through the inclusion of updated Ability to Pay principles in the supply licence.
The changes will take effect on and from 15 December 2020. Alongside the decision document and modification notices, we have also published our final Impact Assessment.

Link to the quoted text and additional documentation: OFGEM self disconnection

In its call for evidence, Citizens Advice responded here with this short extract from the overview.

Our recent survey showed that in four years since the last one there has been relatively little progress on this issue with 16% of prepayment
customers still self-disconnecting at least once a year.
Within this we estimate that around 140,000 households are going without energy because they cannot afford to top-up their prepayment meter (PPM).
When we looked who was in this group, the one facing the biggest barriers to staying on supply, we found that 88% of these households contained a child or
someone with a long term health condition, with 50% reporting mental health issues.

Later it states:

The survey we conducted last winter found that forgetfulness - not realising the meter was running low - was the most common reason for running out of credit.
58% of those who had self-disconnected cited this as a reason for at least one occasion of disconnection. 56% of people who self-disconnected cited an operational reason such as not being able to get to the shop or equipment being faulty. 21% disconnected for an affordability reason, such as benefits being stopped or waiting for payday.

 

[GusB]

Just a thought 'worse case scenario' kind of thing:
If someone is vulnerable to the cold, needs medical equipment or have a new born baby or something can the utility companies cut them off or fit a pre-pay meter which would run out?
Just curious. Fortunately I don't know anyone who would face this predicament.

Energy companies are obliged to ask if there are is anyone in a household who would be classed as vulnerable and provide information about the Priority Services Register. Consent should be obtained before forwarding any information on to the network operator(s). In practice it's not that simple, especially if someone doesn't feel that they're vulnerable.

Get help from your supplier - Priority Services Register

Contact your energy supplier to register for free extra help and support with your gas and electricity supply.

www.ofgem.gov.uk

You are eligible if you:

• have reached your state pension age
• are disabled or have a long-term medical condition
• are recovering from an injury
• have a hearing or sight condition
• have a mental health condition
• are pregnant or have young children
• have extra communication needs (such as if you don’t speak or read English well).

You might still be able to register for other reasons if your situation isn’t listed. For example, if you need short-term support after a stay in hospital.

Regarding the fitment of prepayment metes:

Prepayment meters consumer guidance

Includes if you have a prepayment meter, switching suppliers and prepayment meters for repaying debt.

www.ofgem.gov.uk

Suppliers must offer a range of ways to pay back a debt. One option could be through a prepayment meter.

They can only fit a prepayment meter for debt:

if it is safe, practical and easy for you to use and get to
through a court warrant to cover ongoing energy use and debt repayments. A supplier can force-fit a prepayment meter by warrant only after they have taken all reasonable steps to agree payment with you. It should be a last resort to avoid disconnecting your supply.
Suppliers can’t force-fit a prepayment meter under warrant for people in very vulnerable situations if they don’t won’t one, or charge them for warrant costs on debts. Nor can they use warrants on people who would find the experience very traumatic.

From my experience of working in the industry, quite a few people end up with having prepay meters fitted because they're afraid or too embarrassed to discuss their situation and, having been in a similar situation some years ago, I can understand why people simply want to pretend that it will all go away when this is certainly not the right course of action.

 

[High Dyke]

So, maybe it's time for a bit of a share out?

E.ON makes more than £3bn in profit in first six months - Energy Live News

The global energy group said EBITDA declined by £591 million

www.energylivenews.com

E.ON has announced it has made £3.47 billion in the first six months of the year.

Publishing the half-year results today, the energy supplier of almost six million UK households and many more around the world said the company performed “as anticipated” in the first half of 2022, despite the difficult environment.

The group’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were €4.1 billion (£3.47bn), nearly €700 million (£591m) below last year’s figure.

Mind you, I'm not a customer of theirs. Perhaps I should become a shareholder?

 

[davews]

I always thought a cap was meant to be a limit and most suppliers would charge something well below it so to encourage comptetion. Not it seems the 'cap' is what they will charge, almost exactly with most suppliers. Ofcom puts up the cap and the suppliers instantly increase their charges to it, irrespective of their profits.

Currently having a battle with SSE who totally messed moving me from their fixed rate to standard variable and my account is in some sort of limbo land suggesting I won't be getting a bill (and hence payment since I am on variable direct debit) until December. Trying to get any sense out of them is hitting my head against a brick wall, but hey I seem to be getting my power for free...

 

[Domh245]

I always thought a cap was meant to be a limit and most suppliers would charge something well below it so to encourage comptetion. Not it seems the 'cap' is what they will charge, almost exactly with most suppliers. Ofcom puts up the cap and the suppliers instantly increase their charges to it, irrespective of their profits.

In the before times that was the case, but currently when all domestic energy suppliers are selling energy at the cap and still making (/expecting to make) a loss, it's a "brave" decision to sell the energy even cheaper!

Profits are a bit of a red herring in that the business units actually selling to customers will almost all be in the red, group profits (such as the above reported E.ON, or Shell/BP, etc) are coming from either the extraction and refining process (which is super profitable at the moment) or other areas of the group, and whilst it would be lovely if companies did decide to subsidise the sale of energy to customers from other business areas, they've no incentive no and have no intention of doing it! Quoting from E.ON's press release

Customer Solutions‘ adjusted EBITDA declined by €90 million year-on-year to just over €1 billion, mainly because of significantly higher procurement costs in energy sales. As communicated at the start of the year, the massive increase in wholesale energy prices required E.ON to adjust its end-customer prices. In Germany, most of the price increases have already been successfully implemented or announced. However, they will not be fully reflected in earnings until the second half of 2022.

 

[duncanp]

On dear.

Now that COVID is no longer so much of an issue, the media are resorting to "energy price cap bingo", where each day there is another scaremongering report about how much the price cap could rise by in the future.

Here is a newspaper report article in The Sun saying that the price cap could go up to more than £5,000 in April next year, according to "experts".

I wonder if these are the same "experts" who predicted 500,000 COVID cases per day in January this year.

Well at least if the scaremongering reports of power cuts over the winter are true, we won't be able to run up a huge electricity bill. I shall just have to hope that the pub over the road from me doesn't have a power cut at the same time as I do.

Energy bills could hit £5,000 next year, experts warn

HOUSEHOLDS have been warned energy bills could top £5,000 next year, according to experts. Regulator Ofgem could be forced to set the energy price cap at £5,038 for the average household from next …

www.thesun.co.uk

HOUSEHOLDS have been warned energy bills could top £5,000 next year, according to experts.

Regulator Ofgem could be forced to set the energy price cap at £5,038 for the average household from next April, experts say.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/19477983/energy-bills-warning-higher-next-year/#
It is more than £2,500 higher than previous forecasts, which were already grim, and heaps extra pressure on households across Britain.

Auxilione, an energy consultancy, also predicted that bills would reach £4,467 in January - higher than current estimates.

It increased its estimate from last week that energy bills could reach £4,400.

Earlier this week, analysts at Cornwall Insight predicted the price cap will hit £4,200 in January.

As it stands, the nightmare scenario would mean that an average household will spend £571 on energy in the month of January alone.

 

[nlogax]

I wonder if these are the same "experts" who predicted 500,000 COVID cases per day in January this year.

Of course they're not. Completely different set of 'experts'

In all seriousness I don't doubt the cap going above £5k. We are in a mess, energy-wise. Already reading multiple reports of direct debits skyrocketing well ahead of October and there is zero downward pressure being applied on prices unless and until the government intervenes. I do not see these forecasts as scaremongering.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Of course they're not. Completely different set of 'experts'

In all seriousness I don't doubt the cap going above £5k. We are in a mess, energy-wise. Already reading multiple reports of direct debits skyrocketing well ahead of October and there is zero downward pressure being applied on prices unless and until the government intervenes. I do not see these forecasts as scaremongering.

The cap is pointless if not negative. Prices have to be able to float with the cost of buying the energy, and forcing a load of companies to collapse (taking away peoples' jobs) was not sensible. Commercially offered fixed deals offered certainty for those who wanted it for a viable period, by way of hedging purchase prices.

Caps on profit or taxation were always a better way to deal with the "profiteering" issue.

 

[TPO]

I find this bit rather baffling. I've been on "green" tariffs since I took over the electricity account here, yet I'm still subject to increases in prices in line with those of wholesale gas. The tariff I was on this time last year had me spending about £45 a month (it was a too-good-to-be-true offer, to be fair - they went bust) and I'm now paying £100 a month on a so-called 100% renewable tariff. The idea that I should be cut off because there's no current renewable supply is ridiculous, quite frankly.

It's very warm, sunny and breezy today - perhaps I should be getting my energy for free, going by the same logic?

No, I'm afraid not. To quote (the great, IMO) Dr Ben Goldacre, "I think you'll find it's more complicated than that." I will attempt to explain.

It's all about the National Grid.

Electricity cannot easily be stored in any quantity, and so in the main (99%+) it's generated as required. Overall, the National Grid constantly brings power sources on and off line as demand changes. Different sources have different flexibility- for example the Dinorwig Pumped Storage is used for "pick up" peaks, e.g. at the end of a popular TV show when everyone puts the kettle on at once, the Dinorwig station can go from zero generation to megawatts in seconds. That's unusual though, most generation sources have more lag between "required" and "ready to generate" so the Grid does a lot of prediction too- (to the point of watching for a TV show ending and powering up Dinorwig just as the music plays at the end of the show- I saw a TV documentary about it some years ago). Other small demand changes are also partly dealt with by varying the frequency up and down a bit.

OK, so once you realise that generation must = demand on a second by second basis (or the National Grid falls over i.e. mass power outage), you can see that you need to have enough capacity to maintain the demand on the grid when the wind doesn't blow.

For example, as I write this, on Gridwatch http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ we currently have the 33GW demand on the National Grid, of which 19% being met from solar, 3% from wind, 13.5% from nuclear, 7% from biomass and 48% from gas. We have nearly 1% from coal, are importing about 1% and the frequency has dropped a bit.

So you may be on a "green" tariff, but currently about half of your electricity is coming from fossil fuels. Overnight last night with little wind and no solar, that would have been a much higher proportion (assuming you are in a grid-connected residence).

You cannot buy what is not available, so on days/nights like last night with little/no renewable energy being generated, to keep your power on you need to have power from fossil fuels. Unless you'd prefer to only have electricity when the sun was shining/wind blowing? (If so, hopefully your fridge/freezer is well enough insulated to manage the gaps in supply).

Without you being fed by fossil fuels, your electricity would have been cut off last night. You pay for renewable electricity as it costs money to install, maintain, and supply; indeed the cost of your "green" electricity is also subsidised by the green levy (tax) charged on energy unit of electricity generated by fossil fuels.

The other thing to understand is that even with gas powered generation stations (which are relatively quick to fire up), they don't come on line instantly so some generators are held in "spinning reserve" basically powered up but not generating. Also, as there are times when neither solar nor wind happens, the fossil fuel generation system needs to have enough capacity to cope with the load of all those people that want green electricity from windmills but also want electricity when the wind isn't blowing. That's why if you want to reduce the fossil fuel generation capacity you need interruptible supplies, it's also why the remaining coal-fired generators have been given an extension.

Of course there is also importation of electricity, but at the moment a lot of French nuclear capacity is out of service for inspection, so we are exporting more electricity than importing that the moment.

The actual mechanism of selecting which additional supplies to bring on line to meet the power need is a market system, with a "strike price" i.e. minimum price per kilowatt. When there is extra demand, generators price bid to meet the demand. Where demand outstrips supply, more costly generators such as diesel-powered generators and even eyewateringly expensive supply from Belgium (as happened recently) is brought on line for a short time.

Underneath all this is the National Grid. Remember, the National Grid must constantly balance supply and demand or it falls over. When the grid falls over it's not easy to get back up, local area power supplies must all be stabilised with demand and then synchronised.

This is why the National Grid has what are effectively some big trip switches. If the supply-demand balance fails in an area it will be cut off from the rest of the grid to minimise the damage. This is what happened a year or few ago when there was a grid outage in the SE when simultaneously there was an interconnector failure and a big wind turbine station link failed.

There are also limitations on what geographically located sources can be used, as the transmission network has a limit on capacity. So in principal there might be loads of wind available in Scotland but if your transmission wires bringing power from there are already at capacity that doesn't help much. The National Grid is gradually improving the main links, but that takes time, is costly, and faces the usual planning challenges. This is quite an interesting map: https://openinframap.org/#5.96/52.439/0.159 showing the main grid with capacities of main power transmission lines.

So to answer your question in short- you face a price increase even though on a "green" tariff because in real life only part of your electricity comes from green sources. The exact ratios of renewable:non-renewable sources will vary on a constant basis, but without the fossil fuel input you'd be cut off when it was calm and dark as there would be no green electricity being generated for you to buy.


TPO

 

[MikeWM]

On dear.

Now that COVID is no longer so much of an issue, the media are resorting to "energy price cap bingo", where each day there is another scaremongering report about how much the price cap could rise by in the future.

I do think this is a rather more important issue than Covid ever was (and of course, to large degree, our reaction to the one is responsible for the other), and in this case clearly something does need to be done and fairly swiftly.

*But* I am finding the current rampant and ever-shriller hysteria in the media of 'WHY ISN'T THE GOVERNMENT DOING SOMETHING RIGHT THIS SECOND ABOUT IT?' to have unpleasant echoes of what happened time and again with Covid.

I want the Government to come up with the right response, not just doing something not well-thought through right now, just for the sake of doing something or other to placate an ever-more vocal media that demands immediate action. The reaction to Covid should have shown the massive dangers of doing that.

 

[DarloRich]

The Government don't care. This isn't an issue for them. They wont do anything substantive or sensible to help and Daily Mail and Sun readers of limited empathy and intelligence will cheer on as people just like them fail to heat thier homes. They will overlook they are perhaps 2 pay days ahead of those struggling.

 

[yorksrob]

Does anyone know whether the country extracts more gas from its territorial waters ?

My thought is that the cost of extracting and processing the stuff won't have changed much since last year - increases are entirely because we licence someone to extract it and flog it on an inflated international market.

Surely the answer would be to take control of the gas at the point it is extracted under emergency powers, pay the company an admin rate on cost of extraction, top slice anything required by the country and let the company flog off any excess on the market.

 

[ainsworth74]

*But* I am finding the current rampant and ever-shriller hysteria in the media of 'WHY ISN'T THE GOVERNMENT DOING SOMETHING RIGHT THIS SECOND ABOUT IT?' to have unpleasant echoes of what happened time and again with Covid.

I want the Government to come up with the right response, not just doing something not well-thought through right now, just for the sake of doing something or other to placate an ever-more vocal media that demands immediate action. The reaction to Covid should have shown the massive dangers of doing that.

I don't really want the Government to do anything right now but my concern is that there's very little sign that the Government are actually aware that there might be a problem coming down the tracks. Both Rishi and Liz seem to be suggesting fiddling around the edges and Boris has clearly checked out. Why waste time now doing nothing when the Government could be actively working on policies, discussing with relevant industries what mitigations could be brought in, etc etc. And yet it seems, to me, like none of this is happening.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I don't really want the Government to do anything right now but my concern is that there's very little sign that the Government are actually aware that there might be a problem coming down the tracks. Both Rishi and Liz seem to be suggesting fiddling around the edges and Boris has clearly checked out. Why waste time now doing nothing when the Government could be actively working on policies, discussing with relevant industries what mitigations could be brought in, etc etc. And yet it seems, to me, like none of this is happening.

I don't think there's much they can do short term bar another massive load of inflation by printing money and giving it to people. Though they could put the NI increase on hold for example. They could also make small tax related changes e.g. increasing the allowance to be out of tax completely for the low paid, paid for by bringing the higher rate to upper rate boundary down a bit.

But what they could do would be a mid-long term plan of funding massive insulation programmes and easing conservation area/listed building regs for work purely related to energy efficiency. Energy won't get cheaper, so we need to use less, and many houses (particularly Victorian terraces) waste it like there's no tomorrow (if they carry on, there won't be a tomorrow). Also include DIY work in the funding (e.g. if I go to Wickes for a roll of loft insulation it should be simply given to me free) as that saves money and makes it more likely to get done with a trades shortage. And force landlords to do it.

 

[ainsworth74]

I don't think there's much they can do short term bar another massive load of inflation by printing money and giving it to people. Though they could put the NI increase on hold for example. They could also make small tax related changes e.g. increasing the allowance to be out of tax completely for the low paid, paid for by bringing the higher rate to upper rate boundary down a bit.

But what they could do would be a mid-long term plan of funding massive insulation programmes and easing conservation area/listed building regs for work purely related to energy efficiency. Energy won't get cheaper, so we need to use less, and many houses (particularly Victorian terraces) waste it like there's no tomorrow (if they carry on, there won't be a tomorrow). Also include DIY work in the funding (e.g. if I go to Wickes for a roll of loft insulation it should be simply given to me free) as that saves money and makes it more likely to get done with a trades shortage. And force landlords to do it.

Yep quite apart from the short term "how do we get through this winter" which isn't seemingly being talked about to any great extent (whether or not there is anything to be done) you're quite right that equally the government doesn't appear to be interested in the mid/long term either! I didn't agree with Insulate Britain's tactics but they weren't wrong to highlight that we need to start insulating more houses now!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yep quite apart from the short term "how do we get through this winter" which isn't seemingly being talked about to any great extent (whether or not there is anything to be done) you're quite right that equally the government doesn't appear to be interested in the mid/long term either! I didn't agree with Insulate Britain's tactics but they weren't wrong to highlight that we need to start insulating more houses now!

Absolutely. The message was bang-on, just not the methods which were probably negative in turning people against the idea.

To start with, single glazing in a residential property needs to be illegal (unless double glazed secondary is in place, which makes it cosmetic only), and funding needs to be provided to replace it all (and landlords mandated to do it). Old sashes look lovely but they are an immense waste of energy, and London is full of them.

 

[JamesT]

Does anyone know whether the country extracts more gas from its territorial waters ?

My thought is that the cost of extracting and processing the stuff won't have changed much since last year - increases are entirely because we licence someone to extract it and flog it on an inflated international market.

Surely the answer would be to take control of the gas at the point it is extracted under emergency powers, pay the company an admin rate on cost of extraction, top slice anything required by the country and let the company flog off any excess on the market.

Looking at https://assets.publishing.service.g...nt_data/file/1094421/DUKES_2022_Chapter_4.pdf less than half of our gas is supplied from the North Sea. So you could potentially stop some of the increase, but still have to pay the market rate for the rest.
Bear in mind that even before Rishi's Windfall Tax, oil and gas extractors pay 40% Corporation Tax on their North Sea activities. So we should presumably have lots of tax revenue from these bumper profits. Seizing private businesses sets a dangerous precedent.