Prices of the electricity we use to charge

[Nealh]

I still think we need all energy nationalised then all this yoyoing of companies going bust and folks not affording the higher costs they now see, one person on this deal and another on that deal. It is the one big mistake that gov't in this country has made. Then at least everyone pays much the same.

 

[guerney]

Clearly, igloos indoors are the future - in my case moving into a cheapo large 6 man stan-up tent in the living room, covered with several layers of bubblewrap:

On the outside, temperatures may be as low as −45 °C (−49 °F), but on the inside, the temperature may range from −7 to 16 °C

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igloo

 

[Nealh]

Problem with the privatisation, it was always going to lead to profits and paying dividends to investors, simply shouldn't have happened to an essential power /heating needs.

 

[flecc]

Problem with the privatisation, it was always going to lead to profits and paying dividends to investors, simply shouldn't have happened to an essential power /heating needs.

Even more so with water which is essential to life in any conditions.
.

 

[guerney]

Problem with the privatisation, it was always going to lead to profits and paying dividends to investors, simply shouldn't have happened to an essential power /heating needs.

Privatising water wasn't appropriate either, neither will the inevitable privatisation of the air we breathe in future - cannisters would be plumbed into our in-home igloos.

 

[Benjahmin]

I live in rural Wales - there is no gas.
I have never lived in a house with central heating, I believe I'm healthier for it, not provable of course.
It is a 1900's stone house with 2' thick stone, rubble filled walls, no insulation. But the wall construction, because it isn't solid, is a poor conductor. Therefore the place is cool in summer and warm in winter. We have a log stove in the living room and an old Rayburn converted to oil sometime in the 60/70's. Just does the hot water but is this friendly warm lump of cast iron in the kitchen.
Heating engineers have said, 'You wanna get rid of that mate, it's innefficient'. BUT, I change the wicks ,once a year in Autumn, and decoke the burner. I light it and it stays on until Aprilish. It uses no electriciity, has no moving parts and no fault liability. In 20 years I've never had to have an engineer or buy anything apart from oil and wicks. Why would I change?
The whole house is led lighting. I have solar P.V. and thermal for hot water in summer.
I find the electricity bills people talk about utterly astounding. I am constantly turning off lights in empty rooms where I work, this is a left over from the 70's.
We need to accept that we are going to have to drastically reduce our power consumption expectations for enviromental as well as financial reasons. Turn power not in use off - fully - not on standby. Turn heating down. Wear layers. Insulate where possible. Stay active.

 

[guerney]

Ebico (served by Octopus) assure me that I am not paying bloated estimates, because I'm with Ebico - according to them I'm paying exactly for the energy I use every month, after giving them monthly meter readings.

BP's exceptional profits, energy companies accused of overcharging direct debits:

 

[Nealh]

Shell leave it up to the customer to set there monthly DD and one can adjust it adhoc via the web or app, so no nasty monthly outgoings which are unexpected or big shocks of a sudden overinflated monthly demand.

 

[guerney]

Shell leave it up to the customer to set there monthly DD and one can adjust it adhoc via the web or app, so no nasty monthly outgoings which are unexpected or big shocks of a sudden overinflated monthly demand.

That's still a problem if they are overestimating your usage - my extremely elderly neighbour was forced into having a pre-payment card meter fitted because it turned out that Bulb calculated recently, that he owed them a couple of thousand £, despite having direct debits withdrawn from his account monthly. I don't know if he has a smart meter. He was under the impression that he was vastly in credit, because he was paying so much. Consequently his daily unit rate is now very high, as they recoup the debt in addition to energy used. Therefore even if your energy supplier's direct debits can be modified, what they estimate your usage as, is what you will ultimately pay....or remain shackled to them in debt for, unable to switch to a less rabid money grubbing supplier (if one exists). And if prices do continue to rise, the deficit calculated later could be at unit prices current in the future? I know someone who got stung with 15 years of backdated electricity bills, but they charged him with today's unit prices. He went bankrupt.

I've checked my Ebico monthly statements and they are indeed only charging me for what I use, not using estimates. How Octopus charge their own customers (I'm with Ebico using Octopus as a supplier), and whether those direct debits are based on estimates, I don't know.

Energy suppliers given three weeks to explain ‘excessive direct debit hikes’

Kwasi Kwarteng accuses firms of increasing customers’ payments ‘beyond what is required’

www.independent.co.uk

 

[flecc]

I find the electricity bills people talk about utterly astounding. I am constantly turning off lights in empty rooms where I work, this is a left over from the 70's.
We need to accept that we are going to have to drastically reduce our power consumption expectations for enviromental as well as financial reasons. Turn power not in use off - fully - not on standby. Turn heating down. Wear layers. Insulate where possible. Stay active.

Very easy for you to say in your situation, but only a miniscule number can and do live in such conditions and such a way.

Where I live is far more representative. A flat with vast areas of window glass losing heat, despite the gas filled double glazing. Electricity only for everything, heating, cooking, hot water, lighting, entertainment. That all ends up with an unavoidable huge fuel cost, despite the most energy efficient everything in my home.

Now add that I'm 86 with a failing heart and our ever growing older population. That means limited exercise so less muscle heat generated, and in turn less food consumption so less heat from combusting the food I consume. So I have difficulty maintaining body temperature and more clothing can't keep in heat which isn't there in the first place.

In other words the continuance of mine and many other lives depends on heat from external sources for much of the year.

And I get annoyed at politicians and others constantly saying don't leave anything on standby. Today's electrical equipment is very economical on standby but needs to be left on. My current OLED TV has to be on standby to receive software updates, but at only a miserly 1 Watt standby current, that costs just £2.54 a year on the new very high unit prices from this April.

Standby barely has any influence of fuel costs, nor does LED lighting. It's heating of any kind which is the villain, especially if directly electrical. The best solution to that is a heat pump, but a very high proportion of the homes we have, like mine, simply cannot be converted to that.

So to make any real headway on this subject, we need to start again and rebuild Britain to suit. Ultra low heat loss homes with heat pumps or benefitting from heat and power schemes. Scrapping out of town shopping in retail parks etc to cut the excess driving that people do. Localising work places and homes to drastically cut the immense total of current commuting travel. Plus anything else that can be thought of to stop people's addiction to being on the mechanised move all the time.

Alternatively, large scale euthanasia, for example people as well as motorways having a 70 limit!
.

 

[flecc]

Shell leave it up to the customer to set there monthly DD and one can adjust it adhoc via the web or app, so no nasty monthly outgoings which are unexpected or big shocks of a sudden overinflated monthly demand.

Same with Bulb which they've always had, plus a top up facility via DD or credit/bank card to deal with short term peaks.
.

 

[guerney]

Not having to pay estimates is why I switched to Ebico in 2008 (and zero standing charge, which is now long gone as an offering). I'm relieved that Ebico continue to only charge for what energy I actually use, despite now using Octopus for admin and energy supply. They refused to switch me to quarterly bills, pointed out that as a company Octopus don't provide those, despite Ebico's terms and conditions stating that they do... but at least I'm not playing freaking mad estimates anymore.

 

[Nealh]

My bills are all smart metered so pretty accurate.

 

[guerney]

My bills are all smart metered so pretty accurate.

I believe some energy companies use smart meters to adjust an estimate, ensuring that customers end up paying over the odds. I'll never install smart meters for various reasons - many are 3G connected and are scheduled to go dark as 3G is phased out to make room for 5G, resulting in ewasted smart meters.

 

[flecc]

My bills are all smart metered so pretty accurate.

I'm one of the huge numbers whose smart meters cannot work due to having no mobile phone signal, official statements of circa 99% coverage being total bunkum.

Fortunately Bulb accept my readings fed online each month without any quibble.
.

 

[Neilgtis]

Hi been reading the posts about electricity prices
I have a 110ah leisure battery power pack that I used for my telescope
What size inverter would in need to charge my yose battery 36v 15.6ah with a 2a charger
Neil

 

[matthewslack]

Hi been reading the posts about electricity prices
I have a 110ah leisure battery power pack that I used for my telescope
What size inverter would in need to charge my yose battery 36v 15.6ah with a 2a charger
Neil

Fully charged voltage is 42V, maximum current is 2A, so maximum theoretical charger output is 84W. Assuming a reasonably efficient charger, input shouldn't exceed 120W, so a 150W inverter would just about do.

However, a full charge of 15.6Ah at 36V requires three times the Ah from the inverter at 12V, and an allowance for the losses in the inverter and the charger. So about (3 x 15.6) = 46.8 x 1.25 x 1.25 = about 73Ah.

That's more than you really want to take out of your leisure battery on a regular basis, and will tend to shorten its life.

 

[guerney]

Putin threatens supply chains with counter-sanction order

‘Certain organizations’ to be named in ten days and denied access to Russian resources

www.theregister.com

 

[guerney]

"£73 a month to a suggested £237 a month" would certainly be a nasty shock

Energy customers horrified as their direct debits bills more than double after price cap hike

Sophie Hughes said she was "overwhelmed" by the increase and has had to make cutbacks taking the train rather than using her car to commute to work

inews.co.uk

 

[guerney]

War is wonderful for some...

Oil majors to reap £11.6bn unexpected wartime profits on UK fossil fuels, Greenpeace projects

Soaring energy prices driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine will generate bumper upstream profits, analysis predicts.

news.sky.com