Energy Bills 50% Rise

[Stickybottle]

Unless the government intervenes

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59760331

50 percent it is then !

[barry1010]

It's because of government intervention that there is such a steep rise.
It's going to cause hardship for a lot of people.

[Stickybottle]

The hardship factor for many is what I fear barry

[bobbinwales]

//It's because of government intervention that there is such a steep rise.//
In what way barry? Do you mean the price cap? Or the effect of green initiative's.
The only intervention I can see there able to do is remove the 5% VAT but thats only a tiny help, or to give all those on say UC or state pension another fuel payment

[douglas9401]

Heat pumps for all, or we could cast around for some fossil fuel beneath our feet and let Greta take the hindmost.

[Teapots1]

It is a concern for sure, but the only upside I can see is that it will encourage many to stop wasting energy. During the first lock downs when many of the none food shops had to close I saw many if not all of them burning window display lights and even some had all shop lights burning 24/7 Why?

[Teapots1]

11.33 Ask any gas / boiler engineer and they will tell you heat pumps are useless especially in the winter months.

[davebro]

move to Iceland - loads of geothermal energy!

[Atheist]

Teapots 11.33 "Ask any gas / boiler engineer and they will tell you heat pumps are useless especially in the winter months."

Well, they would say that!

[Atheist]

Sorry, 11:37

[Teapots1]

11.43 Would they? very wrong indeed. There is a lot of money to be made installing heat pumps, so no loss of business to be had either way. But after installing heat pumps they also know that they would be bogged down with hundreds of complaints from customers who find out they are useless.

[youngmafbog]

Why Atheist? They stand to make a fortune converting people. A heating engineer is just that, no matter how they are driven. It wont tak much to cross train.

[youngmafbog]

//In what way barry? Do you mean the price cap? Or the effect of green initiative's.//

Cant answer for Barry obviously but my take would be on both counts.

The price cap has shielded many from the the price variations meaning that when the cap is well and truly busted and companies are going broke it must be raised a large amount. We cant have it both ways.

As for the green initiatives this is causing much of the problems in the UK. Failing to further explore for Natural gas and fracking means we are reliant on other countries - and this is the result. And then of course there is the green taxes.

[youngmafbog]

//The only intervention I can see there able to do is remove the 5% VAT//

And the green taxes.

[douglas9401]

Had housebuilders been properly scrutinised over decades then heat pumps might be an option but the creaking, leaking crap that's been assembled over time isn't fit for such devices.

[bobbinwales]

I wish we had stuck with fracking. Some countries must be laughing at us.
Yes I reckon the goverment could take off (that is pick up the tab themself) for green levies and smart meters and maybe keep prices down by 5-10%, but that could mess up the green targets if it dont discourage use of non green energy.
Its going to be the big issue next year ... benefits for example will have to go up.
Long term does it show we'er too reliant on places like Russia?

[youngmafbog]

Douglas, they dont work in the UK, and I hate to say it but that is End of!

And houses being built worse these days is a complete myth. Yes, there are problems but they are still built to a far higher standard than some of the older housing stock, especially some of the terraces.

[dannyk13]

Everybody seems to have forgoten that one of the main reasons gas prices are increases is down to one Vladimir Putin.

[youngmafbog]

I have absolutely no issue with a good attainable green policy, unfortunately what we have currently is not that.

The big problem with anything green at the moment is that its the poor that will suffer. Not a problem to me, and I suspect many others on here if it doubled again, same for petrol. But that is really not a good attitude to take.

[youngmafbog]

//Everybody seems to have forgoten that one of the main reasons gas prices are increases is down to one Vladimir Putin.//

Why? Is he obliged to sell his fuel cheap?

No, the real problem is the green initiatives meaning we are not self sufficient - which we could easily be.

[douglas9401]

'over decades' ymb, not 'last year'.