Energy Prices

[Bairnardo]

It has to be worthwhile now, to invest money (if folk have it) in "smartening" their home any which way they can. Hive, Individual room thermostats etc etc. I actually think smart home stuff is the future for keeping costs down and am a bit kicking myself at not having acted on some of it sooner.

Minimising waste is absolutely key to not pishing all your savings away during this.

[BFTD]

Poor Mrs Oaksoft, chained up in the living room while her jailer monitors her temperature for excess heat.

Who was getting ripped off by Scottish Power? @scottsdad? Just switched on the telly and there's a programme talking about them fucking people over on erroneous debts.

I did a comparison search for energy providers purely for a laugh last night, and they were by far and away the most expensive, quoting just under £10,000 for the year    Maybe they just want rid of us all.

Edit: Rip-Off Britain on BBC1. Seemed like quite a coincidence.

Edited August 17, 2022 by BFTD

[scottsdad]

30 minutes ago, BFTD said:

Poor Mrs Oaksoft, chained up in the living room while her jailer monitors her temperature for excess heat.

Who was getting ripped off by Scottish Power? @scottsdad? Just switched on the telly and there's a programme talking about them fucking people over on erroneous debts.

I did a comparison search for energy providers purely for a laugh last night, and they were by far and away the most expensive, quoting just under £10,000 for the year    Maybe they just want rid of us all.

Edit: Rip-Off Britain on BBC1. Seemed like quite a coincidence.

They tried to charge me £11,600 despite me not being a customer of theirs for 7 years. 

I challenged them and they reduced it to about 3k. Challenged it again and they agreed I owed nothing. 

[BFTD]

2 minutes ago, scottsdad said:

They tried to charge me £11,600 despite me not being a customer of theirs for 7 years. 

I challenged them and they reduced it to about 3k. Challenged it again and they agreed I owed nothing. 

That was about the long and short of the TV show. They had debt collectors break into someone's house when they were on holiday to collect on a debt that belonged to someone else, among others. Makes you wonder if they're just incompetent, or if it's deliberate shakedown tactics because they know any money they get will outweigh any consequences that might come their way.

Very minor issue by comparison, but I've had SSE unilaterally cancel three different payment agreements over the past year and refer me to two different debt collection firms, with additional charges. Thankfully I'll have the total paid off soon, and I've got a message saying that they'll deduct the extra fees and call off the hounds, although they don't seem to have done so yet.

My favourite part was when I initially agreed to a twelve month plan, only for it to be cancelled after six months, with the reason given that, "oh, that's just what we do"  

[The Naitch]

Haven't really seen much on this but can energy companies bump up the costs whilst on a fixed rate deal?

Edited August 17, 2022 by The Naitch

[FK1Bairn]

Got notification today that my fixed term tariff with Octopus comes to an end on 1st October and if I fix my tariff I'll be jumping from £119 per month to £409 but if I do nothing I'll go on the variable rate estimated to be £174.

How can any firm justify that difference? Surely it should be cheaper to fix than not

[RH33]

When I was in process of.buying the house I had a chat with Home Energy Scotland.

There are grants available and things like PiP are a passport benefit that some on here may find they can then access funding.

This place is F rated with no GCH so hoping for a mild winter.

 

[54_and_counting]

5 hours ago, Gaz said:

I mean, woe betide folk who spunk out £12 a month on a subscription to Netflix so that they actually have something to watch on the telly as they stay in the hoose night after night, day after day.

Well when you think of it, having a netflix sub at 12 quid a month is a waste of money when they canny afford the leccy to power the tech they watch netflix on

It would be like buying electric cars and no chargers for them 

[Todd_is_God]

21 minutes ago, FK1Bairn said:

Got notification today that my fixed term tariff with Octopus comes to an end on 1st October and if I fix my tariff I'll be jumping from £119 per month to £409 but if I do nothing I'll go on the variable rate estimated to be £174.

How can any firm justify that difference? Surely it should be cheaper to fix than not

The variable rate will be cheaper until October 1st as that is when the cap goes from around £1,900 to around £3,600.

Have you not seen the projections for October, January & April's cap? Forget about £174 and prepare for setting your DD close to that £409 whether you fix or not.

[Todd_is_God]

41 minutes ago, The Naitch said:

Haven't really seen much on this but can energy companies bump up the costs whilst on a fixed rate deal?

Would imagine not?

[MuckleMoo]

Do the energy companies estimate your usage based on prior usage? I assume they do. If so then this winter I'll be using a lot less than last as I was stuck in the flat due to being in lockdown. Will still be paying a ridiculous amount if nothing is done by the government but might not be quiet as much as the energy company is quoting.

[strichener]

4 hours ago, Todd_is_God said:

It was a typo. It was (or at least should have been) clear that I was talking about a gas pipeline.

 

How does it not? Scarcity of a commodity will always lead to an increase in sale price of said commodity. Plus, a greater volume of transactions taking place via EEX is not proof of the total volume of gas available not reducing

"FRANKFURT, April 13 (Reuters) - Volumes of EEX's flagship power and gas futures products rose sharply in the first quarter of 2022, the European Energy Exchange said on Wednesday, as operators hedged their positions amid a surge in market volatility due to the Ukraine crisis.

EEX chief Peter Reitz noted Russia's invasion of Ukraine had raised concerns about European energy security and drove operators to the exchange, as they sought to move away from uncleared over-the-counter markets to reduce counterparty risks and save money.

The exchange's clearing house functions means it acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers, saving those market participants from having to validate and complete their trades - which Reitz said had increased appeal in reducing risk."

About 66% capacity a few weeks ago. They are also heavily reliant on maintaining increased LPG imports currently to get through winter because, wait for it, the Nord Stream Gas pipeline is currently only supplying 20% of the volume it can.

"The War in Ukraine isn't driving the increase in gas costs" is an incredible statement. That you think the volume of gas available hasn't decreased either is amazing.

I am not sure if you are comprehending the content of my posts and deliberately misstating what I post or are too thick to know the difference.

You do understand that you are backing my point when you state

"Plus, a greater volume of transactions taking place via EEX is not proof of the total volume of gas available not reducing".  If the gas available is either constant or decreasing and the traded volume is increasing then the same gas is being sold many times over.  Even if there were an increase in the supply the trading volumes that we are witnessing are indicative of speculation.

Did I state "The War in Ukraine isn't driving the increase in gas costs"?  How foolish of me if I did.

Anyway, I'll leave you to your own misplaced thoughts on how Ukraine and COVID are 100% responsible for the increased energy costs and that if only the West would allow Russia to turn on the taps everything would be rosy.  If I am misrepresenting your position then at least that puts us on an equal footing.

Edited August 17, 2022 by strichener

[The Naitch]

Would imagine not?

I thought as much. EON have some explaining to do after the email I received tonight!

[Todd_is_God]

47 minutes ago, strichener said:

I am not sure if you are comprehending the content of my posts and deliberately misstating what I post or are too thick to know the difference.

You do understand that you are backing my point when you state

"Plus, a greater volume of transactions taking place via EEX is not proof of the total volume of gas available not reducing".  If the gas available is either constant or decreasing and the traded volume is increasing then the same gas is being sold many times over.  Even if there were an increase in the supply the trading volumes that we are witnessing are indicative of speculation.

Did I state "The War in Ukraine isn't driving the increase in gas costs"?  How foolish of me if I did.

Anyway, I'll leave you to your own misplaced thoughts on how Ukraine and COVID are 100% responsible for the increased energy costs and that if only the West would allow Russia to turn on the taps everything would be rosy.  If I am misrepresenting your position then at least that puts us on an equal footing.

I think you are the thick one tbh.

There is less of a product (gas) available.

Because of this, more of what gas is available is being sold via a platform that offers the buyer security they will ultimately receive what they pay for.

There is no evidence that gas is being sold on the exchange "many times over" - this would be counter productive anyway as to keep the lights on you would later have to buy more to replace the gas you sold, only this time at a higher rate netting you a loss on this transaction.

If Russian gas supply was restored to full capacity, and the sanctions on it removed, the problem would immediately begin to correct itself.

Just because the root cause of price increases does not suit your Ukraine flag waving stance does not mean it isn't true.

[Todd_is_God]

2 minutes ago, The Naitch said:

I thought as much. EON have some explaining to do after the email I received tonight!

 

Obviously I haven't seen this email (or read the small print on your original contract) but the whole point of a fixed price tariff is that the standing charge and unit prices are fixed for the duration of the deal, regardless of whether energy costs rise or fall during said period.

[vikingTON]

3 hours ago, Todd_is_God said:

The variable rate will be cheaper until October 1st as that is when the cap goes from around £1,900 to around £3,600.

Have you not seen the projections for October, January & April's cap? Forget about £174 and prepare for setting your DD close to that £409 whether you fix or not.

There's no compelling reason to expect the price cap to last even through October though. I wouldn't be giving them a single penny more than required right now. 

[MuckleMoo]

There's no compelling reason to expect the price cap to last even through October though. I wouldn't be giving them a single penny more than required right now. 

Yip, there's no way these prices are sustainable. We're witnessing the utter breakdown of UK energy in real time. It's a fucking shambles!

[TxRover]

6 hours ago, The Naitch said:

Haven't really seen much on this but can energy companies bump up the costs whilst on a fixed rate deal?

Here’s the “rules” for E.ON fixed tariffs…note plenty of fine print reasons they can bend you over:

“11 - Terms for our fixed term tariffs

11.1 About these tariffs

11.1.1 Some tariffs are only available if you pay by Direct Debit and manage your account online. This will be confirmed when you agree your contract and also confirmed in your welcome letter.

11.1.2 You agree to the installation of a Smart Meter, where eligible. You still qualify for this tariff if you already have a smart meter installed or it’s not currently possible to install a smart meter at your property.

11.1.3 If your tariff has an end date, we might charge you a fee, known as an exit fee, if you switch more than six weeks before that date. Your welcome letter will tell you about this.

11.2 About your prices Your prices are shown in your confirmation letter. These prices and your terms and conditions will stay the same until the end date shown in your confirmation letter, unless: – you stop paying by Direct Debit, or a Direct Debit payment fails – you do not provide us with your meter reading – you owe us money and we switch you to paying in advance – a law or regulation means we need to make a change (like VAT changes) – we had to end the contract due to your not adhering to what we agreed – the Government or our regulator (Ofgem) tells us to change our prices.”

 

 

[FK1Bairn]

9 hours ago, Todd_is_God said:

The variable rate will be cheaper until October 1st as that is when the cap goes from around £1,900 to around £3,600.

Have you not seen the projections for October, January & April's cap? Forget about £174 and prepare for setting your DD close to that £409 whether you fix or not.

Thanks mate. Like everybody I've heard and read about the cap rises in the news etc but just seeing that difference in writing scares me

[Todd_is_God]

6 hours ago, virginton said:

There's no compelling reason to expect the price cap to last even through October though. I wouldn't be giving them a single penny more than required right now. 

There is that I suppose!