Not sure if this has been talked about, but I was chatting to someone I know who owns 8 petrol stations, and simply because of two factors, a) they work on a GP% and b) there is no longer any competition, he is making an absolute fortune.
With there only being a small handful of gas and electric suppliers, what incentive, or stick is there to force them to lower prices. This is then added to the government collecting taxes based on % so simply the higher the price to consumers the more goes in to the coffers

https://www.suddencardiacarrestuk.org/2024/02/thank-goodness-for-madeira-cake/

  • LMSC replied to this.

    dfk41 So, we are stuck with Newton’s first law of motion and the law of gravity (=falling apple) will remain an illusion at least in our life time?

        On the news!! three London boroughs cannot build anymore houses for a decade / 2035

        because the data centres in the area have taken up all the available power supplies and it will take a decade to upgrade the infrastructure.

        Apparently data centres use more power than thousands of homes.

        Hillingdon , Healing and Hounslow.

        I wonder if the data centres are worried about the rising prices🤣

          Elcarajillo I used to work in a data centre in the Docklands area of London, which had more backup generator capacity than the whole of the island of Malta. Just one building!

          Lelit Elizabeth, Niche Zero

          V60 with Drip Assist, Clever Dripper, Knock Feld47

          Aeropress, Knock Aergrind

            It’s quite incredible how much energy is used up by data centres, cloud storage, the internet etc. You never hear this talked about anywhere. Funny that

              Elcarajillo Wouldn’t be surprised if it lasts longer. That stretch is such a prime area for DCs there’s a lot of land already bought waiting for the power to come along.

              Bagging capacity is big business, they’ll be watching like hawks until the right time.

                Two Days. Up £40 a month.

                This is over double what we are paying at the moment.

                So the price cap will go up (based on info today) to approx. £3,500 a year from October. An 80% increase on our projected annual cost is a little under £4,600 projected annual.

                Not worth fixing I don’t think.

                Martin Lewis says don’t fix unless the offered price is less than 70/75% of your current rate. It is the best I have got to go on.

                  @DavecUK do share.

                  Need to save all we can

                  Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

                    Cuprajake

                    Here’s my hints and tips:

                    • If you have a boiler, turn down the outflow temperature as low as you can and still get decent heating. If the boiler has one temp setting for a storage tank and CH, turn it to 55C. Modern condensing boilers are much more efficient when they can condense properly.
                    • If you have a boiler like the above, have the hot water on shared with the central heating. You may have to have HW on a little longer, but it will give you a much lower return temperature (increasing the delta between outflow and inflow.
                    • For boilers with separate temps for heating and hot water (combi), turn the heating outflow temp as low as you can stand to warm the house and the hot water as well.
                    • 4 minute showers (use a timer)

                    The boiler changes above can save you up to 20kW of gas per day!!

                    • Find any appliances with high parasitic drain and switch them off when not using (modern appliances generally don’t use more than 1 watt), especially older appliances
                    • If you have a pond with a pump and fish, buy an aerator and only use the pump when you want it to look pretty, or for filtration, where you can cut it down to 6 hours per day
                    • Keep curtains closed where you can, it will save you a surprising amount of heat.
                    • Cook efficiently where possible, cook more than 1 thing in the oven and warm up next day in MW if appropriate.
                    • Check your fridge for bad seals, or high usage…it might be cheaper in the long run to replace it.
                    • Always, always dry clothes outside on a washing line if possible…you don’t need sun, just a dry day and wind…winter or summer.
                    • Turn down the washing machine to 30C and always use a biological powder. Never ever use liquids or liquitabs….always use powder. Powder mixes better, contains bleach and thus you don’t get slimy remnants for bacteria growth leading to a smelly washing machine.
                    • Always put a full load in the washing machine
                    • If you have a plasma TV, stop using it and dump it, the 400+ watts simply isn’t worth it!!!
                    • Ensure your computer doesn’t wake up at night and screw your leccy bill…probably better to shut it down.
                    • Turn that coffee machine off, if you are not going to use it for a while…
                    • Fill a kettle with only what you need to boil (unless you have an Osmio)
                    • Add an insulation jacket to your hot tank, even if it’s already foam dipped

                    Contact me