There’s a really good comedian, Bill Burr, who did a bit where he suggests giving the oil companies the sun and letting them profit off of it as its the only way renewables will ever work.
Energy Prices
dutchy101 Well they didn’t say who would benefit from those imagined savings!
I had a quick look at that paper and was reminded that trying to predict 30 years into the future is a fools errand - won’t stop me though! :-)
For there to be any saving at all, of course, there would need to be a change away from the current system where the price of all electricity is set by the market and that is almost always at the fossil cost - which is generally highest. Until all cleaner electricity including nuclear and renewables can be traded separately from fossil, there can be no savings.
Currently there is not much appetite for changing how the energy markets operate. But that will inevitably change at some point, probably around the time that storage for the ‘always on’ cleaner sources becomes more viable. That’s already starting to happen gradually but we won’t likely see big changes in the next decade.
As you allude to - we are at the mercy of those with vested interests in the status quo. Without a big shake-up which I’m not optimistic about, those existing vested interests will have diversified into renewables by the time they are the dominant generators in the market.
One thing is for sure - if it will save the world trillions at the expense / loss of the energy firms, it ain’t happening
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dutchy101 perhaps it’s all suspicion, but who do you think funded the anti nuclear industry, friends of the earth etc that protest against nuclear power. Those who lobby government Think about who really had the most to lose.
Who do ee think of the largest suppliers of vaping products are, I think it’s the tobacco industry.
When we eventually have lots and lots of renewables, they are not going to be giving it away, they will charge the market as much as they can and it will certainly never be back down to the electricity levels we used to pay. Guess which companies have the huge interest in renewables as well, it will be those companies with lots and lots of money nd those will be the current fossil fuel companies. I don’t know about anyone else but I have never seen cheaper prices from renewable energy sources such as windmills, for me the price of electricity has gone up and up and up despite the rise in renewable energy.
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Cuprajake If they’re right, Sturgeon will be hoping the tip breaks off Britain, something like the tip of Bezos flying phallus the other day.
Everyone will be wondering why Wales aren’t fraking? Aaaand the rich Southern nimbys will be thanking their lucky stars for a bit until they start fracking under Hastings (yes there really is oil under there) etc..
I cannot see anything wrong with fracking. A lot of false mis-information as usual. We are ok with importing fracked gas but not to frack ourselves…..that is very green
DavecUK “I don’t know about anyone else but I have never seen cheaper prices from renewable energy sources such as windmills, for me the price of electricity has gone up and up and up despite the rise in renewable energy.”
That’s what I was referring to when I said that the market need to change. Currently the price of all electricity, no matter if it is produced by fossil fuel, nuclear or renewables is coupled to the wholesale price of gas. Seems many people don’t realise this because it is so illogical.
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Taken from the Bulb website:
Every year, like all suppliers, we report on the amount of electricity we’ve purchased from which source: coal, gas, nuclear and renewables. For Bulb, it’s simple: 100% of our electricity comes from renewable sources like solar, wind and hydro.
I am currently paying 27.85p per KWh with a daily standing charge of 36p per day. How does this compare to others on here I wonder?
dutchy101 I am currently paying £27.85 per KWh with a daily standing charge of 36p per day.
Do you mean 27.85p? I checked mine the other day and it’s now saying 34p with British Gas Standard Tariff. I could almost swear that this was 28p two weeks ago!
As I am not on a smart meter, I do wonder how they estimate my usage if the prices differs?
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Haha sorry, yes 27.85p per KWh. This is as of my last statement in July. I was trying to log in to check whether this has changed but it was down.
The website is back up now and current rates are:
29.24p p/ KWh and daily standing charge of 37.92p
dutchy101 Shell Energy - 28.455 p/kWh, 43.39 p/day
MediumRoastSteam Linear interpolation based on the days before/after change of tariff (at least, that’s what PurePlanet and Shell did with me). You can also submit an intermediate reading - if you know that the price is going to change!
“Essentially, you should consider your electricity to have the same carbon footprint as everyone else’s no matter what tariff you are on,” says Josie Wexler, a researcher at Ethical Consumer. “Ofgem [the energy regulator] should be forcing companies to be much more honest about what ‘100% renewable’ really means.”
If it looks like a scam and smells like a scam, it’s probably a scam.
Is that on a fixed or variable tariff?
dutchy101 Variable - at the moment they have no fixed tariffs (or rather, the tariff they would like to apply is capped, and therefore “fixed”…)
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I could have fixed for 2 years last October with Eon - I would be paying £115 a month as opposed to £280 a month now had I have done so. But I thought I’d go renewable to do my bit. Completely shafted. The excuses given for why they can’t differentiate between the supply of your energy in the article I posted above are embarrassing.
The Grid is unable to confirm whether the energy they supply me with is renewable or not, but they can provide a certificate to my provider to confirm they have bought only renewable energy from them? Jesus wept.
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dutchy101 But I thought I’d go renewable to do my bit. Completely shafted.
I have always tried to be “green” always been shafted with a Bezos rocket as a result. Whilst the actors, politicians, privileged, super wealthy and a child tell the rest of us how to live. All before private jetting back to one of their super yachts, many homes, private islands and large cars.
Now I just try to do my bit only when it costs me nothing, or saves me money whilst ignoring the green twaddle being spouted.
For me (and I did the numbers) Solar PV limited and where I can put them on an ESE garage roof, 20 year payback. Heat pump, absolute madness Vs my gas boiler Electric car, good job I don’t do many miles
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Why does the boiler switches itself on burning gas and electricity?
- Heater is off and will kick-in iff the temp falls below 13C
- Hot water comes up for just 30 mins in the morning in summer
Yet, this damn boiler’s temp went up from 30C (at this time of the year) to 65C as I write! Some of the radiators are hotter, while it shouldn’t come up, given the settings! This happens several times a day! I have switched off the damn thing now! 😀
Another issue, which we don’t understand is whatever we do, the power consumption is 330-360 kWh (at least) a month. Every unused outlet is off. We switch off all non-critical standbys - except Hob, Fridge, Router, etc. I need to get a power usuage monitor!
LMSC https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/144669194524?hash=item21aef4b91c:g:NqYAAOSwvQ5iJbhE&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAABIFk0A4eQ4rXsr2aB60R4zlH1ex4yh9VqvL3tpmVcc%2BzqJXOmlTL09bT1JmXjnSF5KIZUp6zVVpEM6YgEjNWR67xUW%2BABQivH2jUwwn2hhskvwQcADra%2F8VriIs1fVc7uXzhpXDtRSdniKUweBCFzaJXTo9zzChKZfUBueDhXXE0FThHibwauF2GZeZnecfwZD2jEB5pKJ6rWA9NxJe98kko9dDlR8xdULAij24AFuP2HBpH8DdTtFA9kPkZQhjQDLzJVawsBE79gA1gEMx7mA7%2FHi5SX%2B8kpmHN%2FpzAnm29QFKBebVxPspf16tiaOPYL9lxGpp3s19aOKi3fdjG3v55ttJzEcq5vXqwmHDwperL0jUZyIosH%2Fw4zcllY6zA67Q%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7rFnqDoYA
Nothing fancy but does the useful stuff. I bought one a while ago and have found it very helpful.