As title really, with N-Power putting their prices up, and more to follow, a hypothetical question -

At what point/price do you think the public would be inclined to say, "Enough is enough. We can't afford this anymore."....

I have no doubt that there's people in this boat now.... but is it possible that something bigger could happen?

If so, what?

How would you answer this energy issue (not crisis yet, but never say "never"!)

 

Utility companies should never have been privatised. Unfortunately they had to be sold off to pay for labours last spending spree.

 

How do you propose saying NO then? if you refuse to pay the bill they will just cut you off simple as that. You could go have a riot but then you get arrested, charged and fined but still have no juice at home. Then you have to pay your bill and a charge to get reconnected so again how do you propose saying enough is enough?

 

They were sold long before Labour came in and really fcuked the country up.

chip

 

I'm sure F1 fan will be along soon on this one

 

About this time last week

P.S. Wouldn't like to disappoint you Chip

 

Think he meant the 70s Labour **** up.

They were of course sold to buy votes, but let's not go there right now!

 

Did you not invest in Sid though

Chip

 

LOL, that was a cracking advertising campaign though wasn't it?

 

Didn't we all say this about Petrol?

Most said if it got over £1/litre they'd protest. It's nearer £1.40/litre, and we just keep paying.

What are people supposed to do with gas/electric? Not pay? Not use?

They have us over a barrel, and happily lubricate our a.rseholes every few months and **** us some more.

 

LOL at that imagery.... so true though

 

Yes, and beer as well. "I'm not going out any more if it goes over a pound a pint"

Chip

 

It's an interesting thing the energy supply market. The sooner folk get wise to the fact that they can switch energy supplier pretty much as and when they like then it should in theory become more competitive. Problem is that most folk just sign up with on particular supplier when they move house and stay with them for a long time.

There shouldn't be any price fixing between suppliers as if HM Government got wind of that they should be down on them like a ton of bricks. Therefore if we all changed contracts annually to whoever was cheapest they'd be a lot more competition to win those customers. The energy suppliers would start undercutting each other to get those customers and a price war would ensue. Problem is that market is not fluid enough and nPower/EoN/BritishGas/etc. seem happy enough with their respective shares of the market so nothing happens.

The actual wholesale cost of gas and electric is coming down so they should all now have a margin to start undercutting each other....

 

THis is why I'm asking you lot - I haven't come on here with the answers. I genuinely don't know how this is going to work, but with more and more people sliding into poverty, something's got to give.

I'm lucky that at the moment, I can afford the price rises, but like everybody else, I feel the pinch each time they go up. and up. and up.

IMHO, petrol is still perceived as a bit of a luxury item (hence the VAT!! ) - heating and energy is a bare essential, like water, and should be priced accordingly. Maybe.

 

The electricity companies aren't daft. They know we are all cutting costs etc and keeping an eye on what we consume. Usage has gone down so they put the price up to counter it. Problem is the consumer will get even tighter with their usage and the elec companies will be down on profit again.

To stimulate the market (both utilities and petrol) it would make more sense to drop the prices which would see an increase in consumption hence higher profits.

 

you are all going to have to work harder/longer/smarter I am afraid

 

A large proportion of what any of the utilities makes goes in taxation inc corporation, VAT and other company taxes. Another 5% of you bill is paid on top of this by you to the taxman.
SSE for example had a profit last year of just over 5%, little more than the likes of Tesco etc and a lot less than a lot of other well known companies out there yet the utilities are also investing billions with Nat Grid alone spending over £31 billion over the next 8 years.

You want cheap gas and leccy yes, but unless you invest there will be no infrastructure left to transport it around the country.

You only turn on the gas cooker or switch the light on, but there is a very complex system going on behind the scenes to enable you to do this and it is on this where the money is being spent.

Chip

 

The only way we could ever get a cap on energy prices if if we switched from coal & gas to Nuclear and renewables. Use the renewables where there is most benefit (areas that are windy, have strong tides / current & wave action) and the Nuclear in other locations to make up the shortfall.

Then switch to Hydrogen when the tech allows, it wont be cheap, but the government wont be able to justify adding more tax just for the sake of it, and companies are unlikely to run out of it.

 

That's all well and good but you will still need the infrastructure to be well maintained and serviceable for it to work which is what the money is being spent on now.

 

Big mistake to privatise the utilities I reckon, it has certainly led to high prices which is the opposite to what we we were promised at the tiime.

Les

 

The problem with that is the most windy places and the most wavey places are designated areas of outstanding natural beauty or a bunch of old duffers live within eye sight of these places and say no we don't want that where we are looking. So until you all stop being a bunch of selfish ar5eholes you will never get renewable energy.

 

But can you imagine what the prices would be like if they were still natioalised. At least they are now efficient well run regulsted companies unlike before.

Chip

 

This (although with slightly less colourful language)

 

I'm not an old duffer, but I live near a wind farm (up wind of it fortunately) but I know that the people living downwind have had their lives blighted by the noise, the constant flickering, and a massive reduction in their homes value. Some houses are within 500m of the nearest pylon. It has nothing to do with looking at the windfarm and everything to do with the way they disrupt the lives of those living nearby.

All so that some company can get grants to build a wind farm and then profit from guaranteed higher prices for their electricity, and to help reach some random government target. I doubt they would be building so many windfarms if they had to compete fairly in the market.

I have sympathy for climate change, I understand the issues, but when peoples lives and enjoyment of their home is being ruined I can't agree with the massive proliferation of wind farms and some of the completely unsuitable areas they are located.

 

Here in Germany we have large, very large solar farms, all the ones I have seen have been along the autobahn or in out the way places. I am talking huge fields of solar panels, these are about 6-8 ft high I would guess and all at the same angle. They are in places that are unobtrusive and you can hardly see them. I don't understand why you can not do this in the UK. There are thousands and thousands of acres of unused land in the UK that is unobtrusive and out of eyeshot so why not use it for solar farms.

 

Energy prices are becoming an absolute disgrace but what can we realistically do? The only real choice we have is to lower the quality of our lives by using less electricity and gas or investing money in solutions at home

 

At risk of stating the obvious, maybe that's what the rioting in the streets was about?

I know that wasn't the stated main reason for last week's events, but it has to be a contributory factor, surely?

(Was there ANY specific reason btw?)

 

I doubt any of them even had a car. Well, one that had actually been paid for at least.

It was kids out of control and the Police being scared to act through fear of prosecution.
Nothing more.

 

Car? Perhaps not, but everyone has to cook food and keep warm. I'd be interested to see the profile of the people involved, but just perhaps what we're seeing IS what happens when basic necessities like fuels really do become genuinely unaffordable rather than 'merely' expensive?

 

Not quite true. the last Government invested in Nuclear power. The gave the contract to build new nuclear power stations to the French.

How will that bring down energy prices? it won't. The only way is if they were state owned, which they won't be.

Wind power? TV last night stated that all the investment into all these wind farms will actually push up energy prices, as it costs so much to construct a wind farm. more so it an off shore wind farm.

The only solution to our power needs is tidal/wave power. We are an Island. The tide is always going in and out. They will constantly generate electricity by bobbing away in the water. Unlike wind farm, that don't work if no wind, and don't work if too windy. Wave power will always generate power.

Again, in order to get cost down to consumers, it would have to be state owned, which in this country would never happen. We'd put it out to tender, some foreign company would win the contract, charge us a fortune for the power, while subsidising there own country with cheap electricity.