Energy Bills

54 watchers

Minnie Mad Apr 2023 8:55pm, 27 Apr 2023 4,832 posts	0 Minnie Mad I was with Bulb, transferred to Octopus. I’ve got through the winter okay until this month when I suddenly owe them £90. I switched the heating off on 1st April so I thought it would be cheaper but I suppose without the extra £60 per month it won’t be any cheaper now. I might have to put my payments up a bit.
Hanneke May 2023 9:42am, 2 May 2023 103,049 posts	0 Hanneke I just got my statement from SO. They were going to increase my direct debit to £189 to reflect no longer having the £67. I tried explaining to them that that would not result in greater consumption... Anyway... I negotiated £80/month because of my inability to earn money and having to live on £77/week... I didn't switch off my electric heaters in building and greenhouse until recently but my consumption has dropped below my previous dd already and is still just above £80 but that should drop to around £80 this month.
Johnny Blaze May 2023 12:25pm, 25 May 2023 30,401 posts	0 Johnny Blaze "When you take into account that we’ve all lost that £400 government help we received over the winter months, July’s new price cap is an annual saving of £26. Given that this announcement only covers one quarter, that’s a best-case saving of £6.50. But given that most of us use a lot less gas and electricity over the summer months, we’ll actually be seeing an even smaller difference in our bills – not much to write home about. This isn’t the major pressure relief that so many households are in need of but perhaps a sign that things aren’t getting any worse."
rf_fozzy May 2023 12:33pm, 25 May 2023 20,128 posts	0 rf_fozzy Indeed JB, but the forecast is for the cap to fall further in the next quarter, so it's not all bad news
HappyG(rrr) May 2023 1:25pm, 25 May 2023 46,739 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) But wholesale prices set to rise again after October, Cornwall energy analysts say? "Prices remain subject to wholesale energy market volatility, and our reliance on energy imports (during the winter months) means geopolitical incidents could still have a significant impact on energy prices." Current modelling suggests the cap from October would rise but only by a token amount compared to the bill shocks of the past year." coastfm.co.uk
rf_fozzy May 2023 1:55pm, 25 May 2023 20,129 posts	0 rf_fozzy Yes, should rise a little Happy, but nowhere near as bad as last year because most of Europe has learned that they need to have greater gas storage to avoid price volatility. That I suspect is why gas isn't falling dramatically in price despite alternative sources coming on stream - Europe is still filling gas reserves. Don't know what the UK is doing with our gas storage. The one we sold off. Of course it'd be good if the govt actually got behind real energy saving measures to reduce gas use.
HappyG(rrr) May 2023 2:10pm, 25 May 2023 46,741 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) Yes fozzy that's exactly what energy analyst said on call - not falling as far as it might due to all of Europe trying to replace Russian gas and storing to avoid future shocks. And she also said long term price reduction must be building more renewable and storage. G
Windsor Wool May 2023 2:19pm, 25 May 2023 5,945 posts	0 Windsor Wool The UK has effectively zero seasonal natural gas storage, there's very little for us to fill! Sure, Rough has come back on to a limited extent but it was never really that big in the scheme of things and given it's reliability record many traders are scared to go near it! The UK relies 100% on price signals to help it meet demand.....any spike in demand needs to be covered by increased LNG imports (takes a bit of time) or imports from the continent where we effectively borrow storage from the NL / France / Germany. The consensus is that there could be still quite a fall in prices later in the summer. Yes, there is still some minor storage fill to get through now but as levels were so high coming out of the last winter, there's really not much left to go. Cornwall are pretty good btw. They might even give insights as good as mine
HappyG(rrr) May 2023 3:05pm, 25 May 2023 46,742 posts	0 HappyG(rrr) WW - are you telling us you work for Cornwall?! The lady on R4 this morning was v good, I thought. R4 interviewer was annoying - wanted to hammer a question about cost of renewables levied in current bills. She batted it back unequivocally! G
Windsor Wool May 2023 3:26pm, 25 May 2023 5,946 posts	0 Windsor Wool nah G, I'm retired remember! I did work in a relevant role for a fair few years though linkedin.com In the past I've tried to stay out of debates on threads like these as I got conflicted very quickly. Now I'm more open to debate! I've worked with Cornwall a few times over the years and read millions of their reports. They are a good source.