Energy Prices

[Strontium]

Nobody needs to spend 10 minutes in the shower, unless they're taking one with a good friend. 

[dockers_strike]

Fuck's sake, 6 grand from April!?

 

Kwasi Kwarteng is planning to clamp down on wind and solar energy firms as a new forecast predicted the energy price cap will hit £6,000 in April.

New analysis from the energy consultancy Auxilione said the energy price cap will hit £6,000 in April, after rising to £3,576 in October, and £4,799 in January.

 

Auxilione said the energy prices would not fall until next July, when the cap would drop by a tenth to £5,486.

 

The increase will mean bills will still be almost triple their current level this time next year, as inflation squeezes household budgets by up to 13 per cent.

A poll by Opinium on Saturday found that 40 per cent of the public would not be able to afford their bills at all or have to cut back on essential spending if the energy price cap rises to £3,500 in October, while a quarter say they already cannot afford their bills.

 

The Telegraph can reveal Mr Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, is also preparing to intervene in the energy market in an attempt to stabilise the “crazy” profits of renewables firms.

Around a third of wind and solar producers are on inflexible legacy contracts, which have earned them billions from the high price of electricity during the energy crisis.

 

Mr Kwarteng is planning to offer the firms a favourable fixed-term rate at which to sell energy to suppliers for 15 years if they agree to stop selling cheap renewables at high wholesale prices.

 

Ministers are under pressure from Tory MPs who argue that renewables firms have made enormous profits from the price of electricity because they can produce it at a cheaper rate.

 

Danny Kruger, who is among those lobbying Mr Kwarteng to end the legacy Renewable Obligation (RO) contracts, said they were “the biggest avoidable driver of inflation we have” and called on ministers to “move as fast as possible to change the rules”.

The Telegraph understands firms on the old contracts, which were signed between 2002 and 2013, who have made billions from the energy crisis will instead be offered deals that pay a fixed rate for power.

 

If the companies refuse to switch, some will remain on the variable-rate contracts until 2037, but government sources said such a deal would “help with financial planning and investment decisions” in the long run, while bringing prices down.

 

Even consumers with 100 per cent renewable energy tariffs have seen prices rise. This is because the price of renewable energy is effectively tied to the price of gas and other fossil fuels. If there is more demand than supply, the price of all energy goes up, regardless of the source.

 

So far, ministers have committed to a £400 bill discount in October for 28 million households.

 

But both Mr Sunak and Ms Truss have accepted the Government must do more to assist bill payers, with more than half expected to fall into energy poverty by the new year.

 

Both contenders have rejected calls from the Labour Party for ministers to freeze the energy price cap, preventing bills from rising.

 

On Saturday, it was claimed that Ms Truss's team had been frustrated by Boris Johnson's decision to finance the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk.

The Sunday Times reported that Simon Clarke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, wrote to Mr Johnson and Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor, to complain the move would hinder her ability to cut taxes.

A consultation is also underway to reform Britain’s electricity markets, in an attempt to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and imported energy. It is expected to separate the markets of renewable electricity, which is cheap, and gas-produced electricity, which is expensive.

 

Lord Callanan, a business minister, told MPs privately this week that ministers could launch a windfall tax on renewable producers that have not seen their costs increase while wholesale prices have risen.

 

But Ms Truss, who is widely expected to win the leadership contest, has already ruled out such a tax and promised savings by pausing green levies on bills.

'Help is coming'

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Kwarteng defended Ms Truss’s decision not to impose another windfall tax on energy producers as he said she would ease the cost of living crisis through cutting taxes and imposing supply-side reforms to the market.

 

“I understand the deep anxiety this is causing. As winter approaches, millions of families will be concerned about how they are going to make ends meet. But I want to reassure the British people that help is coming,” he said.

The RO scheme, which has allowed renewable producers to make billions in profit, is funded by a green levy that costs the average bill payer £75 each year.

 

A Whitehall source said: “Gas generators are making an absolute killing by flogging their electricity to consumers.

 

“The problem is, older renewables are forced to sell their electricity at the market price too, which is set by gas.

 

“Given renewables are dirt cheap and gas is eye-wateringly expensive, we need to decouple the price of renewables from gas so households fully benefit from all forms of cheap renewable energy.”

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/08/20/kwasi-kwarteng-rein-green-profits-energy-price-cap-set-soar/

[Rico1304]

That will get very very messy.  People who’ve signed up to a 100% renewable tariff obviously aren’t just using renewable elec, as during peak times there isn’t enough renewable elec to go around. 

[Chairman Meow]

Apart from laundering money for criminals and selling weapons to evil bastards is there actually anything we do in this country which isn't a complete catastrofuck?

[Anubis]

So Truss thinks the energy companies will become benevolent little bunnies because they aren’t facing a windfall tax? 

[Bobby Hundreds]

Nuts mine is up for renewal. 464 quid a month for fixed rate for 2 years or 168 quid variable but with no exit fees so I can leave or change when I want. That's with Ovo.  

[Rico1304]

1 minute ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

Nuts mine is up for renewal. 464 quid a month for fixed rate for 2 years or 168 quid variable but with no exit fees so I can leave or change when I want. That's with Ovo.  

Did you see the photo in the press this week showing Ovo staff celebrating 1m customers?   A few staff had beers and a cup cake - not well received by the press. 
 

What they didn’t know was that just out of shot in the photo is a kind of tree house meeting room with a slide to get down.  They’d have imploded. 

[Bobby Hundreds]

I'm going for the variable anyway with Ovo, tree house or not. I'm buying a big metal drum that I'll fill with fire, some fingerless gloves and a brown bag to keep my bottle of whiskey in.

[elvis]

9 minutes ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

I'm going for the variable anyway with Ovo, tree house or not. I'm buying a big metal drum that I'll fill with fire, some fingerless gloves and a brown bag to keep my bottle of whiskey in.

Sounds idyllic , can I bring some chestnuts and join you? 

 

[Captain Howdy]

This is going to be the biggest financial meltdown this Country has ever seen. Given that you have a gang of chancers with their hand on the tiller, massive civil unrest is inevitable.

[Rico1304]

17 minutes ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

I'm going for the variable anyway with Ovo, tree house or not. I'm buying a big metal drum that I'll fill with fire, some fingerless gloves and a brown bag to keep my bottle of whiskey in.

They are a decent company. 

[elvis]

We don't have any if these deals or fixed rates on the Iom, we just get bills and are expected to pay up . We have one cunt of a gas supplier aided and abetted by a shit government, who purchase the gas , then pass it on to Manx gas after taking a cut of course. We've been paying over 7p/kwr for donkeys years . Which I estimated was almost 3x the rate my old UK address was being charged . We are now paying approx 24p/kwh 

Absolutely fucking scandalous. As far as I can see , UK customers would have to see an increase of 1000% to get to our levels , which im told are going up by another 43% in October!!

Fuck me.

 

 

 

[dockers_strike]

Whether you believe it or not? Buckle up for Friday.

 

Energy suppliers have been asked by Whitehall officials whether they would be able to funnel more public funds to households through an existing subsidy mechanism, in the clearest sign yet that a fresh intervention is planned amid surging energy prices.

 

Suppliers have been contacted by civil servants to find out whether they could route more cash through a system set up over the past few months. 

The Government is under growing pressure to help households with more support than the £400 giveaway already planned. Forecasts for winter energy bills sharply worsened since the initial handout was agreed.

 

Ofgem, the energy regulator, will on Friday announce the level of the annual price cap on energy bills from October, with analysts estimating it could come in at above £3,500 before rising as high as £5,000 in January. That compares to £1,971 now. 

 

One industry source said: “It’s a question that’s been asked in the last couple of weeks. "I would imagine everyone is working on the basis that £400 is not going to touch the sides.”

 

Under current plans, all British households will get £400 off their energy bills from October, funded by taxpayers but administered by energy suppliers, in six monthly installments from October to March.

This Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) is the focus of civil servants' enquiries.

 

Particularly vulnerable households will be able to access £1,200 in total support under current plans, including a £650 one-off cost-of-living payment. 

 

The leadership election means there is huge uncertainty over the extent to which the Government will go further, with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak taking different public approaches. 

 

Mr Sunak, who set up the ESSS while chancellor earlier this year, has pledged to provide support for the “people who need it”, including through winter fuel payments and cutting VAT on energy bills. 

 

Liz Truss, the frontrunner, has said she will reverse the National Insurance rise and hold an emergency budget to bring in tax cuts. She has not ruled out further direct support. 

 

Civil servants have been drawing up options for whoever takes office on September 5. 

 

It comes as suppliers have also been told they need to hold the funds sent by the Government to support households in bank accounts separate to their other resources. 

 

Officials are understood to believe the separation is "the right thing to do", to help protect funds if suppliers collapse over winter.

 

A HM Treasury spokesman said: “We know that rising prices caused by global challenges are affecting how far people’s incomes go, which is why we have continually taken action to help households by phasing in £37bn worth of support throughout the year, which includes specific support to help people through the difficult winter ahead.

 

“Eight million of the most vulnerable households will see £1,200 extra support, provided in instalments across the year, and everyone will receive £400 over the winter to help with energy bills. That’s including a record fuel duty cut and a National Insurance cut worth up to £330 a year for the typical employee”.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/08/20/energy-companies-told-prepare-household-handout-blunt-surging/

[Creator Supreme]

2 hours ago, Rico1304 said:

What they didn’t know was that just out of shot in the photo is a kind of tree house meeting room with a slide to get down.

Fucking hell really?

[dockers_strike]

In case you missed it, OFGEM announce the 'price cap' will go up 80% in October.

 

Increase will pile more pressure on government to announce further support for households this winter

• What is energy price cap and could I end up paying even more?
• Analysis: UK recession fears look to be turning into reality
• Business live updates: next PM urged to take ‘urgent action’

Alex Lawson Energy correspondent

Households in Great Britain face a leap in energy bills from October after the regulator raised the energy price cap, taking the average gas and electricity bill to £3,549 a year.

In a blow for hard-pressed consumers already struggling with soaring inflation, Ofgem approved the £1,578 increase on the current figure of £1,971 for the average dual-fuel tariff – a rise of 80%.

The cap will be almost treble what it was a year earlier last October, when it was raised to £1,277.

The announcement comes as households attempt to budget for a tough winter. Soaring energy bills have fuelled rampant inflation, which breached 10% last month and is forecast by some economists to climb to 18% from January.

Ofgem said it will not give projections for the next price cap change in January because the market remains “too volatile” but warned that prices “could get significantly worse through 2023”. The new cap will affect 24 million households – about 85% of the population.

That number includes about 4.5 million prepayment meter customers, who will pay on average an additional £59 a year.

Ofgem’s announcement will pile further pressure on the government to urgently introduce further measures to help households this winter. The victor in the Tory leadership contest between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a plan shortly after the race’s conclusion on 5 September.

Jonathan Brearley, the chief executive of Ofgem, said: “We know the massive impact this price cap increase will have on households across Britain and the difficult decisions consumers will now have to make. I talk to customers regularly and I know that today’s news will be very worrying for many.”

Brearley said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reduction of gas supplies to Europe had driven the rise in wholesale gas prices. He said that had left Ofgem “no choice” but to reflect cost increases in the price cap.

He added: “The government support package is delivering help right now but it’s clear the new prime minister will need to act further to tackle the impact of the price rises that are coming in October and next year.

“We are working with ministers, consumer groups and industry on a set of options for the incoming prime minister that will require urgent action.”

Brearley told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “the truth is, this is beyond the capacity of the regulator and the industry to address”. He said the next prime minister needs “to act urgently and decisively” to tackle the situation.

The Ofgem boss said winter gas prices were 15 times higher than normal conditions, and were equivalent to paying £400 to £500 to fill up a car with petrol.

He advised people struggling with their bills to contact their energy company “proactively”.

A government spokesperson said the civil service was “making the appropriate preparations in order to ensure that any additional support or commitments on cost of living can be delivered as quickly as possible when the new prime minister is in place”.

The consumer champion Martin Lewis called on the next prime minister to announce a new package as soon as possible. He said: “We must hope that when we have somebody in place they will come up with a robust, firm, strong policy that we can all get behind that feeds people and heats people so that we don’t have people dying because of these price caps this winter. That’s what my fingers are crossed tightly for.”

The price cap is not a maximum bill a household can be charged and merely sets a limit on standing charges and the price that be charged per unit, so bills could be even higher for above average energy users. Lewis said there was “nothing stopping somebody from paying £10,000 a year”.

Isaac Delestre, a research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, said the new cap means “typical bills for this financial year will be 27% higher than what had been expected when the last support package was announced in May”.

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The £3,549 benchmark will take effect from 1 October 2022 but Ofgem said it is possible some suppliers may begin increasing direct debits before this date to spread the cost.

The price cap was introduced in 2019 in an effort to protect customers from being ripped off. However, rising wholesale gas costs caused a string of energy suppliers to go bust as they were squeezed by the cap, unable to pass on those costs to customers.

Earlier this month, the energy regulator confirmed the cap would be reviewed quarterly rather than every six months. Ofgem said the change would allow it to “adjust much more quickly” to volatility in the market.

The next cap will be introduced in January, when it is feared that bills could reach as high as £5,000. Some industry watchers have questioned whether the cap is viable in the long term.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/aug/26/ofgem-raises-energy-price-cap-to-3549

[House of Dirk]

 

Cant pay it. What can they do ? Make me more dead ? Come at me motherfuckers.

[Rico1304]

If you cancel your DD you’ll also be paying more than the capped rates too.  

[skend04]

Isn't it an 170% increase since the introduction of the price cap and a possible 350% increase come April?

 

Really protecting the customers...

[Rico1304]

2 minutes ago, House of Dirk said:

 

Cant pay it. What can they do ? Make me more dead ? Come at me motherfuckers.

Activate the kill switch in your vaccine using 5G and your smart meter. 

[Rico1304]

1 minute ago, skend04 said:

Isn't it an 170% increase since the introduction of the price cap and a possible 350% increase come April?

 

Really protecting the customers...

A regulator forcing businesses to operate at a loss? The cap incorporates a 2% profit margin 

[dockers_strike]

6 minutes ago, House of Dirk said:

 

Cant pay it. What can they do ? Make me more dead ? Come at me motherfuckers.

Mass action protests? Seems to work in France!

[Harry's Lad]

2 minutes ago, Rico1304 said:

A regulator forcing businesses to operate at a loss? The cap incorporates a 2% profit margin 

I'm sure the shareholders will still be receiving vast sums of money though so all's well.

 

2 minutes ago, dockers_strike said:

Mass action protests? Seems to work in France!

This is very much on the cards, the problem is these might turn into something very ugly very quickly.

 

[Mook]

Signing up for Don't Pay is a good option, even if you don't plan to proceed with it. Might scare the right people into action.

 

https://dontpay.uk/

[Rico1304]

6 minutes ago, Harry's Lad said:

I'm sure the shareholders will still be receiving vast sums of money though so all's well.

 

This is very much on the cards, the problem is these might turn into something very ugly very quickly.

 

Which shareholders?  Centrica and Shell but other energy suppliers with no generation are losing money.  That’s why most went bump over the last 12 months. 

[dockers_strike]

11 minutes ago, Mook said:

Signing up for Don't Pay is a good option, even if you don't plan to proceed with it. Might scare the right people into action.

 

https://dontpay.uk/

Sends a signal if nothing else!