Yippee!! Osbourne Plans to Reduce Our Energy Bills by £50
mr_goo
Posts: 3,770
I am besides myself with the anticipation of being fifty quid better off next year. Any ideas what to do with it?
Perhaps a new car. A family holiday to Disneyland. A conservatory.
Just can't decide what to do with all this unforeseen expendable income.
Perhaps a new car. A family holiday to Disneyland. A conservatory.
Just can't decide what to do with all this unforeseen expendable income.
Always be yourself, unless you can be Aaron Rodgers....Then always be Aaron Rodgers.
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a few more years and 50 quid won't get a day's shopping
seems that whether it's labour or tories, the only winners are the bankers, but then the law is stacked in their favour
we fund the government pumping tens of billions of cheap money into them, which they reap nice profits with, thereby 'earning' ever higher salaries and continuing fat bonuses, while inflation destroys savings, pensions and the standard of living of 99.9% of the population
although to be honest, if the government gave me tens of billions at no interest i'd happily pull off the same trick
sorry for the topic-veering rant, i did start with 50 quid thoughmy bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny0 -
yes the scheme the government is removing from the energy companies is now going to be funded out of general taxation, so less to spend on roads, schools etc
the other scheme is going to delayed by an additional 2yrs, costing, apparently, 10,000 jobs... so what cost that £50 ?
...and energy bill avg profit has risen by 500% in the last few years,
no wonder they are all so skint.
Just as a side issue, why can offwater or whatever its called, stop or limit water company price rises but (fxxk)Offgen cant do a thing about energy prices?0 -
Almost every industry has been exposed to huge rises in costs over the last few years. Despite this, price inflation has been curbed through careful management of costs and eroding profit margins to remain competitive. That is the free market working well. The energy industry is completely the opposite. They start with a target profit figure and charge whatever they need to achieve it knowing the idea of competition is purely nominal.
The energy market is broken and needs fixing.0 -
What percentage of your annual energy bill does £50 represent?
I imagine it's a small percentage.
But £50 is approximately 375KWH which is a fairly large amount of energy, one fifteen watt low energy bulb running for 4 hours per day would run for 17 years
Maybe we need to focus on consumption being the problem not the cost.my isetta is a 300cc bike0 -
team47b wrote:What percentage of your annual energy bill does £50 represent?
I imagine it's a small percentage.
But £50 is approximately 375KWH which is a fairly large amount of energy, one fifteen watt low energy bulb running for 4 hours per day would run for 17 years
Maybe we need to focus on consumption being the problem not the cost.
I have wondered this, here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25181676 it says the average bill is £1340 which obviously means some pay less and some pay more. I put £50 a month towards my energy bill and there is still some left over at the end of the year!0 -
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team47b wrote:Maybe we need to focus on consumption being the problem not the cost.
Yes, for the enviroment, amongst other reasons, it would be fantastic if houses were insulated to Swedish stds but that will make no difference to the overall cost of energy as there is nothing to stop the energy companies from upping the unit cost, to keep their profits exactly the same or higher than they are now.
If with 6 large companies, all independant(?) + several smaller ones, competition doesnt work(which everyone agrees is the case), how will adding in another few make any difference ?0 -
I'm waiting for tesco or Branson to start up an energy provider...0
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Would that be the same Tescos that pays large numbers of its workforce min wage, posts billion + pound profits, while those same workers claim working tax credit and other benefits, in order to be able to live?
Every little helps...their profit line
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Ok, pick holes in my argument why don't you :-)
I was generalising that some healthy competition might lead to some realism rather than the cosy little cartels we have now. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they ain't rigging the markets themselves ...0 -
Energy companies are owned by shareholders and in some cases other foreign states hold a share. Their duty is to make as high a profit as is physically possible with little or no regard for the consumer unless it is route to making future profits. This is private enterprise. The flip side of this is that to make those profits they agressively target costs. An example of this is NPower deciding that they do not need over 1000 staff recently.
Therefore there is a fundamental ideology to this. If you want it private then accept that companies will try to make the maximum profit but be efficient in doing so. Alternatively if we had the state running the full cycle from generation to selling the product to consumers then how efficient would this be?
It is up to the electorate as they say.0 -
What a dilemma for the leftists. They (like all of us) would like to see cheaper energy. The companies shed staff to help to reduce costs. Would our red friends rather higher bills or fewer jobs. Oooo, tough one.
If energy was re nationalised, it would soon revert to its inefficient state and energy costs would go up. We can either pay higher bills or higher taxes. Hobson's Choice.0 -
Don't make this about left and right. It's a failure from any angle. I agree completely that nationalised industries can be very inefficient. That is proven. The problem is that the current model has proven that the free market model doesn't suit every industry.Ballysmate wrote:What a dilemma for the leftists. They (like all of us) would like to see cheaper energy. The companies shed staff to help to reduce costs. Would our red friends rather higher bills or fewer jobs. Oooo, tough one.
If energy was re nationalised, it would soon revert to its inefficient state and energy costs would go up. We can either pay higher bills or higher taxes. Hobson's Choice.
I genuinely don't know what the solution is! Arguably, government controlling pricing as a fixed markup vs wholesale prices. That could work for the consumer but would become an administrative monster of admin.0 -
Think about this:-
The major suppliers make huge profits - The Government then theoretically collect huge tax bills.
The major suppliers charge customers huge amounts - The Government then collects huge amounts of VAT.
Is it in the best interests of the Government to change this?None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.0 -
team47b wrote:
Maybe we need to focus on consumption being the problem not the cost.
Exactly.
It's supply and demand. Stop using the stuff and the price will collapse, guaranteed. You just need to get everyone else to do the same......
Oil markets are strong now and going forward. Manipulation of these markets (which does happen) can only act in limited areas (say prompt Brent, or January diesel) for limited amounts of time. The fundamentals are strong and there are thousands of big buyers and sellers in the market. Producers hedging oilfield production for 2015 (i.e. selling the market) and transport companies (eg. Easyjet) hedging fuel costs for Easter 2014 (i.e buying the market).
Demand in Europe and the US is stagnant for gas and oil. BUT it is growing fast in developing countries like China and India.
The US has bought itself some breathing space with shale gas, but it's not a miracle solution, and it's difficult to transport if not by pipeline.
So strong prices are here to stay, and although the energy companies like Eon, etc. are no saints, don't shoot the messenger......0 -
bernithebiker wrote:team47b wrote:
Maybe we need to focus on consumption being the problem not the cost.
Exactly.
It's supply and demand. Stop using the stuff and the price will collapse, guaranteed. You just need to get everyone else to do the same......
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I've already started. I've turned the gas off and the missus is sat in her coat. i have told her it will be all worth it when the price tumbles.0 -
And our house is completely heated by wood, and I cycle round town!
Unfortunately, the mower uses more diesel than the car......:(0 -
Rather than complain why not switch. I was on a two year fixed deal @ £120 per month. at the end of the deal it went to £116 per month variable ???? ( overpaid for two years?), but new fixed deal - which was well reported would have been £179 per month over three years.
So I've switched to a two year deal of £141 - saving nearly £460 per year but even so am way more than than the average with all the insulation recommended - but a cold wife - can I lag her like an old boiler.
So going with the OP implication £50 is really going to help, like the proposed £200 increase in tax allowances in 2015, which is equal to £40 less tax per year so a combination of £7.50 per month.
Hobby horse now on final furlong (200 metres to you youngsters), every year part of the increase is due to needing money to improve the system, but as this is paid before net profits then why is an increase neede to invest the same amount in the following year as it will still be collected in the old tariff all things being equal.0 -
use less, pay less, simple
my isetta is a 300cc bike0 -
I live in a solar powered house, all my electrical items use the minimum energy possible, my fridge uses 84watts per 24 hours, my house is well insulated (although it is called isolation here, to keep the heat out!) I heat my house with wood cut from my trees, cut with a hand saw, I choose to consume less. Everyone has choices to reduce consumption.
Temperature is relative, it currently drops down to 9c at night, I think that's cold.
currently 16c and sunny will get up to about 19c this afternoon my isetta is a 300cc bike0 -
When the weather is like that here, the heating is switched off.team47b wrote:I live in a solar powered house, all my electrical items use the minimum energy possible, my fridge uses 84watts per 24 hours, my house is well insulated (although it is called isolation here, to keep the heat out!) I heat my house with wood cut from my trees, cut with a hand saw, I choose to consume less. Everyone has choices to reduce consumption.
Temperature is relative, it currently drops down to 9c at night, I think that's cold.
currently 16c and sunny will get up to about 19c this afternoon
It is Summer so daylight hours are long and no lighting is required.
The only power required is for gadgets (that won't get switched off, so dont bother), cooking (which is required regardless), electricity for a lukewarm shower, and a small bit of hot water for washing.
So bills are near zero.
Beat that.
However, this is Winter.
None of the above should be taken seriously, and certainly not personally.0 -
still lots of choices, you can choose a tv that uses 20 watts or 200 watts this will save £50 per year, or choose not to watch one at all my isetta is a 300cc bike0 -
The thing I never understand with things like this is if you increase the price by £50 per year you get uproar but if you cut it it's 'only £50 per year'. It's the same when VAT gets increased or decreased.0
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Well, the last increase was more like £120 a year, and it's only a £50 saving if wholesale prices stay steady. In that context the saving looks pretty trivial.Pross wrote:The thing I never understand with things like this is if you increase the price by £50 per year you get uproar but if you cut it it's 'only £50 per year'. It's the same when VAT gets increased or decreased.
Also, cutting the 'green levy' - money that is spent on insulating draughty old houses to reduce their heating bills - to, err, reduce bills? Sounds like the 'saving' will be paid for by those who currently receive such help with their bills, rather than the energy companies.1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0
