[Flyin'Dutch']

The free market 'sorting' it all out.

[Flyingfemme]

Hardly free when supply is constrained by things like a ban on **** and drilling new oil/gas wells. This whole mess is entirely engineered by western governments.

[Sooty25]

With the energy shortages we face and the almost compulsory move towards electric everything, it still puzzles me why it is not a requirement for all new build homes to be built with solar roofs.

[Colonel Panic]

The energy companies are able to put up the prices due to the energy cap rise. 10% of the increase of the energy cap is to cover the cost of all the energy companies which have gone bust.
So although energy companies can set whatever balance they want between standing charge and unit price, most of the standing charge rise is linked to those extra fixed costs of other companies going bust.

Just to be clear, and I'll admit is doesn't feel like it, but AAUI the daily standing charge _is_ regulated (/capped?).

[Pete L]

With the energy shortages we face and the almost compulsory move towards electric everything, it still puzzles me why it is not a requirement for all new build homes to be built with solar roofs.

I was surprised the 100 new builds in our village were still being built with gas boilers rather than heat pumps or all electric.

[avtur3]

Delightful email today to inform me that my electricity price will be going up on 1 April…..rather appropriately

41.660p per day standing charge and 29.494p per kWh.

Gas has an even higher increase in percentage terms, but 27.220p per day and 7.319p per kWh.

I was day dreaming about looking at an EV, now not so sure. Lots of the economy figures (per mile) of EVs seem to be based on ludicrously low unit prices for electricity. Certainly many times lower than the new price.

Is it even worth looking at alternative suppliers?

Martin Lewis published his advice of changing/fixing on YouTube a couple of days ago.

The whole piece is only ten minutes long but the specific advice about fixing starts at 4:55

Also, he released an update on pricing forecasts just last night and the October price cap increase is now looking as though it could be in the order of a further 40%

[eltonioni]

The thing about caps, is that the thing supporting the cap goes all the way to the place where the cap is. What we're seeing is bad (possibly too much) regulation, not free market failure.

It's year one economics stuff and hopefully all year one economics students get this when they pay their student fee bill to the uni.

Year one 'social science' students will, for some unfathomable reason except the existence of a university fee target cap, pay the same fee but they might be at a disadvantage in understanding why as they protest about being part of the one percent.

With the energy shortages we face and the almost compulsory move towards electric everything, it still puzzles me why it is not a requirement for all new build homes to be built with solar roofs.

Why should there be more bad regulation a requirement? If you want a solar roof, ask for it. I'm not aware of a developer who won't take your money. A couple roofs should be good for a year's worth of petrol for the Porsche.

[Sooty25]

With the energy shortages we face and the almost compulsory move towards electric everything, it still puzzles me why it is not a requirement for all new build homes to be built with solar roofs.

Why should there be more bad regulation a requirement? If you want a solar roof, ask for it. I'm not aware of a developer who won't take your money.

I guess you could argue the same regarding insulation, I'm sure at one time that was optional, but we evolved from that, to requiring a new home meets an insulation standard. The question is, who do we insist on that for, to keep the buyer warm? No, we've removed that choice, because it is for the environment and the greater good. Designing and building in solar roofs as standard, makes perfect sense these days for both the buyer, the developer and the wider community.

A couple roofs should be good for a year's worth of petrol for the Porsche.

what, this one? https://www.porsche.com/uk/models/taycan/taycan-models/taycan-sport-turismo/

I would have ordered one, I just don't think "Porsche" and "4 door" go together!

[rikur_]

Just to be clear, and I'll admit is doesn't feel like it, but AAUI the daily standing charge _is_ regulated (/capped?).

Correct - see https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-co ... ffects-you

Heating oil however is unregulated .... gulp:



Two more Ash trees just come out in readiness for next winter (I will be replanting before anyone gets eco angst)

[rikur_]

A bit of BBC advice from 1975 on how to beat petrol price increases:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/coal_powered_car/zrdd8xs

[eltonioni]

With the energy shortages we face and the almost compulsory move towards electric everything, it still puzzles me why it is not a requirement for all new build homes to be built with solar roofs.

Why should there be more bad regulation a requirement? If you want a solar roof, ask for it. I'm not aware of a developer who won't take your money.

I guess you could argue the same regarding insulation, I'm sure at one time that was optional, but we evolved from that, to requiring a new home meets an insulation standard. The question is, who do we insist on that for, to keep the buyer warm? No, we've removed that choice, because it is for the environment and the greater good. Designing and building in solar roofs as standard, makes perfect sense these days for both the buyer, the developer and the wider community.

A couple roofs should be good for a year's worth of petrol for the Porsche.

what, this one? https://www.porsche.com/uk/models/taycan/taycan-models/taycan-sport-turismo/

I would have ordered one, I just don't think "Porsche" and "4 door" go together!

I guess that the difference is that one is incremental and the other is paradigm. Solar roofs everywhere aren't actually a very good idea (different discussion about efficiencies) but every building has a wall with an insulating value that can be ramped up as the years go by.

[JonathanB]

I was day dreaming about looking at an EV, now not so sure. Lots of the economy figures (per mile) of EVs seem to be based on ludicrously low unit prices for electricity. Certainly many times lower than the new price.

Back of an envelope maths works out that my EV if charged at 29p/kWh would cost me approx 7p per mile to drive. Our family car (petrol) is more like 21p per mile.

I have a 38.3kWh Hyundai Ioniq and range is about 155 miles at the moment. It would be more but I mostly drive dual carriageway and don’t worry too much about trying to get the best range possible. (Others are seeing nearer to 200 miles)

[rikur_]

I was day dreaming about looking at an EV, now not so sure. Lots of the economy figures (per mile) of EVs seem to be based on ludicrously low unit prices for electricity. ....

Back of an envelope maths works out that my EV if charged at 29p/kWh would cost me approx 7p per mile to drive. Our family car (petrol) is more like 21p per mile....

My instinct had actually been the opposite - i.e. rising gas/oil prices would bring forward the case for electric?Presumably the price gap between electric and petrol/diesel is only going to increase as oil and gas prices increase globally, but the cost of wind/solar/nuclear electricity generation is largely fixed, so a sizeable proportion of the cost of electricity shouldn't rise as fast as oil/diesel? I may have missed a key point somewhere, and in the short-term other factors are in play.

[eltonioni]

The trouble with electricity is that it can only be generated efficiently, not stored. Hydrocarbons and biofuels will store their energy potential until the electricity is required. Batteries are still at the Wright Flyer stage (maybe even the Cayley Glider stage). Distribution efficiency is okayish, but not great. Then we need to factor in the cost of replacing the batteries (ie the most expensive part of an EV). Hydrogen gas on the other hand...! Infrastructure wise, pretty much everything is already in place, just as it was with the switch from town gas to natural gas, or four star to unleaded. Time will tell but I'm convinced that H is the future.

Short term though, we have to commence domestic f r a c k ing (mods, PLEASE take this word out of the donker) as fast as our little Ineos will carry us, b'cos otherwise we ain't seeing gas (and therefore electricity) prices come down any time soon.

Here's the problem with that though - southern NIMBYs who wouldn't know a slag heap if their life depended on it - which it used to.



(Just look at that though, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire finally get a break from fuelling the nation : )

[OCB]

2 weeks ago, a litre of diesel had gone to at an eye watering 1.71 euro, it hadn’t that long ago been in the 1.30s range.

Yesterday, 2.08 per litre.

As someone at the station said, more than 60% goes to the guvmint in tax and duty.

As much as that stings, if they used the “windfall” to create and quickly implement some sort of Marshall Plan that did all the things we know need to be done - I’d be ok medium term as my house would be better insulated, driving efficient EV, seeing percentage of energy coming from renewables and gigawatt storage ramp up etc.

I don’t have that much faith in our leaders though.