OneGuyFromBarlick

They seem to be ignorant about paragraphs also Peter. Almost every sentence is punctuated as a paragraph. That makes for very disjointed reading.

I think that began when smartphones became popular and the general attitude among those doing the layout was that users couldn't cope with long paragraphs!

They should be made to read Joseph Conrad! Some of his sentences are amazing!

More information about the fires...
`The crews bracing themselves for a rise in electric car fires' BBC

This burning vehicle pictured outside Buckingham palace today, has been described as an "exploding pedicab".

On fire

I think it may have been battery assisted, but let's not jump to conclusions. It will take more than the traditional damp tea towel to extinguish it.

The energy matters that are concerning me are connected with the fact that British Gas has made what they describe as 'major changes and improvements' in my energy account. So far they have changed the account number, demanded meter readings and still got my account wrong. I shall send in my own readings tomorrow as normal.

I have sent the meter readings in.

Me too, as I do on the last day of every month, and the next day Octopus tell me that -

Electricity 187 kWh cost £67.65, and Gas ( 122 meter units) cost £106.80.
So total energy costs for the month of March 2024 is £174.45.

When you consider my monthly D/D was (pre crisis) and for a long time, about £73 per month - that's a lot of money.

My gas meter hasn't been so smart for the last couple of months so I sent a manual reading on the app, I'll check all is well tomorrow. There's going to be a lot of price change messages going through the system so it may take a couple of hours.

Yes, I have not bothered to open my web page because I have no doubt it will be slow this month as everything changes. Question is, will the new system be any smarter?

I had a look at the web page and closed it again. It is a confused mess. I think it's best left alone to heal itself.
Example, at the moment it has lost the Direct Debit because it has changed the Account number. I hope they realise this soon......

`Why green steam is a hot issue for business' BBC

British Gas have provided a month end account on time, £134 for the dual fuel account for the month of April.
Problem is that once more they have under-estimated my usage. I have sent in my own meter readings.

I read in The Times that sales of electric cars in the 1st quarter of this year have risen slightly in the UK and USA but have fallen in some of the big European countries. They fell by 14% in Germany but in March they fell by 29% because Germany ended its subsidy on electric cars. In China the recent Beijing Motor Show was dominated by new electric models which are being produced in vast numbers. Alas, the Chinese economy has faltered and the future for car sales there looks bad at present. So it will come as no surprise that shiploads of relatively cheap Chinese electric cars will be heading for Europe and the USA to be sold at `knockdown prices'.

Classic 'dumping', something the Chinese have a lot of experience of....

`New heat pump academy 'will create 8,000 jobs'' LINK
An academy is training heat pump engineers and hopes to create 8,000 new jobs over the next decade. Clean energy company Aira has opened a northern academy training centre at Halfway, Sheffield, as part of its £300 million investment in the UK. The academy will teach both apprentices and existing gas engineers who want to retrain as heat pump specialists.

I have yet to be convinced that heat pumps are a viable alternative to gas. That's why I installed a new boiler. That means I will die before I need to change it again!

How do you install a heat pump to a terraced property with no garden and just a back yard which will also have lots of buried services running through it? Gas, electric, water, waste water and rainwater run off. Or is my perception of the required conditions flawed?

Have you seen the size of them? We absorbed separate waste bins but Now we are expected to find a place for an ugly box as well. Another thing.... my gas CH boiler is silent. Heat pumps aren't. This world is polluted by noise enough already!

Something has changed at British Gas. I have had an email asking for meter readings for my end of month account. The first time that has happened. A welcome improvement!

They've consolidated all the accounts since March 27th and decided I owe them £84 which is better than I expected because their estimates were so wildly inaccurate. This account is based on today's readings so it will be accurate.

Well done - sounds like you've got your "straight edge".

That's what I thought David but I am not clapping hands yet. The one thing you can rely on British Gas for is that they will be inconsistent!
(I still don't understand why my statements for the last two months date from the 27th of March. I have no doubt there is some perfectly logical reason but it has escaped me so far!
I just take heart from the fact they are billing me based on accurate meter readings which is a massive improvement!

The saga of my neighbour's EV charger continues. On Monday the road was closed to install the additional cable for a new meter point, a team turned up to dig some holes. On Tuesday a team turned up to lay some cable. On Wednesday nothing happened. On Thursday a team turned up to fill in the holes. Today, Friday, a team turned up to reinstate the tarmac on the road. This may all sound positive but...
The new cable requires 'jointing' at either end, this requires a bit of digging, to get to the bits that need jointing, as the holes have all been filled in. A new meter can't be installed as no one was scheduled to fit a meter cabinet so it's all on hold again...

Modern Project Management seems to have failed again Kev.
I wonder how much all this costs?
If all installations are like this I can't seeing anyone hitting the target for charging points, public or private.