ENERGY MATTERS

[Stanley]

I'm glad I am with BG on a fixed tariff until March 2020.... Should see me through the winter.

[plaques]

I'm glad I am with BG on a fixed tariff until March 2020.... Should see me through the winter.

Sometimes they have really really tiny tiny small print clauses that allows them to make 'adjustments' to fixed contracts. Not out of the woods yet.

[Big Kev]

Ofgem's energy price cap will limit the impact on consumers but a lot of the smaller suppliers won't survive the hit. The cap will limit consumer increases, to standard tariffs, to around 12%.
The smaller suppliers will have already 'sold' the gas to their customers (as a fixed tariff) so are now operating at a loss, SOLR (supplier of last resort) will see the the customers moved to other suppliers.

[plaques]

The energy companies are look a loan from Gov UK. ie: the royal we. the tax payers, and here I am thinking that in a capitalist society if you wanted a loan you went to the banks.?? Dear Mr Bank manager my company is going bankrupt and I can't see us making a profit in the short term and possibly the long term. What do you think?? Answer in no more than two letters.

Global Britain. Pizza shops are looking into the feasibility of selling takeaways to Australia. They are looking for a small motorbike that does 16,000 miles per hour with a cost per trip of 50p. Any ideas.

[Stanley]

See THIS, Kwasi Karteng says there is no chance the lights will go out. He is of course wrong. There is every chance of the lights going out if you are too poor to pay your energy bills and many families are in this position. Karteng is not thinking about these people but only of the overall energy situation and its political effect. Note this paragraph:- "At the beginning of 2021 there were 70 energy suppliers in the UK, but industry sources have said there may be as few as 10 left by the end of the year." This is of no consequence to the government but the process of sorting the mess out will mean higher prices for consumers already struggling and in some cases making the choice between food and heat.
As you may remember, I have consistently argued that in the end, changing suppliers for a cheaper deal was inherently dangerous and I have often wondered whether, in the long run, anyone saves money. True there has been a short term advantage but all these companies are selling the same energy so how can their prices vary?
There are two ways that energy prices could immediately be reduced. First by ceasing to pay dividends to private investors and second, by temporarily removing all the surcharges on energy which are a hidden tax.
Looking back even further, this situation has been exacerbated by 'privatising' energy, in other words making it possible to extract a profit form an essential good. For decades, the UK energy policy has been a story of dithering and refusal to invest in the future but do the good Tory thing of getting private industry to pay for essential services. Look where it has taken us to.
Nye Bevan warned that we should never lose public control of the commanding heights of the economy. That's exactly what we have done in the name of private profit and now we are seeing the results. This will not be the last instance of global supply failing to keep up with demand and each time it happens the private sector will pass the costs on and pay a dividend if they can stay afloat....

[Tripps]

Indulge me here - and ignore it if you're wise. . . . .

I have a vested interest since I told my young lad, not too long ago that I thought something really serious and perhaps disastrous was going to happen in the next few months. "Don't ask me what" I said rather enigmatically though.

I think there's a lot more to the energy price crisis than meets the eye. I'm not buying the huge increase in price which mainly happened during the summer - remember the 'hottest August since records began' ? There's a lot more to it.

I read something about a new pipeline from Russia to Germany recently called Nord Stream 2. I thought I read that it had just been completed, but seems not. See here for more info. Nord Stream 2

Someone clever needs to explain it all to me, but it's quite complicated, and there's mention of sanctions against Russia, and Ukraine also gets a look in. That's the country that wants to join NATO, and was invaded by Russia not so long ago. Mr Biden's son has an unsavoury connection there too.

It's a long shot, but could today's inexplicable raising of the Skripal / Novichok killing, perhaps to remind us what scoundrels the Russians are, be connected. There can surely be no good reason for the Home Secretary to come and make an emergency statement to the Commons. This morning it was a 'furious rant' but by tonight it's hard to find a reference to it. In fact his name had been well known on the web via wikileaks, for ages. The 'third man'. He's actually rather disappointingly, called Denis.

Meanwhile - I'm bracing myself for the next fuel bill.

[plaques]

I'm with you Tripps. First the US places sanctions on anybody who dares to think about buying Russian gas via the No2 pipeline.
1) It would help Russia's finances and make Europe more dependent on them.
2) It would potentially shut down their market for excess fracking gas that they want to send to Europe.
3) Gradually Russia may not be seen as the bad guys and even become part of the Common Market.

Strange how suddenly the US has sold their surplus gas to other countries just when we need it,

Also the new round of climate talks will be pushing for a reduction in gas usage. Perhaps this is a shot across the bow to show who is really boss.

[Tripps]

Thanks - but I said I was struggling - and then you add a whole new level of strategic complexity to it all.

Somethings afoot.

[Stanley]

I have to agree with you both. There is something rotten in the state of China as my dad used to say. In this case it's in the state of Britain and is somehow connected with the disaster of Brexit. Like David, I don't know what it is but would suggest that it's not something that's going to happen, we are in it now.
Now, fix it in your head firmly that this next item is about a Tory government who rely on private money and the market to look after the country a la Chicago school of Economics. Then look at THIS and wonder how this can be, a Tory government giving money to a US company to run their plant at a loss. How have we come to this? Could it possibly be that we allowed control over a vital segment of industry to fall into foreign hands? Who else will see a case for asking? A precedent has been set.
One last thought, what are you doing for Xmas? (93 shopping days left.)

[Tripps]

Ironic again that whilst we hear daily about efforts to reduce CO2 emissions we have a whole industry which makes then freezes or bottles it. What happens when it is used? I assume it just goes into the atmosphere, and adds to the burden, and do the companies involved take any mitigating measures? What proportion of the total CO2 'problem' is caused by this industry?

I don't know.

I think the swift action by the Government came when they realised there was a risk that the fizz might disappear from their Gin and Tonic.

[Tizer]

Don't feel about drinking pop or G&T, Tripps...
A can of pop contains 2-3g of CO2 – a tiny proportion of the six tonnes of CO2 per year (or 17kg per day) that the average person in the UK is responsible for. Science Focus

[Stanley]

"I think the swift action by the Government came when they realised there was a risk that the fizz might disappear from their Gin and Tonic."
I think you know it was a bit more complicated than that David. Nobody had spotted the crucial dependence on supplies of CO2 and the precariousness of supply due to only two main plants and both of them owned by a US company. How many other examples of danger are there?
No point trying to forecast which energy company fails next, they are falling like dominoes and cannot expect any help from the government. This story hasn't finished yet.....

[Stanley]

I can't describe how frustrated I am this morning. As you know I have had the latest versions of the smart meters installed which will solve all my problems. Only problem is they aren't talking to the network so I have to send in meter readings for gas and leccy on the 1st of each month.
The website has accepted the gas meter reading but won't let me input the leccy meter reading. They open at 9AM......
God give me strength....

[Tizer]

Good luck! This is why we haven't accepted a smart meter - although we're only a mile from Taunton town centre both broadband and mobile phone signals are unreliable here in an area of a few streets around us!

`Clean energy from the fastest moving objects on earth' LINK

[Stanley]

I have been on the phone for 55 minutes. Bloody ridiculous but I have at least got a result. The reason the leccy meter wasn't mentioned on the website is that it has started working but hadn't told anyone. The gas meter needs connecting but as that is in the back yard they can do that without an appointment and they have guaranteed it will be up and running by October 14th.
Total waste of an hour but it looks as though I will have the latest generation of smart meter up and running this month. Gott sei dank!

[PanBiker]

I have been on the phone for 55 minutes. Bloody ridiculous but I have at least got a result.

Do they have an online chat facility Stanley? I always prefer that method of contact and it's usually a lot quicker. I cant remember from when I was a BG customer which is a few years ago now.

[Tizer]

During the covid panic pandemic I've found several times that company's web sites say their chat lines are out of action. I'm not sure why that should be.

[Big Kev]

I contacted BG on their chat facility a few weeks ago (the 2 year old bill fiasco). Only took a couple of minutes to establish contact, I have a copy of the transcript as well in case it all went pear shaped.

[Stanley]

The last time I used the chat line was when they distinguished themselves (twice) by giving me conflicting information, not addressing the complaint and being unable to write a sentence in English that made sense. The manager who reviewed my complaint about it agreed it was a shambles.

[Tripps]

I had a power outage this morning. Announced by the doorbell ringing of its own accord.

I found that the people to contact were "UK Power Networks". They have a website, but their information there wasn't quite up to the speed of the several intermittent outages. I tried the website, but then found this number 0800 3163105. No long waits with annoying music.

Superb service from a lady with a reassuring West Country accent. Explained everything, then took my mobile number for text updates. Gave me her name, and said to ask for her in case of further problems - "I'll be here till 4.30 pm". She asked how I was coping, and I said "OK since I could make tea on the gas stove". That pleased her. They were going to get generators to supply the 250 sites affected, but they weren't needed.

So it can be done - perhaps British Gas should copy them?

[Stanley]

I wish they would David. I know that this could be assessed as racist but I have great trouble understanding ladies speaking in sing song voices extremely fast. Sorry, but that's how it is, it's a product of my age.

[Tizer]

Superb service from a lady with a reassuring West Country accent.

They probably send their staff on language courses run by Pam Ayres!

[Stanley]

I don't think clarity of voice and good language skills are part of the thinking when organising call centres.

[Big Kev]

A new 'power' link between Norway and the UK, potentially we can get their hydroelectric generated and they can get our wind generated.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-58772572

[Stanley]

Oh good! Can we have it this winter please?