ENERGY MATTERS

[Big Kev]

No Kev, the new meter has never communicated with anyone, The old meter never faltered, it was the leccy that was the trouble. Now it's the opposite way round, under the second generation the leccy reports, the gas is dumb....

Probably just needs a successful GICOM running (Gas Install and Commission). That would involve an engineer visit.

[Stanley]

And they are not making any appointments for visits. I think they are desperately short of staff. I am resigned to sending readings in, no point arguing with them, there is no resource.....
(A sign of the times, another essential service that is performing badly.....)

[Big Kev]

Glasgow University may have increased the efficiency of air source heat pumps by up to 10%, it's a start. Apparently all it requires is a small tank of water and a coil of copper pipe, it recovers some of the heat produced by the pump.
https://www.gla.ac.uk/news/headline_865127_en.html

[Stanley]

Slow progress and welcome indeed but like fusion it's all going to arrive a bit late. The signs are that we have cocked up completely with energy policy and action to slow climate change. We are still blundering on building a white elephant nuclear plant at Hinkley to a design which has not yet produced a working model and are ordering another exactly the same. How crazy can a policy get?

[PanBiker]

As I see it we are an island surrounded by two tides as regular as clockwork and fully predictable each day. How difficult would it be to develop small generators that could be deployed by the thousands (millions) all around our coastline of which we have a huge amount. Not massively over engineers stuff but small things that could be deployed into the surf on a line which could also be used to transfer the current generated. We have a lot of wobbly sea and we are not using it. Cheap, cheerful and efficient by the millions, it would all add up.

[Tizer]

Every bit helps, Kev. We're going to need it!

[Tripps]

I saw this recently. Atom Valley

Catchy name, but I don't see any connection with nuclear power which was what I thought it was about. Good luck to them.


PS - Impressive Autocue skills from the Council leaders.

[Stanley]

One of the many missed opportunities Ian. Wild birds on mud flats more important than we are.
Atom Valley. Why does my crap detector start whining when I see slick videos......

[Tizer]

Atom Valley. Why does my crap detector start whining when I see slick videos......

The promotion is handled by Better Brands and the graphics are good: Better

[Tripps]

The promotion is handled by Better Brands

Well spotted. Looks like a triumph of style over substance. All that's missing is the phrase 'Award Winning'.

Let's hope something useful comes of it.

Oldham Council's record at handling large projects over recent years is not good, and having sat through several hours of a meeting of Oldham Council recently, and noting that three such Councils are involved - not to mention the future Labour party leader Mayor Andy Burnham - I am a bit quite pessimistic about the outcome.

This web blog seems quiet at the moment but this is a sample of the past many years. Chronic Oldham

PS - Just looked at the vdeo in the link to ther 'Tech Hub'. The word 'hub' is on my list, and should be a warning in itself.
The guest of honour is Prince Andrew. Oh how we miss his presence in public life.

Enough said. What could possibly go wrong?

[Stanley]

I see that one of their flagship projects is the 'Teesworks Brand'. From what I read in PE this is a very suspect initiative with one of Rishi's freeports in the mix and some very murky connections....

[Big Kev]

This is for hot water for a month. Certainly can't make any more savings. As you can see in the picture the gas meter never sent an automated read. I've emailed E.on explaining what the issue is, let's see how long it takes them to fix it.

Screenshot_20220807-134226_Word.jpg

[Stanley]

I'll post my energy bill when BG have worked it out! I sent the reading on the first of the month...... at the moment my account is reading zero after the massive payment for the backlog!

[Stanley]

See THIS Latest estimate of energy prices this winter onwards. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is calling for a doubling of benefits to counteract a rise to £4,200 per year for an average family.

[Big Kev]

It's getting ridiculous, I wonder how many will be ignoring the ban on burning wood and opening up their fireplaces?
The French government have the right idea I reckon. A 4% cap on electricity prices and a price freeze on gas. I'm living in the wrong country.

[Wendyf]

You would probably be facing power cuts this winter as France has been increasing it's reliance on Russian gas....

[Big Kev]

You would probably be facing power cuts this winter as France has been increasing it's reliance on Russian gas....

That's a good point. Perhaps I should put a grate back in the front room.

I'm still trying to grasp how a so called price cap can go from around £1200 to £4200 in a year, not really much of a cap if you ask me. I have no idea how some young families will survive.

[Stanley]

That price cap. As far as I see the shortening of the interval between changes to 3 months is only of benefit to the energy suppliers as it allows them to increase their prices earlier. OFGEN was set up to benefit whom exactly?
What people fail to realise is that the mechanism that has forced prices to this level is simply the product of market forces. They should ask themselves what happens when the same process starts to affect other prices like food and water. Or did you think that it could only happen to fossil fuels?

[plaques]

Power cuts in France? Anything they can do we can do better. From Sky news.

Mr Cleverly also failed to deny there could be blackouts this winter, but did say the UK was in a "better position than many in terms of our domestic energy production".

I suppose a better position means our prices are so much higher that consumers will have no option but to use less. Put prices up even more and it will be voluntary blackouts rather than supply problems. Nice one Mr Cleverly.

[Stanley]

Did you hear the interview on Today? These political interviews get more and more surreal. They have abandoned all semblance of genuine information, what comes out is unadulterated spin.

[Big Kev]

Surely the easiest and , possibly, the most cost effective way to help with rising energy costs is to ensure OFGEM set a realistic price cap and the government subsidise the energy suppliers. It's got to be cheaper than working out who gets what dependant on their income. The bean counters would only then have to look at how much the cash the suppliers are getting and make up the difference to what they're paying for it plus a bit of profit, I believe energy suppliers make around £50 per house per year).
Or am I thinking too simplisticaly?

[plaques]

Or am I thinking too simplisticaly?

The man in the street could possibly think up hundreds of schemes based on averages. Council tax bands. Taxable income. etc,etc which would be better than the 'do nothing' approach we've got now. The problem is that this government won't do anything that upsets market forces and reduces the profit level. All down to Tory ideology.

[Tizer]

This won't make much difference to our energy supply but it's a good idea and an interesting bit of kit...
`Renewable energy: The 'kite' that pulls energy out of the sky' LINK

[Stanley]

That reminds me of Benjamin Franklin and his experiments to capture lightning. See THIS article and wonder how he managed to get away with it!

[plaques]

Octopus Energy.

Their latest offer for a VARIABLE, FLEXIBLE, (read. can go up at any time) starting September 30th 2022.

Electricity
Daily charge 41.98 ....---- Previous Daily charge 24.38
Unit rate 28.01 p/KWh ...--- Previous unit rate 19.38

Gas
Daily charge 27.22 ...--- Previous Daily charge 26.59
Unit rate 7.34 p/KWh ...--- Previous unit rate 4.07

Adding the Daily charges together for electricity and gas
41.98 + 27.22 = 69.2 or £252. 83 for the year. an increase of nearly 38% on the previous year.

The increase in the electricity unit charge = 44.4%
The increase in gas unit charge = 80.3%

Obviously individual bills will depend on the amount and ratio of electricity and gas used but for comparison my overall bill will go up by 65%.

The review below is not far from what I expect to be paying.

October's price cap is due to be announced at the end of this month.
Energy industry analysts Cornwall Insight predict an average annual bill will reach £3,582 at this point - £200 higher than the previous estimate.
In January 2023, when the the cap is due to be changed again, Cornwall Insights expects the cap to go up to £4,266.
The higher estimate means the average household would be paying £355 a month, instead of £164 a month currently.