ENERGY MATTERS

[PanBiker]

Both.

[Whyperion]

I've seen the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) saying that sales of second-hand electric cars are increasing. It doesn't say what those drivers are buying as a replacement - do they go for a newer electric one or are they under-whelmed by the electric and return to a conventional IC car?

S/H Petrols ?
I think the new gen of electric though are more versatile. Not certain what the lease companies for new were working out with lifetime costs on cars, I would have thought the main repair on an electric car on its life would be suspension and seats !

[Big Kev]

FairFuelUK chief executive Howard Cox said on Friday (21st May) that the day's wholesale diesel price was 8p less than petrol, but that diesel was 14p more than petrol at the pump.

Something fishy somewhere.

[Tripps]

I would have thought the main repair on an electric car on its life would be suspension and seats !


A bit more than that needed here at Potters Bar today for these buses. . . .

burnbus.jpg

[Stanley]

See THIS for the BBC report of the fire. It makes you wonder about what the cause was. A battery fire? There have been so many fires in cargo planes caused by faulty batteries in transit.

[Tripps]

Not much coverage today, and I'm not surprised. Too much financial and political capital at stake. The spinners need time to think it through. No mention that Lithiuim batteries can catch fire and are almost impossible to extinguish quickly - certanly not by spraying with water. Not long since this incident Car cargo sinks

Would be good to know if the vehicles that caught fire were being charged at the time, or was it just spontaneous? The one I saw burning in France recently was in service so certainly not on charge.

The insurance companies will surely take note, and the colateral damage could be considerable, especially if the vehicle is garaged. In a worst case scenario huge loss of life is inevitable. Could be quite a set back for EV's.

[Stanley]

I went for a furtle David and found THIS it dried up and demanded I signed up but not before I had got the gist of it. I note it says there were 54 EV fires in London in 2019. I must say it's a bit worrying and would concern me.....
David, off piste but while I have your attention.... I found a good deal on 4Litre Lea and Perrins yesterday, £16 each so, thinking about the price rises on the way I invested in 3 X 4L bottles. Not as cheap as the ones you found but good.
It's also an expression of confidence in the future. That will last for a long time....
(Seen in the advertising blurb.... "Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce is cholesterol free, fat free, preservative free, gluten free and has 80% less sodium than soy sauce.". So there....)

[Tripps]

Yes - that's a good deal. and also I find that it is "Fat Free, Halal, and Kosher Certified" All bases covered.

I admire your confidence to get so much - I use only about a normal bottle a year. I've just looked at Approved Food and can't get to the website. Doesn't look good for them. Nothing on Facebook since Christmas.

PS - All seems OK with Approved Food. It connects with a different browser than Firefox.

I've just stocked up on Linghams chili sauce though, as it became unobtainable at several supermarkets that used to sell it. Two each of the extra hot, the garlic, and the ginger. That's enough for a couple of years.
For example Linghams

PS back to energy - I've just read the Autocar article - very alarming, and sufficient to totally put me off an electric vehicle.

[Stanley]

"very alarming, and sufficient to totally put me off an electric vehicle." Moi aussi.....
The great thing about these high strength sauces is that they have an almost unlimited shelf life but due to regulations have to put one on the label, that's why your deal from Approved Foods was so good. I always noted that the best Lea and Perrins of all was the bottle on the back of the bar that had only been used for the occasional Bloody Mary over the years.....

[Whyperion]

This video might help explain the present prices being charge for Oil products

[plaques]

We are all aware of the pressure to introduce a windfall tax on energy companies. The charts shown below go someway why this action is justified.

Chart 1. shows the current spot price for Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) . Apparently the drop in the daily price is because the majority of UK and EU, LPG, is shipped to England, stored here before being thawed out and pushed through the interconnector to France. At the moment they can't handle this amount of gas from this direction. At the moment the gas is priced at 38p per therm while the UK customer is paying well over this price.
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Gas prices..jpg

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Chart 2. shows the predicted prices 12 months ahead. Naturally because of the Russian sanctions the prices are little more than an educated guess, Also the market for gas will demand that companies edge their bets by buying ahead. But what is really annoying is the fact that UK consumers are paying the forward prices in their present bills ie 175p per therm. This difference is pure profit except for the forward buying element. Its as though the companies are protecting us from a future shock rise by introducing the shock now.
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Gas prices 2..jpg

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There is little doubt that there is a good case for a windfall tax and perhaps a better case for full nationalisation. The general argument against nationalisation is that pension funds have large holdings of shares so pensioners benefit from these profits. Against this is the fact that large amount of profit disappear into tax havens and direct profit to people who can afford to buy shares. Nationalisation would spread the profit to everybody giving pensioners an even bigger proportion.

[PanBiker]

[Stanley]

Today is a good day. I have 13 litres of Lea and Perrins in the cupboard. We are safe and they can put it up as much as they like...... I have adequate stocks for at least two years and at my age that's a considerable cushion!
Re. our discussion of battery fires have a look at

[Stanley]

I realised yesterday that I am not worrying about the energy bills later this year. I am waiting to see what actually happens and will deal with the reality when I see it. Not a lot of point worrying about something that you have no control over.
On another energy related matter, multiple reports are coming in about farmers all over the world looking at the price of fertilizer, realising that there is no profit in growing it and only planting enough for their own needs.
What does this mean for harvests this year? Do the politicians clearly realise the nature of the linkage between energy prices and food security? Or George Eustise certainly didn't when he told a questioner that Ukraine would not affect us . Dream on George.....

[Big Kev]

Potentially another increase of around £60 a month for Chez Kev, I can't see any issue paying it as there won't be any food to squander my money on.

[Stanley]

As you know I have given up all my expensive vices, motoring, booze, tobacco, women and now high carb foods. The consequence is I have nothing else to spend money on other than energy and cabbages.....

[Big Kev]

An interesting read, hopefully it's not just another 'pie in the sky' idea. Gas from water...

http://tradearabia.com/touch/article/OGN/396885

[Tripps]

The Daily Express are all over this nonsense. Kinetic Seven indeed. Total baloney I'd say, and I don't really mean baloney.

[Stanley]

I remember that during petrol rationing after the war there was a rash of loopy 'discoveries' including a tablet you dissolved in water and poured into the tank. File Kinetic 7 under the same heading, my money is on total crap....

[plaques]

The EU's proposal to cut back on Russian oil by 90% will obviously affect the global energy markets already we now seeing oil been priced at $120 per barrel. Not a muff from our government on how they will see it affecting the cost of living. Inevitably transportation prices will rise affecting everything we buy. An acquaintance who has a business in building materials said his heavy wagon runs at 8 mile per gallon. £100 every two days. A ride past Sainsbury's petrol station yesterday saw it chock-a-block queued up to the main road. Are people expecting further price rises?

We already have the answer in electric cars but who can afford them? And who would care to mix a tiny efficient EV with the giant behemoths that we now see on the roads.

A bit of nostalgia for you.
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Sinclair C5.jpg

[Stanley]

A friend of mine has been forbidden driving because of a medical condition. I told him. look at it this way, with the way motoring costs are rising this will save you a fortune! Perhaps that's the answer, instead of adjusting how we live and work to take advantage of cars perhaps we need to come at it from the other direction and accept the restrictions of not having instant mobility at our finger tips.

[Stanley]

I will repeat what I have said before, British Gas would have problems running a piss up in a brewery.... Today I spent another hour on them after realising, when I sent in the reading for my Smart Gas Meter (which still isn't smart) , that they have not fulfilled their promise and taken the amount I owe them.
So I got onto them and asked why. As usual I was put through to a nice lady in the Punjab (or wherever!) who I had difficulty understanding. (She tried to get me a British agent but apologised because she said they are all on holiday)
Eventually she managed to convey to me that there was no direct debit set up. (Why had they not contacted me and told me?) I ended up in the virtual chat room with another Asian person who couldn't spell and worked out that when I cancelled the service contract on the boiler in March the direct debit associated with that which was killed was also servicing the energy charges.
So I have had to give them all the details again and they assure me that a variable direct debit will be set up immediately, the account charged monthly and triggered by me sending in the gas meter reading. I asked for this to be confirmed by email.I wonder if at last I have got the account back on an even keel? I am not holding my breath.

[Tripps]

I try not to get things to a personal level on here. I really hate telling people what to do, and you are known for doing your own thing, - but - this is obviously causing repeated anxiety which you could manage without - so why not bite the bullet and switch to Octopus.

I think it is still possible to do so.

They seem quite ethical and they say they charge cost plus 5% for running costs. Their customer service is needed less, and my experience of it is good. They do not use Indian call centres.

I assume Ian will give them a reference - have a word with him? .

I can't promise anything but suspect you would soon not be needing unintelligible one hour long phone calls to India, and you get a free spin of ther roulette wheel every month, when you submit your meter readings. Do your own research as they say on the Interweb thingy.

[PanBiker]

Aye, here is the code that will give us both £50 if you use it for signing up.

https://share.octopus.energy/young-ibis-685

You can also get all the info on Octopus and the deal via the link

If you prefer to give David or Peter the brass they can also supply codes.

[Stanley]

Thank you for your concern, I shall continue to re-educate them.....