£400 rebate

[ProDave]

10 minutes ago, PeterW said:

you would be surprised what gets through ..! Had a smart meter install and the meter installer transposed Day and Night reads when he closed off the old meter and Bulb took it as correct despite one dropping by 2,000 units and the other increasing by the same !!!

A previous rental property we had was like that.  At some point one of the tenants, or their supplier, had swapped the day and night rates, and when we came to submit readings they came back on the bill the wrong way round.  It took months, and at least 2 meter reader visits to untangle that mess and it meant the supplier sending corrected bills to the previous set of tenants.  Total mess.

[Carrerahill]

On 01/08/2022 at 21:17, ProDave said:

I will repeat my advice again.  Reduce your monthly payment NOW by £40 per month.  That reduced payment should still cover summertime usage.  Then the £400 will get credited to your account over 6 months starting in October so that should cover the extra winter usage.  you will need to review your monthly payment again in 10 months time, if not sooner if you are not on a fixed tariff so get another big rise in October.

Just done this. 

 

Based on the value my account is in credit, my current monthly bills, the £66/67 payments starting in October, the big pile of seasoned firewood and the new solar panels I think a DD reduction will be wise for us.

[Thedreamer]

Do we know at this stage whether the £400 rebate will continue to be provided in addition to this new price cap?

[SteamyTea]

1 hour ago, Thedreamer said:

Do we know at this stage whether the £400 rebate will continue to be provided in addition to this new price cap?

I hope not, I am on target to use 3 MWh this year (still under 2 MWh just).

My mean price is currently 22p/kWh, so £666 for usage (before meter rental and VAT)

Take away the £550 that the government have promised (spent the £150 already on new secondary glazing), my usage should cost around £120 this year and heading into next year a bit.

 

That begs the question, if I do not use enough, will I not be able to get the full £400?

Shall just have to up my meter reading to get it, £66 a month will not look to unusual.

Edited September 6, 2022 by SteamyTea

[Kelvin]

They really ought to pull the plug on the £400 for all and put the money into the very poorest in society and those on some form of disability allowance. If they also freeze the unit rate at the current rates then the rest of us benefit. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Kelvin

[SteamyTea]

1 minute ago, Kelvin said:

very poorest in society

Who are the poorest though?

Is it based on claiming benefits, a fraction of median household earning, or total individual earnings.

What about shared houses?

 

[Kelvin]

1 minute ago, SteamyTea said:

Who are the poorest though?

Is it based on claiming benefits, a fraction of median household earning, or total individual earnings.

What about shared houses?

 

Lots of things are means tested this could be too albeit it’s undoubtedly complicated but they managed it with child tax credits. Giving people £400 that don’t need it isn’t very efficient. 

[Thedreamer]

I see that Octopus have started applying the £400 rebate, my direct debit has now been adjusted.

[ProDave]

52 minutes ago, Thedreamer said:

I see that Octopus have started applying the £400 rebate, my direct debit has now been adjusted.

I have just checked and yes they have done that to me.  I am not happy.

 

Earlier in the year I had worked out for myself a plan, and I reduced my monthly payments, with agreement with Octopus to spread my £400 over the whole year.  My reduced payment covers summer use and the reduced payment plus £67 from the government will cover winter bills. and I would review it again in the spring.  They appear to have scuppered that.  Looks like I will have to go and put it back up again, but probably not until December when the additional winter usage kicks in.

 

[Thedreamer]

1 minute ago, ProDave said:

I have just checked and yes they have done that to me.  I am not happy.

 

Earlier in the year I had worked out for myself a plan, and I reduced my monthly payments, with agreement with Octopus to spread my £400 over the whole year.  My reduced payment covers summer use and the reduced payment plus £67 from the government will cover winter bills. and I would review it again in the spring.  They appear to have scuppered that.  Looks like I will have to go and put it back up again, but probably not until December when the additional winter usage kicks in.

 

 

I had hoped that they would have just taken my normal payment and the £400 would have been credited over the six months.

 

 

I will be in for a shock next winter after my good deal expires in 2023. I have been building a reserve over the last few years to act as a buffer and plan to use it for the 23/24 winter hopefully it will come down by the winter of 2024/2025. 

[ProDave]

I am now in the odd position of currently paying less for our electricity than I was 2 years ago.

[Ferdinand]

Since my monthly payment is £65, I am now apparently on a "payment holiday".

 

However my Octopus Outgoing Agile kicked in on Monday, and I am apparently owed about £8 on top for that (32 kWh at an estd 25p each).

 

This is the price profile it is giving me for today:

[PeterW]

18 hours ago, Thedreamer said:

I had hoped that they would have just taken my normal payment and the £400 would have been credited over the six months.

Nothing stopping you paying more to your supplier - they won’t complain if they are earning the interest not you on the money. 

[SteamyTea]

4 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

This is the price profile it is giving me for today:

Get an evening job, just turn the lights out before you leave home.

[Kelvin]

On 28/09/2022 at 22:44, ProDave said:

I am now in the odd position of currently paying less for our electricity than I was 2 years ago.

Me too which shows how stupid a blanket approach to any of these schemes is. 

[Adsibob]

On 02/08/2022 at 10:51, ProDave said:

too many stories of suppliers going bust and the customers having a long hard fight to get the credit back.

Yes, Avro Energy being a good example of this appalling behaviour. I had an £800 credit balance with them, after months of trying to get it back, I cancelled and transferred to Octopus. A week or two later Avro went bust. I’m not kidding, it took a further 6 months to get that money back. Outrageous.

[Ferdinand]

8 hours ago, Adsibob said:

Yes, Avro Energy being a good example of this appalling behaviour. I had an £800 credit balance with them, after months of trying to get it back, I cancelled and transferred to Octopus. A week or two later Avro went bust. I’m not kidding, it took a further 6 months to get that money back. Outrageous.

 

That's interesting.

 

I was with Avro when they went bust (and the b*stards defaulted my account whilst I was in a dispute with them which has damaged the credit rating seriously), but the transfer to Octopus was smooth - perhaps because the process was regulated.

 

10 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

Get an evening job, just turn the lights out before you leave home.

 

Unfortunately for that one 80% of my solar is East facing !

 

I only have 1.75 kWp facing West.

 

F

[Ferdinand]

15 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

Since my monthly payment is £65, I am now apparently on a "payment holiday".

 

However my Octopus Outgoing Agile kicked in on Monday, and I am apparently owed about £8 on top for that (32 kWh at an estd 25p each).

 

This is the price profile it is giving me for today:

 

Here is the same graph one day later, which is about half the rate.

 

 

If I had to punt for the cause of why it was double on Thursday vs Friday, I'd point to the French electricity workers strike on Thursday which closed down 4GW (=approx 10%) of French electricity production.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/french-nuclear-production-lowered-due-strike-2022-09-29/ 

 

Thank God that this country is not consumed by chaos !

 

Ferdinand

 

[SteamyTea]

1 minute ago, Ferdinand said:

I'd point to the French electricity workers strike on Thursday which closed down 4GW (=approx 10%) of French electricity production.

Don't tell the Brexiteers that the French are still holding us to ransom, it will stop them digging for British shale gas.

[Ferdinand]

7 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Don't tell the Brexiteers that the French are still holding us to ransom, it will stop them digging for British shale gas.

 

Suspect that the prices need tracing through to see who makes the money, *if* this is the reason, and then we need to determine how much the UK benefits from tax etc. 

 

Perhaps I'm mistaken anyway.

 

As a Brexit supporter, I think shale gas in current circs is vapourware. A little bit like the flares thrown out of Russian helicopters making no difference to a Starstreak missile, or a dog chew given to a toothless old spaniel while the family all eat hot dogs.

 

🙂

 

F

[SteamyTea]

5 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

I think shale gas in current circs is vapourware.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001cf2d

[Ferdinand]

13 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001cf2d

 

Will listen after my bike.

 

From the latest Energy Trends, this is quite interesting Q2 2022 vs Q2 2021. 

(Note this top table is *all* energy, not electricity) 

 

 

Look at the electricity export figure. The gas export number is so high as the Forties field was closed for maintenance in summer 2021.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1107502/Energy_Trends_September_2022.pdf

 

The commentary:

 

UK energy production increased on last year’s record low which saw oil and gas production affected by maintenance. Natural gas production increased by more than 50 per cent and oil production increased by 10 per cent. Low carbon energy also increased.

 

• Total final energy consumption was 0.2 per cent lower than in the second quarter of 2021, as warmer temperatures decreased demand and offset increased activity in the economy. Transport consumption rose by 23 per cent with petrol and diesel consumption returning to near prepandemic levels. Domestic consumption fell by 28 per cent due to warmer weather and a decrease in the amount of time working at home.

 

• Exports of gas reached a new quarterly high as imports of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) arriving in the UK helped supply Belgium and the Netherlands. Electricity exports also reached a new record high with the UK becoming a net exporter of electricity for the first time since 2010.

 

• Energy received from Russia decreased on the same quarter of last year. With no LNG cargoes arriving from Russia, Russia’s share of the UK’s gas imports fell from 7.6 per cent last year to 0. Russia’s share of the UK’s oil imports fell from 15.1 per cent to 3.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2022.

 

• Renewable generation rose 12 per cent on the same period last year due to more favourable conditions and increased capacity. Renewable’s share of generation rose to 38.6 per cent, with low carbon’s share increasing 2.1 percentage points to 55.0 per cent with stronger output from nuclear. Fossil fuel’s share of generation fell by 2.1 percentage points to 41.9 per cent.

 

• Renewable generation capacity grew by 6.5 per cent on the same quarter last year, with offshore wind growing 23 per cent. The growth in renewable capacity has increased in recent quarters after a relatively sustained period of more modest growth. On a longer timeframe, renewable generation capacity is now six times greater than the same quarter of 2010.

[SteamyTea]

1 hour ago, Ferdinand said:

. On a longer timeframe, renewable generation capacity is now six times greater than the same quarter of 2010.

And Hinkley C is is still under construction.

 

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001cf2d

 

Had a listen.

 

So they more or less agree with my view, through a less political lens.

 

1 - Any idea that fracking will make any impact in the next year or two is for the birds, due to planning and the need for local research.

2 - Existing fracking wells are a pinprick on the energy crisis.

3 - There is a confusion between Reserves and Resources, as always. A reserve being a resource that is known to be economic and feasible to develop. 

4 - Work has not been to show that resources are economic to develop. Or that environmental safety claims have been proven - such as emissions of methame.

5 - Earthquakes are not a demonstrated hazard.

6 - Not mentioned in public - that this is a self-serving political mugging by people who aim to get started in the hope that the dishonest claims about helping the current crisis will get a foot in the door and they can make a "started so we'll finish" argument for 5-10 years time.

7 - Also not mentioned in public, that the opposition is like anti-GM - poison the public mind with overwrought claims, not based on science, and rely on that to make it go away. And protect the price of houses for Nimbys.  

 

F

[SteamyTea]

37 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

There is a confusion between Reserves and Resources, as always

Yes. We have plenty of resources, just that we are quite reserved in using them.