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My electricity bill has just tripled: how about yours? Alternative suppliers?

Just been and checked my smart meter (a double edged sword if ever there was) current consumption today at 1300 is £2.48 gas and £1.91 electric. Isolation is over so Mrs Q is back at school (albeit for the last week) so I have changed the off time on the CH back from 1100 to 0830. I have had to turn the radiator valve in Bedroom 3 back up again now that Youngest Q is home from Uni for the Spring Break.
She was moaning it was a bit cold this am so I told her when she is on a £100K a year she can pay her old Dad's gas bill as well as her own. In the meantime she is a fit 19 year old so find a temporary job, a rich boyfriend or put a top on. They're all equally as good as far as I'm concerned. After a bit more moaning she has turned her laptop off and gone out to hang out with the Guys (her pre-Uni friends).
That is also good as far as I'm concerned since whilst I'm sure they're probably spending money it's not mine.
 
I put on an extra layer today and I've been round turning off lights, as well as turning down TRVs. We had a fire in the log-burner last night, although we had a "Sunday Dinner" with all the trimmings.
 
MickiQ said:
It's possible for the energy companies to absorb some of the extra cost and still make the same profit in £££'s that they were making before however received wisdom in the boardroom is that profit in %'s is more important, an attitude that isn't going to change without being forced.
Mass foot dragging is a strategy that's doomed though. To do it you need to have the cash to hand to pay the bill when your timewasting options run out. Doable maybe in summer but come winter you get a massive bill which you will have to find the money for from somewhere. DD's are essentially an interest free loan that enables people to smooth the cost out over the year repaying big bills from last winter in the summer months and running up credit for the next one.
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Ha! Interest free loan from me to the energy company maybe. I don’t know who your supplier is who lets you run up a debit balance.
 
WouldBe said:
If the price of electricity has gone up how come the feed in tariff for solar panels hasn't gone up? :hmm:
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I was wondering about this. But it looks like some companies are offering to buy energy at prices related to the wholesale prices:

Outgoing Octopus

The UK's most awarded energy supplier. We're doing energy better - for you and the environment.
octopus.energy octopus.energy

I assume anyone on the FIT schemes can decide to abandon them and go with something like this instead?
 
nottsgirl said:
Ha! Interest free loan from me to the energy company maybe. I don’t know who your supplier is who lets you run up a debit balance.
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British Gas that well known bastion of righteous social justice.
Have you seriously never had a bill on which you have a negative amount?
 
teuchter said:
I was wondering about this. But it looks like some companies are offering to buy energy at prices related to the wholesale prices:

Outgoing Octopus

The UK's most awarded energy supplier. We're doing energy better - for you and the environment.
octopus.energy octopus.energy

I assume anyone on the FIT schemes can decide to abandon them and go with something like this instead?
Click to expand...
Might be a bit better but when electric has gone from around 15p per kWH to 30p per kWh then the FIT should go up to 10p per kWh not 7.5p. :(
 
WouldBe said:
Might be a bit better but when electric has gone from around 15p per kWH to 30p per kWh then the FIT should go up to 10p per kWh not 7.5p. :(
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That's one of two options they offer. The other is they'll pay you the day ahead wholesale price which I think means about £1 right now, but of course you take the risk of it dropping in the future.
 
nottsgirl said:
Ha! Interest free loan from me to the energy company maybe. I don’t know who your supplier is who lets you run up a debit balance.
Click to expand...

I run a negative balance most of the time. I’m at over -£700 at the moment. I adjust my direct debit amount whenever it looks like I’m going positive, as I have no desire to lend money to the energy companies at 0%.
 
MickiQ said:
It's possible for the energy companies to absorb some of the extra cost and still make the same profit in £££'s that they were making before however received wisdom in the boardroom is that profit in %'s is more important, an attitude that isn't going to change without being forced.
Mass foot dragging is a strategy that's doomed though. To do it you need to have the cash to hand to pay the bill when your timewasting options run out. Doable maybe in summer but come winter you get a massive bill which you will have to find the money for from somewhere. DD's are essentially an interest free loan that enables people to smooth the cost out over the year repaying big bills from last winter in the summer months and running up credit for the next one.
Click to expand...

Aren't there laws that oblige the CEOs of companies to optimise results for their shareholders as far as they can within the law? At least in the US, probably the same in the UK.

"Within the law" can be widely interpreted, and doesn't justify, say, dumping toxic waste in a local river just because it would save you money and it's allowed, because the CEOs could argue that it wasn't really in the interests of their shareholders, but if the govt says "you can increase the amount people pay by this amount," then it'd be difficult for any CEO to argue against it within the law.
 
scifisam said:
Aren't there laws that oblige the CEOs of companies to optimise results for their shareholders as far as they can within the law? At least in the US, probably the same in the UK.

"Within the law" can be widely interpreted, and doesn't justify, say, dumping toxic waste in a local river just because it would save you money and it's allowed, because the CEOs could argue that it wasn't really in the interests of their shareholders, but if the govt says "you can increase the amount people pay by this amount," then it'd be difficult for any CEO to argue against it within the law.
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Nah this is complete bollocks routinely dragged out by (especially) American companies trying to weasel out of giving payrises, I worked for one for 25 years. It's one of those urban (not U75 obvs) myths that they like to try and push.
There was a legal case in the US that went all the way to the Supreme Court (Hobby Lobby I think) where some shareholders had sued over lack of dividends and the Supreme Court ruled they definitely don't have to maximise shareholder value.
 
prunus said:
I run a negative balance most of the time. I’m at over -£700 at the moment. I adjust my direct debit amount whenever it looks like I’m going positive, as I have no desire to lend money to the energy companies at 0%.
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Well you've motivated me to take a look at mine and my last 12 Gas Bills are evenly split with 6 showing a credit balance and 6 a debit balance. The largest credit was £224.30 and the largest debit was £256.82. Not surprisingly the biggest debits are in Winter and the biggest credits are in Summer
Of my last 12 electric bills 9 are in credit with the largest credit being £47.45 and the largest debit being £41.19 Clearly my electricity usage is a lot more even throughout the year than my gas usage.
For what it's worth I currently pay £95 per month for electric and £67 for gas.
 
Well British Gas have sent me an extortion demand (2 actually)

Electric is going up from £94.56 to £115.01 and Gas is going up from £67.57 to £94.63. so a 21% increase in electric and a 40% increase in gas. On the bright side I have cancelled my Sky subscription I barely used it these days and it has saved me a tenner more per month than the rise in energy has cost me.
I suspect that Sky are going to be losing a lot of other customers over the next few months.
 
I must admit that I'm looking at the amount we pay for Sky in a similar way.
We did cut down significantly a few years ago, but the way the channel packages are bundled really doesn't do our interests any favours.
The only saving I suppose you could say we are making is that we've dumped the "cinema entertainment" channels, but we didn't have the "sports" ones anyway ...
 
A lot of channels on the Sky platform are 'free to air' anyway, and will continue to work on a Sky box if you cancel the subscription.

Check out the Freesat channel listings HERE, any of those channels on your Sky box are 'free to air', and will remain available.
 
StoneRoad said:
I must admit that I'm looking at the amount we pay for Sky in a similar way.
We did cut down significantly a few years ago, but the way the channel packages are bundled really doesn't do our interests any favours.
The only saving I suppose you could say we are making is that we've dumped the "cinema entertainment" channels, but we didn't have the "sports" ones anyway ...
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I found it almost impossible to cancel a Sky account. In the end, I just cancelled the direct debit, then when they threatened me over the phone, I told them I'd see them in court. That shut the fuckers up.
 
existentialist said:
I found it almost impossible to cancel a Sky account. In the end, I just cancelled the direct debit, then when they threatened me over the phone, I told them I'd see them in court. That shut the fuckers up.
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I had no problems cancelling it but I had to be firm with them since they seriously tried to get me to change my mind. They've bombarded me with frigging emails ever since though urging me to change my mind.
 
MickiQ said:
I had no problems cancelling it but I had to be firm with them since they seriously tried to get me to change my mind. They've bombarded me with frigging emails ever since though urging me to change my mind.
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Oh, they just put me through phone menu hell, then the call would get cut off. I can't help but wonder if at least part of that is deliberate.
 
I only get prime during the months they’ve got rugby on - which handily is the runup to Christmas. Otherwise I’m happy to wait a few extra days for things to arrive.
 
MBV said:
I need to ditch Prime as I'm not getting value from it. Not a lot of money per month but it all helps.
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Had BFI player for ages, was a bit underwhelming tbh so not used it for ages. Might consider scrapping Prime altogether to, most of the decent stuff is paid anyway.
 
Bulb have just confirmed my new direct debit. It's going up from £117 (gas and electricity) to £162. That's a 38% increase. The old DD was more or less split 50:50 between gas and electricity but the new one suggests an increase of 54% for gas and a 23% increase for electricity. :(
 
Regarding my post above, I am not sure octopus are taking money out of my credit, I confess I don't look at it, how come they are not changing my direct debit, as energy has gone up?
 
My son went on a school trip to Snowdon last week. I went into his room after two days to retrieve all the dirty crockery etc and found he'd left his light on.
 
rubbershoes said:
My son went on a school trip to Snowdon last week. I went into his room after two days to retrieve all the dirty crockery etc and found he'd left his light on.
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It shouldn't cost a lot. Assuming it is an energy saving bulb. So say 10W then it would take 100 hours to use 1kWh e.g. 30p
Even it was a 60W bulb it would cost 87p for 2 days use.
 
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