Vocal Voices

The Resolution Foundation (Who?) tells us that the average family will see increases of £1200 in their living costs in the coming year: but what is an 'average' family?

There could be any number of different possibilities so the £1200 prediction has little meaning - it is click-bait. It appears ths it, the RF, has taken all sorts of averages and cobbled them together to make the 'perfect' average family when there is no such thing.

What is true, however, is that costs will be going up for just about everyone and there is little we can do about it except to cut our own cloth.... It is not as though it has not happened before. At least this time many of us can cut out Netflix or go for a cheaper mobile plan, slower broadband, buy fewer non-essential, use Primark.

But no, we just know that the "heat or eat" mantra is heading our way.

Yes, there are many at the bottom who will need help, and we should help them, but £3 more expense per day for the same things is not going to kill us all off.

Decisions have consequences. Because my decision to go for wood fired boiler CH, my energy costs will not rise as dramatically this year as my local wood supplier will only raise prices slightly.

If Electric does spark up this year it will finally bubble solar up Mrs S' priority list. I will spend about €2,000 on solar kit and probably save the entire cost in 2 years. On top of that I'll expand the Solar annually eventually taking me off grid, but funded mainly by savings.

People who get screwed by these price rises either took easy decisions or had no choice.

Perhaps people will stop looking for the best tariff switch (the best price may go bust), and start looking at ways of getting out of the tariff altogether.

It is not only about energy, it is across the board - NI rises, general inflation, low wage growth. Energy is only one part and most of us in the UK can do sod all about it, certainly not in the next few years, and possibly longer.

All we can do is change our existing spending habits. Maybe cut out the takeaways, put on a woolly pully when its cold, cook fresh and do away with the ready glop, eat fewer 'treats'. We do have choices.

I am not saying that it will be easy, but it can be done. I lived through the days when inflation was high and we had fewer choices on what to cut back on than today, but we did it and survived.

I must admit I do wonder what people do with their memories.

Did everyone think that the government would borrow WW2 levels of money to "give" to people they put out of work and then someone would wave their magic wand and it would all vanish overnight?

I said at the time that the lockdowns and the furlough payments were not free. I got, effectively, Jack schmidt from the government. Oh yes an 18 grand loan, Loan mark you, to be repaid and to carry 2.5% interest. MASSIVELY over the interest rates at the time.

The impact of Covid will go on for decades. The most impacted will be the poorest. Then again the justification for Furlough was the poorest could not live without their wage being paid.

Go figure.

There's going to be some upset people when the next gas bill lands on the mat.

Certainly will be, but, so we're there unhappy people during the Oil crises. The price of gas is largely out of the hands of the UK government. We no longer oversupply and are, therefore, subject to market prices.

Russia is the largest direct supplier to the UK. Russia is using energy as a political tool.

The US fracking companies will be glad though. They were on the verge of going bankrupt.

Looking at wholesale prices, gas is currently 10 times the price it was in March. If this continues, the estimates on gas costs are going to be wildly inaccurate.

I doubt the government will be too hugely concerned, the higher the prices go, the faster the transition to heat pumps.

Of course in 2 years it will become an issue with an election on the horizon.

How do you build a heat pump when you are on the tenth florr of a block of flats with no garden?

The problem with dependence on Russian gas has been known about for years but nothing has been done about it.
What could have been done is to develop the Cambo gas and oil field, but no.
No political courage to do it. It could have been used as a bridge between where we are now and the green future.
Heat pumps are going to bring their own problems, not least paying for them.

cruiser2 wrote:How do you build a heat pump when you are on the tenth florr of a block of flats with no garden?

They can put them on the outside wall Cruiser, mind you servicing them might be a bit tricky!

cruiser2 wrote:How do you build a heat pump when you are on the tenth florr of a block of flats with no garden?

Same as the aircon units you see on huge blocks of flats all over the world. Similar technology, different application.