1 November - The reason energy prices are unaffordable?
As stated several times over the years the software that runs this website falls over if it
doesn’t find a new entry on the 1st of the month and usually I keep something
newsworthy up my sleeve to fulfill that requirement; however there has been little going on
recently, so here is a new take on an old gripe; the nonsense that is this government’s energy policy.
Not just this government of course because the seeds were sown by Labour in the
noughties but very little has been done to put things right since 2010. The
green taxes are in my opinion ridiculous and benefit the better off at the expense of the poor.
Why are we sitting on enormous gas reserves but importing so much from overseas? Could it be that the government
is more interested In protecting its friends living in expensive rural mansions while the poor are
huddled around the gas stove for warmth?
Their energy policies are very generous to those who could afford to make the
right investments at the right time which is not a lot of use to the average
voter. In the months of July, August and September 2023 my solar panels generated enough electricity to pay me £808·22.
Generous enough you might think but thanks to an investment in electronic gadgetry I used almost all of it myself which keeps the bills low.
(The no longer available Feed in Tariff guarantees a payment for every kilowatt
hour generated irrespective of whether it is exported to the grid or not.)
In image 1 below you can see that my electricity bill is about £20 a
month and some earlier bills have been as low as £13. In image 2 it can be seen that I
am paying Octopus Energy £50 a month for both fuels while they recommend I should
pay £172·03. Despite refusing to pay their calculated figure a credit of £610
has accumulated (Image 3) and it was only last May that I had them repay me £600.
Octopus is reputed to be the best supplier for customer service but I
have asked at least six times for an explanation of how they calculated £172 a month which is
much higher than my biggest ever monthly bill.
There must be something seriously wrong with their algorithm but I have received
only a series of idiotic answers.
And if you thought government policy couldn’t be more stupid I received this letter a few days ago.
After keeping the lights on, heating the house and charging the car I am making a profit of around £2,000 a year. This
is seriously crazy but is a direct result of government policy. I will enjoy
spending the money using the old excuse of ‘you can’t take it with you’ it and try not to let the sense of guilt become too overwhelming.