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News and Comment November 2023

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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.
Payment
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.

Octopus App Octopus App Octopus App

And if you thought government policy couldn’t be more stupid I received this letter a few days ago.
Winter fuel payment
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.

 

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