65% rise in energy in October!

Whitewavemark2

Going back to the 1950s experience also means, greater respiratory illness, higher blood pressure, heart attacks, asthmatic attacks, poorer outlook for arthritis sufferers, greater levels of mould are all results of lack of adequate heating the house.

The least if our problems will be chilblains I think!

Do you think a great deal of those 1950s problems were caused by the smog created by coal fires, the majority of people smoking and cooking with lard rather than cold rooms?

That's true RichmondPark and we had no central heating whatsoever so rooms were generally freezing cold unless you had a coal fire or a paraffin heater (that's what we had anyway). Those were never going to heat the house or flat adequately. With central heating we can at least have a more balanced form of heating and healthier too. We will have to turn it on for a bit every day otherwise there will be problems with freezing pipes etc. but I suppose most people would turn their heating on for short periods at least to take the chill off the place. I don't think it would be as bad as the 1950s.

RichmondPark

Whitewavemark2

Going back to the 1950s experience also means, greater respiratory illness, higher blood pressure, heart attacks, asthmatic attacks, poorer outlook for arthritis sufferers, greater levels of mould are all results of lack of adequate heating the house.

The least if our problems will be chilblains I think!

Do you think a great deal of those 1950s problems were caused by the smog created by coal fires, the majority of people smoking and cooking with lard rather than cold rooms?

No they are caused by insufficient heat, particularly for the young and old

Calendargirl

No, we don’t want a return to the 50’s when I was young, but you honestly wonder how we managed back then. Only one fire in the living room, which we all huddled round at night. No heating in bedrooms, there was a fireplace, but only lit in dire emergencies, i.e. when ill in bed with mumps. No heating in bathroom, or in the little scullery.

I’m sure the winters must have been just as cold, if not colder. We must have all wrapped up more, certainly had hot water bottles in bed at night, and just managed.

except for those that died from the cold!!!! It is all very well saying how 'we survived' back then = Yes, WE did. but thousands each year did not.

As for saying that children are okay as 'they do not feel the cold' - that is probably so as their body temperature controls are not working properly, which is why it is the duty of adults to ensure that children are in a properly heated environment. Heating the person not the room is a bad adage, breathing in cold air is very dangerous to babies, children and the old - not that good for anyone else.

Franbern

Calendargirl

No, we don’t want a return to the 50’s when I was young, but you honestly wonder how we managed back then. Only one fire in the living room, which we all huddled round at night. No heating in bedrooms, there was a fireplace, but only lit in dire emergencies, i.e. when ill in bed with mumps. No heating in bathroom, or in the little scullery.

I’m sure the winters must have been just as cold, if not colder. We must have all wrapped up more, certainly had hot water bottles in bed at night, and just managed.

except for those that died from the cold!!!! It is all very well saying how 'we survived' back then = Yes, WE did. but thousands each year did not.

As for saying that children are okay as 'they do not feel the cold' - that is probably so as their body temperature controls are not working properly, which is why it is the duty of adults to ensure that children are in a properly heated environment. Heating the person not the room is a bad adage, breathing in cold air is very dangerous to babies, children and the old - not that good for anyone else.

Well said, Franbern.

Every single time I see the dismissive "... we all survived" comment, which is quite often here on Gransnet, I just want to shout, "Of course we did, but the many who didnt survive it aren't here to tell us their fate."

In other words, when it's used to imply that people now are snowflakes, making a fuss about nothing, it's a ridiculous and very flawed argument..

To be fair to Calendargirl, though, she didn't quite say that. Hers was a statement about we all managed. That's true enough, we did all manage, doing the best we could - though in many cases, unfortunately, just not well enough to survive.

To get back to the OP, is anyone now having to choose between a fixed term tariff and a flexible one? It's a really bad time! No good fixed ones around, they are very expensive, and you would pay those high rates starting now.

If you choose a flexible tariff you pay less now but it will go up in October. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Anyone making that choice now and what are you going to do?

I received my gas/electricity bill for the June - July period. In that 29 day period, I used 1 unit of gas. The cost for that one unit was £0.79p. The standing charges and vat were x8 the cost of the energy used.
I'm dreading the winter months.

Chewbacca that is horrendous and you cannot exactly save on that usage of gas!

I do not see the point of removing VAT, I think the standing charges have to be tackled. Other countries are not in the financial predicament we are.

My charges are fixed until next July but I am aware I will receive a very nasty shock then.

Im also tired of the "energy saving tips" People were very keen to begin with but it will very quickly become very wearing. Not being able use an oven, wash laundry properly, boiling kettles and keeping hot water in a flask etc etc.
I remember past winters when many elderly people died of hypothermia. I think that is why the winter fuel allowance was first introduced for pensioners.
The current parliament seem to be burying they're heads in the sand. We need strong leadership and a firm hand to guide the country through the potential disaster staring us in the face.

Puts a different spin on working from home, doesnt it?

Namsnanny

Puts a different spin on working from home, doesnt it?

Good point. I did read that some people went back in to work in air conditioned offices. Guess it depends on the cost of the commute.

Martin Lewis was on R4 again this week he was furious about the lack of government response. I wonder if the extra £400 per household is a direct response? He also suggested that Sunak, Truss and Johnson get around the table and agree a way forward for whoever is in charge come September. Which sounded quite a grown up response.

Katie59

We’ve just signed up a new deal and it is 45% up fixed for year, but no penalty to change, so if it is too much we’re not tied in.

That’s a good deal. The only fixed tariff we were recently offered by Scottish Power had a £300 exit penalty per fuel type.

Chestnut

To get back to the OP, is anyone now having to choose between a fixed term tariff and a flexible one? It's a really bad time! No good fixed ones around, they are very expensive, and you would pay those high rates starting now.

If you choose a flexible tariff you pay less now but it will go up in October. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Anyone making that choice now and what are you going to do?

Yes we are in that situation with Scottish Power. Our fixed rate ends on July 31st. We were offered another fixed rate tariff but there were two negatives with it - there was an exit penalty of £300 per fuel and an additional variable charge every quarter, they said it could be a credit but that is very unlikely IMO. So I looked at their standard tariff and if that goes up by 50% we will still be paying less than the fixed rate tariff offered. So we decided to go on the standard tariff, see what the usage costs are and possibly change supplier when this is possible, I believe it is virtually impossible to go to a new supplier now.

I heard this morning that Hungary - a country known for its very right wing politics has capped the charge on petrol £1.05
Home fuel etc. the supply is privatised and the suppliers are still making money.

Why can’t we?

The govenment need to get their big boy pants on and abolish the standing charge, green levy and vat on fuel. Just for a start.

Just been studying Martin's comments on whether to have a fixed tariff or a flexible tariff (price cap). I fixed my tariff in March and while it was expensive it wasn't as bad as it is now. It is now impossible to decide which is best.

Octopus has just offered my daughter a fixed rate of:
Electricity (day rate) per kWh: 51.74p prev 19.62p
Electricity (night rate) per kWh: 35.69p prev 14.00p
Electricity standing charge: 44.57p prev 22.71p
Gas rate per kWh: 15.59p prev 3.58p
Gas standing charge: 27.22p prev 22.71p
The previous rates are what she paid before 1st April.

That is a shockingly high increase, much higher than my fixed rate in March. I suggested she stay on the flexible tariff (price cap) and ride the storm that we know is coming on 1st October. But even Martin doesn't know what to advise.

They can't abolish the standing charge because its covers the cost of connection and of servicing your account.

They can't abolish the Green Levy because the world is on fire and we need to do something about it.

VAT on Fuel, agree with abolishing that.

They need to take a holistic approach to providing affordable fuel to this country instead of arguing about bringing back grammar schools and "taking out" the leaders of other countries. And before anyone asks, no, I don't know what they should do. But I'm not standing for PM.

volver

They can't abolish the standing charge because its covers the cost of connection and of servicing your account.

They can't abolish the Green Levy because the world is on fire and we need to do something about it.

VAT on Fuel, agree with abolishing that.

They need to take a holistic approach to providing affordable fuel to this country instead of arguing about bringing back grammar schools and "taking out" the leaders of other countries. And before anyone asks, no, I don't know what they should do. But I'm not standing for PM.

They could significantly reduce the standing charge though, or at least not put it up again in October, as there’s no reason for that element to go up as steeply as it has done this year that I can see?

There is no reason at all to raise the standing charges, cost of the power is one thing, and it is controlled to a certain extent by the markets, but standing charges are not.

Agreed Casdon.

So why , when the energy companies are raking in massive profits are prices rising so fast? Plus, Russia seem to be coining it in despite “sanctions”.

I am very worried now. I find it hard to believe what I am being charged. It is about to increase to £500 per month! gas and electric. I pay by direct debit.
My gas boiler stopped working 3 months ago and my old gas Rayburn cooker has been outside in the rain for over a year now. Where are they getting their figures from?

There is no-one to speak to either. How do you get through to energy companies now?

Our correspondence, all online, is addressed to my late husband which I find disconcerting and leads me to believe that there is no-one there at all just a robot collecting money.

I am writing this on here in the hope that someone can point me in the direction of a human being to speak to.

The Tories are obviously going to choose Truss who thinks a bit of tax cutting will solve the UK's many problems but won't admit some of them stem from Brexit. Sunak would increase support to householders for energy costs but he's going out to grass. Johnson has wasted a lot of time. Energy is so critical it should be be nationalised (also water) as France has done - hardly a socialist measure under Macron.

Grammaretto Who is your energy supplier? There must be a phone number on the bill to ring if you have a query. You need to tell them your husband has died so they change the name and contact details (e-mail address and phone number).

On your bill it will show how much you pay per kWh for your electricity and gas, and what your standing charge is for both as well. Write them down and then find an old bill and write the same down to compare. The cost went up on 1st April so you will have different rate before that date and after that date.

It also depends on whether you are on a fixed rate tariff or a flexible one. If fixed then the rate you pay will stay the same during the life of that tariff. If on a flexible tariff then it will go up as the cost increases.