Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

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Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby rebbonk » Sun Jun 25, 2023 7:53 pm

I really think Sunk is trying (and succeeding) to upset and antagonise virtually every voter in the UK. Not only is he a weak and insipid leader, but he's also spiteful and vindictive!

Households face £170 net-zero green levy within days as government funding ends

Taxpayers face a £170-a-year green levy on top of their energy bills within a few days as the government suddenly cut off its subsidy for the net-zero charge.


The two-year suspension of green levies, which came into place just six months ago, will reportedly end at the start of July.

Energy firms and MPs had lobbied for the government to pay the charge during the cost of living crisis.

But with energy bills set to fall by an average of almost £500 from July, the government is placing the cost back on households, The Telegraph reported.

Jacob Rees-Mogg told the newspaper that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt have behaved "slyly".

He said: “Green levies are part of the problem behind the UK’s particularly high electricity prices. They ought to be abolished but should fall on general taxation until that can happen. The ambition for net zero must not make us cold and poor.

“Any new or re-imposed charge ought to be announced to Parliament first and not slipped through slyly.”

Energy regulator Ofgem and the Treasury did not respond to requests for comment.

The good news for consumers is that energy bills are set to be slashed from the start of July as the government's energy price cap falls by £426.

The cap will now be an annual £2,074, down from a peak of £4,279 in January this year.

It's the first time consumers on default tariffs will see their prices fall since the global gas crisis took hold more than 18 months ago, Ofgem said.

Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said: “The fall in the price cap provides some desperately needed respite for households but energy bills will still be nearly double what they were just 18 months ago. That’s unaffordable for millions of households.

“For many, life is getting worse, not better. Year on year we’re breaking records for the number of people struggling with energy debt.

“It’s clear more government support will be needed in the future for struggling households.”

Source: https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/households-green-levy-net-zero-sunak-hunt/

Rees-Mogg puts it very mildly. My thoughts are unprintable! :fuming:
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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby dutchman » Sun Jun 25, 2023 8:01 pm

I've already had mine and it's about the same as the last one.

I'm surprised it hasn't actually gone up (yet) as several temporary subsidies have now been removed? :roll:
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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby rebbonk » Sun Jun 25, 2023 9:29 pm

Rishi Sunak faces backlash over ‘punishing’ net zero levy

Rebel Tory MPs denounce the green energy charge as ‘unfair’ and ‘a giant folly’ to place on already struggling households

Rishi Sunak is facing a backlash from Tories who insist it is unfair to “punish” households with a £170-a-year green levy on energy bills.

Three Conservative MPs associated with the Net Zero Scrutiny Group have warned ministers against lifting a suspension of the charge announced last autumn to ease the cost of living crisis.

The cost of the levies was shifted from consumer bills to be funded instead by the Government, following a year-long campaign by energy firms and MPs amid spiralling gas, electricity and food prices.

But The Telegraph has learned that the Treasury will stop covering the charge from the beginning of July, after just nine months.

Craig Mackinlay, the MP for South Thanet, who spearheads the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, said it was the “wrong time” to increase costs given the sting of rising interest rates, and urged the Government to instead remove all green levies permanently.

Greg Smith, the MP for Buckingham, said there is “no place” for the charge on utility bills, insisting it is “simply not fair to financially punish people in this way”.

“Utility bills should be about what you use and no more,” he said.

Andrew Lewer, the MP for Northampton South, said: “Many of my constituents are going to be dismayed if this levy is reimposed and I have already made my views known to ministers about it.

“A legally binding net zero target by 2050 may just prove a giant folly and the impositions along the way, such as a ban on internal combustion engine sales by 2030 or lumping huge levies on households like this, even more so.”

The decision to fund the green levies via general taxation, as opposed to consumer bill payments, was announced by Kwasi Kwarteng, the former chancellor, when he unveiled last year’s energy bailout.

At the time, the Government said: “Schemes previously funded by green levies will also continue to be funded by the Government during this two-year period to ensure the UK’s investment in home-grown, secure renewable technologies continues.”

But the Treasury will stop funding the cost – which has risen from £150 last year to £170 now – from July, meaning that it will be borne by consumers once again. The levies fund other “green” schemes, ranging from the installation of home insulation, to historical contracts with wind farm developers.

A Treasury source insisted that the move was “not an active decision of this administration”.

By design, the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) covered the cost of the green levies, the source said. From July, when EPG subsidies will end for most bill-payers, so will the Treasury funding.

Mr Mackinlay told The Telegraph: “It is good news that energy prices continue to fall with an average 17 per cent reduction across combined gas and electricity bills from 1 July.

“However, as the EPG falls away this means a reintroduction of £170 of green levies onto household bills.

“With the Government aiming to halve inflation and leading negotiations with mortgage lenders to create new means to reduce the pain of increased interest rates, this seems to be the wrong time to add costs, especially for net zero measures that the public increasingly despise.

“I’ve long advocated the permanent removal of all green levies and the 5 per cent VAT on home energy. This should be the announcement coming from Government.”

Tory parliamentarians and government figures consulted by The Telegraph said they had expected the charges to be borne by the Treasury for at least the two-year period announced in September.

Critics of the levies had expected a public debate about whether the charges should then be reimposed on consumers, either in part or in full, or scrapped altogether.

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/06/25/green-levy-tory-backlash-rishi-sunak-net-zero-unfair/

It's not that they care, it's that they fear losing their own positions. :fuming:
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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby rebbonk » Fri Aug 25, 2023 1:45 pm

Low user of electricity? Guess what, proportionately your prices aren't falling that much due to the obscene standing charge! Yes, the price we are all paying to subsidise the failed energy sellers that ought never have been given a licence to trade due to their flaky business plans! :fuming: :fuming: :fuming:

Gotta get through this
Energy bills this winter


Britain’s energy bill crisis is not over: Ofgem’s imminent confirmation of the Q4 2023 price cap is expected to show that annualised typical energy bills will be above £1,900 from October, close to double those before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and only a little below the effective level of £2,100 from last winter that resulted from the combination of the Energy Price Guarantee and universal £400 payments through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

However, this headline £200-a-year saving for a typical household masks a lot of variation, with the heaviest energy users in line for larger reductions in bills, and some households who use relatively little energy set to see bills rise this winter compared to last year. In fact, any family with an energy consumption less than four-fifths of the average will see higher bills this winter than last, a situation that applies to around one-in-three (35 per cent) of households in England and close to half (47 per cent) of those in the lowest income decile.

For some, these extra costs will be substantial: 13 per cent of households (2.7 million families) face energy bills rising by more than £100 this winter, a figure that rises to one in four (24 per cent) for the poorest households. And although the Government has increased its Cost of Living payments to £900 during 2023-24 (up from £650 in 2022-23), the rising costs of other essentials – most obviously food bills, which are up by £960 on average since 2019-20 – mean this is unlikely to prevent another difficult winter.

Progress on energy policy has also not lived up to the scale of the challenge. The Government is yet to take action to meet its goal of delivering ‘more targeted support’ for energy costs before April 2024, instead seeming minded to rely on a reformed Warm Homes Discount scheme to support low-income households with energy costs, a move that would fall a long way short of a genuine social tariff scheme. Perhaps a greater long-term failing is the lack of action to encourage home insulation, with rates in 2022 being 45 per cent down on the already-low levels seen in 2021. There are real-world impacts of this poor progress on efficiency, with those in an EPC E-rated home facing higher gas bills to the tune of £57 a month this winter, compared with an EPC C-rated home.

Political attention has shifted but, for many, energy bills will be higher this winter than last

The drumbeat of terrifying energy-bill forecasts from last summer has thankfully not been repeated this year, and the latest expectations for this winter point to price cap of £1,925 applying during Q4 2023 (not accounting for changes driven by changing demand levels in the price cap methodology). This is nearly half the level of the Ofgem price cap set this time last year, with the fall driven by lower wholesale gas prices, which drive both gas and electricity bills. However, bills were kept artificially low last winter with the combination of the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) and the universal £400 Energy Bill Support lowering the effective typical annualised bill paid by households to £2,100, as Figure 1 shows. This winter’s bills, then, look set to be slightly lower than that, but close to double those seen before the energy crisis took hold, with little immediate prospect of returning to those levels.

Figure 1: Energy bills this winter for a typical household are set to be close to those last winter
Image


The change in the typical overall bill is driven by three factors which affect bills in offsetting ways. First, according to latest forecasts, unit prices are forecast to fall from 33p/kWh for electricity and 10.4p/kWh for gas under the EPG to 27p/kWh (down 19 per cent) and 6.9p/kWh (down 33 per cent) respectively. Second, standing charges, which are charged daily regardless of energy use, are set to rise to recoup the costs associated with the wave of supplier failures, consumer defaults, and additional support to shore up energy companies’ finances. Third, the removal of the flat £400 Energy Bill Support scheme, which was paid out in monthly instalments over winter 2022 to all households, regardless of income or energy consumption, is in effect putting upward pressure on every household’s bill this winter.The interplay between these changes means that not every household will see energy bills fall. Whether a household faces a lower bill this winter depends on whether the lower per-unit prices provide savings that outweigh the higher standing charges and removal of the £400 support. Households consuming large amounts of energy – and therefore gaining the biggest benefits from lower per-unit prices – are more likely to see lower bills this winter than last winter. At the other end, households that consume less than 79 per cent of the typical gas and electricity consumption are likely to see higher bills this winter than last.

As Figure 2 shows, we estimate that one-in-three (35 per cent) or 7.2 million households in England, will fall into this category, and see higher energy bills this winter than they did last year, a figure that rises to nearly half (47 per cent) of those in the lowest household income decile. For some, these additional costs will be significant: 2.7 million, or 13 per cent of English households will be spending upwards of £100 more on gas and electricity bills during the upcoming winter, a figure that rises to 24 per cent of those in the poorest tenth of families. This estimate is based on data on ‘required energy spending’ that is collected in the English Housing Survey, revised in line with prices set through the Default Tariff Cap since October 2021. ‘Required energy spending’ accounts for the amount of energy that households need to consume to have a warm, well-lit home, with hot water for everyday use; we use it in preference to actual spend to ensure that those who actively reduce energy use are not assumed to be under-consuming in perpetuity, thereby mirroring the approach used in calculating national fuel poverty statistics.

Figure 2 Around a third of households face higher bills this winter
Image


One key group who faced the sharp end of the crisis last winter are households who pay their energy bills via pre-payment meters (PPM). This winter, nearly half (47 per cent) of PPM customers are set to pay more to heat their home adequately than last year, with 600,000 of these households needing to pay £100 or more than last year.

Around eight million households are receiving higher Cost of Living payments from the Government this year, but energy isn’t the only cost pressure that they face

Although, as we have shown above, the removal of the £400 Energy Bill Support scheme means that a third of households could see higher bills this winter than last, the Government could point to the fact that it has expanded the Cost of Living Payments scheme in 2023-24 compared to last year. In particular, payments for around eight million families in receipt of means-tested benefits have increased from a maximum of £650 in 2022-23 to £900 in 2023-24, although the rates paid for those receiving the state pension or a disability benefit have not increased this year.

But these payments do not represent a silver bullet. Linking eligibility to receipt of a social security benefit means that no payments are received by the estimated 2.3 million households who are in the poorest fifth of the population but do not receive means-tested benefits.

And, even for those qualifying for the full amount, the Cost of Living Payments do not offset the litany of financial pressures that households are facing. Since 2019-20 the average household food bill has increased by £960, while other non-discretionary costs are also reaching new heights. Private rents for new lettings have increased by 10.3 per cent in the past year – renters are over-represented in households facing higher bills, with four-in-ten (39 per cent) private renters and six-in-ten (62 per cent) social renters set to fork out more on energy bills this winter than last – and higher interest rates means that households renewing their mortgage have faced an average increase of £1,500 per year on their repayments since the end of 2021.

Government promises for more targeted energy support are missing in action

All this means that progress on finding ways to support struggling households and, more generally, reducing our national dependence on gas are vital. But progress has been disappointingly slow.

In both the 2022 Autumn Statement and the 2023 March Budget the Government announced that energy support would be more targeted in the future, later stating that it was “developing a new approach” to protecting poorer households from high energy costs from April 2024, including assessing the feasibility of a social tariff. However, the Government failed to issue a consultation on this before the summer recess (as promised), and instead suggested that a “more flexible” Warm Home Discount (WHD) could provide the solution, given the considerable fall in the price of energy since the original government announcements. This all suggests that the Government is moving away from the idea of a social tariff, and it certainly seems hard to see how one could be up and running by April given the lack of consultation on how such a scheme would operate. The suggested replacement – the WHD scheme – does provide targeted support with energy bills, but the level of support, currently £150, is not commensurate with the challenge associated with bills near-doubling from pre-crisis levels, and fewer than seven-in-ten of households in the lowest income decile are eligible for WHD support. Longer-term debate around the future of energy retail remains ongoing; the Government has outlined its ‘vision for the future’ that places considerable attention on competition and technology, but has much less to say on protecting low-income households.

Nearly two years after gas prices began to soar, efforts to insulate homes and reduce the UK’s gas dependency remain lacklustre

Looking further ahead, the best way to reduce the impact of high and volatile fossil fuel prices on living standards is to reduce gas demand. Despite household use accounting for one third of national gas consumption, progress on insulating the nation’s old and inefficient housing stock remains very slow. Bafflingly, in 2022 the number of homes insulated through government schemes was down 45 per cent on already meagre 2021 levels, falling to just 3 per cent of the high seen before policy changes in 2013 virtually stopped progress overnight, as Figure 3 shows.

Figure 3 Abysmal progress on insulating UK homes slowed further in 2022
Image


This glacial progress continues to have significant implications for household finances. We estimate that heating the average EPC E-rated home this winter will cost £57 per month more than a C-rated home (the Government’s target is for ‘as many homes as possible’ to reach C standard by 2035), while occupants of EPC F-rated properties will be shelling out an extra £70 a month compared to an equivalent C-rated property. This slow progress is notable in relation to our peers. France, for example, has bolstered its widely successful ‘MaPrimeRénov’ insulation programme with goals of insulating 370,000 homes per year by 2030 and doubling the pace thereafter. And UK heat pump installations continue to lag well behind those in other European countries, at just 2 per 1,000 households compared with 15 per 1,000 in the Netherlands, 20 per 1,000 in France and 69 per 1,000 in Finland. Progress in these dimensions would both reduce our gas dependency and speed progress towards our net zero targets.

Households face another tough winter in 2022-23, and little sign of respite in years to come

As this Spotlight has set out, while falling wholesale gas prices are welcome, the UK remains in the midst of an energy crisis with a third of families set to face higher bills this winter than last. Relying on a repeat of last year’s mild winter is a recipe for hardship, and without sufficient time to introduce a social tariff or to make wider reforms to retail policy ahead of this winter, policy makers will want to ensure that household support meets the scale of the challenge ahead. It is particularly troubling that there has been so little progress in trying to lower future household bills, with home insulation rates falling even further, and little progress in de-gassing the UK. Without these, winter energy crises look set to become an unwelcome annual tradition.

[1] Throughout this note we use typical domestic consumption values (TDVCs) of 2,900 kWh for electricity and 12,000 kWh for gas, in line with those used in Default Tariff Cap calculations up until Q3 2023. Ofgem has recently revised TDCV values to 2,700 kWh for electricity and 11,500 kWh for gas from Q4 2023 onwards. This adjustment is based on many years of a longer-term trend of falling household energy use, which is down 14 per cent since 2005 for electricity and 23 per cent for gas. It therefore overstates the fall in energy use from this year to last. Comparing annualised bill figures based on different underlying levels of demand does not make for good comparison, and as such we hold demand constant. Cornwall Insight has released estimates of the October price cap at both of these levels, pegged at £1,925 for old TDCV values and £1,824 for the lower level.
[1] In particular, someone earning £1 too much to qualify for Universal Credit could potentially miss out on one or more of the three lump-sum payments that comprise the £900 of support – a powerful disincentive for some to increase their earnings this year
.

Source: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/pu ... ough-this/

But don't go worrying, Sunak and his buddies will still be able to heat their indoor pools! :fuming: :fuming: :fuming:
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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby rebbonk » Sat Aug 26, 2023 6:53 pm

Meanwhile, the MSM have their heads up their ar$es and simply parrot the 'official' narrative...

UK energy bills to fall after Ofgem lowers price cap by 7%

Millions of British households will have cheaper energy bills from October after British energy markets regulator Ofgem cut its price cap again to reflect a further fall in wholesale power and gas prices.

Ofgem on Friday lowered its price cap on household energy bills by about 7% from Oct. 1 to 1,923 pounds ($2,418.56) a year for a typical dual-fuel household.

The drop will save households an average of 151 pounds compared with the previous quarter, Ofgem said.

The drop also represents the lowest level since October 2021 and reflects further falls in wholesale energy prices as the market stabilises and suppliers return to a healthier financial position after four years of losses, it added.

Wholesale power and gas prices hit record highs in Britain and Europe last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine cut gas supplies.

Although Millions of British households will have cheaper energy bills from October after British energy markets regulator Ofgem cut its price cap again to reflect a further fall in wholesale power and gas prices.

Ofgem on Friday lowered its price cap on household energy bills by about 7% from Oct. 1 to 1,923 pounds ($2,418.56) a year for a typical dual-fuel household.

The drop will save households an average of 151 pounds compared with the previous quarter, Ofgem said.

The drop also represents the lowest level since October 2021 and reflects further falls in wholesale energy prices as the market stabilises and suppliers return to a healthier financial position after four years of losses, it added.

Wholesale power and gas prices hit record highs in Britain and Europe last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine cut gas supplies.

Although wholesale gas and power prices have fallen by about 85% and 80% respectively since record highs in the first quarter of last year, there is still price volatility and the price cap remains well above the average before the energy crisis took hold.

"It is welcome news that the price cap continues to fall. However, we know people are struggling with the wider cost of living challenges and I can’t offer any certainty that things will ease this winter," said Ofgem Chief Executive Jonathan Brearley.

About 29 million customers are on standard rate tariffs protected by the price cap, which was introduced in 2019 to protect consumers.

"As we head into the colder winter months, uncertainty remains around the outlook and many will be hoping for a mild winter. Current estimates are that prices could increase again in January and will remain at these higher levels for the foreseeable future," said Simon Virley, vice chair and head of energy and natural resources at KPMG.

British Prime Minster Rishi Sunak told reporters that the government was working to bring down inflation to further ease the cost of living burden on households.

British inflation has been slow to fall since it hit a 41-year high of 11.1% last year, and at 6.8% in July was the highest of any major economy.

Ofgem sets the cap using a formula that includes suppliers' network costs and environmental and social levies, with wholesale energy prices the largest factor. It reviews the cap every quarter to reflect movements in the wholesale market.

It said that while the cap has helped to protect households from the full extent of surges in wholesale prices over the last two years, it is a "blunt tool" and it is important to look at alternative mechanisms to assess whether they would work better in the current volatile price environment.

Ultimately, however, any decision about whether reform of the price cap is needed is up to the government, Ofgem officials told reporters.

The regulator also said it has introduced measures to reduce costs for customers on pre-payment meters and hopes to have a code of conduct in place by winter for energy supplier behaviour. in the first quarter of last year, there is still price volatility and the price cap remains well above the average before the energy crisis took hold.

"It is welcome news that the price cap continues to fall. However, we know people are struggling with the wider cost of living challenges and I can’t offer any certainty that things will ease this winter," said Ofgem Chief Executive Jonathan Brearley.

About 29 million customers are on standard rate tariffs protected by the price cap, which was introduced in 2019 to protect consumers.

"As we head into the colder winter months, uncertainty remains around the outlook and many will be hoping for a mild winter. Current estimates are that prices could increase again in January and will remain at these higher levels for the foreseeable future," said Simon Virley, vice chair and head of energy and natural resources at KPMG.

British Prime Minster Rishi Sunak told reporters that the government was working to bring down inflation to further ease the cost of living burden on households.

British inflation has been slow to fall since it hit a 41-year high of 11.1% last year, and at 6.8% in July was the highest of any major economy.

Ofgem sets the cap using a formula that includes suppliers' network costs and environmental and social levies, with wholesale energy prices the largest factor. It reviews the cap every quarter to reflect movements in the wholesale market.

It said that while the cap has helped to protect households from the full extent of surges in wholesale prices over the last two years, it is a "blunt tool" and it is important to look at alternative mechanisms to assess whether they would work better in the current volatile price environment.

Ultimately, however, any decision about whether reform of the price cap is needed is up to the government, Ofgem officials told reporters.

The regulator also said it has introduced measures to reduce costs for customers on pre-payment meters and hopes to have a code of conduct in place by winter for energy supplier behaviour.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-ofgem-lowers-energy-price-cap-by-7-wholesale-costs-fall-2023-08-25/

If I may...
...wholesale gas and power prices have fallen by about 85% and 80% respectively since record highs in the first quarter of last year...


There you have it, staring you in the face. We are being price gouged. The regulator is not on the side of the consumer! :fuming: :fuming: :fuming:
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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby rebbonk » Sat Sep 02, 2023 4:23 pm

...The good news for consumers is that energy bills are set to be slashed from the start of July as the government's energy price cap falls by £426. ...


I've just had my first 'slashed' bill. I have saved a WHOPPING £1.66 over a month. :rolling: That equates to about £20/year saving. :fuming: :fuming: :fuming:
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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby dutchman » Thu Dec 14, 2023 1:21 pm

Octopus just informed me of a big increase in daytime electricity charges and a small decrease in off-peak and standing charges.

They claim I will be £70 a year better-off, based on current usage.

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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby dutchman » Thu Aug 29, 2024 5:21 pm

Labour urged to double Warm Home Discount as winter debt crisis looms

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Wealthier households face paying more to subsidise the heating and power bills of the poorest homes this winter under plans presented to ministers.

Energy industry representatives presented a plan to Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy consumer minister, on Wednesday to help support the country’s poorest by increasing the Warm Home Discount.

The scheme allows millions of low income households to claim £150 off their electricity and heating bills over winter.

Under the proposals the payment could be more than doubled, funded either by raising the existing £20 levy added to all power bills or through taxation – or a mixture of the two.

It comes as ministers draw up plans to address a looming winter energy debt crisis.

Arrears have already surged across the country in recent years and the Government’s decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for about 10m pensioners is expected to deepen the problem.

Ms Fahnbulleh told the assembled executives that the Government would support vulnerable households this winter “by delivering the Warm Home Discount to eligible low-income households”.

The Warm Home Discount maximum payment of £150 has hardly risen since the scheme was introduced over a decade ago when domestic dual fuel energy bills averaged about £1,200. Bills have since risen to an average of £1,669 and the amount on offer is now seen as completely inadequate for keeping poorer households out of debt.

Energy UK, the trade body, and Citizens Advice, whose representatives attended the meeting, believe the payments must at least double to prevent debts surging any further.

Energy UK said in a report last month: “The quickest and most pragmatic way to improve short-term support is through reform of the Warm Home Discount… to offer serious protection this £150 payment should be at least doubled for the most vulnerable households.”

Ms Fahnbulleh said: “We are committed to putting in place winter support this October. We will be hashing out the details over the next month so that families that need it are protected in the colder months.”

Government statistics show that 3.1m households qualified for the Warm Home Discount last winter, a 646,000 increase on the previous winter. This is expected to rise again this coming winter.

It means that over 10pc of British homes are deemed to be too poor to pay their own energy bills, with many of them getting ever deeper into debt. Domestic energy debts have risen from £1.3bn four years ago to £3.3bn today.

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Re: Maybe your fuel bill isn't going to go down...

Postby dutchman » Thu Aug 29, 2024 5:26 pm

Just to be clear: by "poorest homes" they mean those in receipt of means-tested benefits and by "wealthiest households" they mean those NOT in receipt of means-tested benefits which includes basic state pensioners, sick and disabled who may actually be much worse off than the former and more in need of affordable heating. :roll:
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