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The shock of energy prices increases


nheather

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Okay we all knew it was coming but it can be hard to visualise it until you see it in real terms.

 

Yesterday, after receiving an energy statement, the first since November because I was with one of the failed providers got transferred over to another and it took months to sort out, so no proper statements.

 

Last year I was paying £162 a month, £1,944 a year.

 

Yesterday I had to pay £1,000 to cover an underpayment for Dec, Jan and Feb.  And change my monthly payments from £162 to £350.

 

And chances are that won’t be enough as there are more price increases to come.

 

Certainly hits home when you start paying actual money rather than hearing about it on the news.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

 

 

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I feel your pain.

Mine's now £500+ a month!

I shower at work, the tumble dryer hasn't been used since last October and everyone in the house now has strip wash's.

It's absolutely painful now.

Still, there are people far worse of than us out there...

 

Rick.

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I bought heating oil last week at 69p per litre. That was already way higher than the 39p per litre I paid at the same time last year. Currently it’s at £1.17 per litre. To put that in context, my annual cost of c.£900 for oil has just shifted to c.£2700 😬

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Looking on the bright side, it was the only thing which would make people cut back their energy consumption, something that I believe the planet has needed for a couple of hundred years now.

 

I thought I'd slip in a quick post before the thread gets shut down for politics.

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It looks like I will have to curtail  my modelling as its all done in the shed where I need light and heat. Could do some during daytime but still too cold out there.

 

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I told my partner we would need to cuddle up under the duvet a lot more because I couldn't afford the heating bill.

 

Strangely, she's now agreed to pay the bill herself. 

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I work at the Helicopter Museum as a volunteer; however, I may have to curtail it if these costs keep going up.   It's a 30 mile round trip, which doesn't  sound too far, but watching the fuel gauge going down so quickly is becoming a concern.

 

Mike

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This time last year, my car was costing £44/week to fill up. At the beginning of last week it was £66. I need to fill up today, but not sure I can afford it!

At this rate I'll soon be better off not working.

 

Rick.

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We will leave this thread here as it’s relevant, however dont bring political views, or views on the war in Ukraine here, two people have been suspended in this thread and it’s becoming a moderating nightmare. There will be no further warnings.

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Please no political comments guys, this is a real issue that effects us all, if not already then soon, we could all benefit from mutual good tips and steering towards best energy suppliers and practises.

Not on Pre Pay myself for years, but for those that are, the advice I hear is to change to regular meter types ASAP.

My personal energy company are Octopus (whom are resellers i don't expect to go bust soon), and they have been open and honest so far, but my fixed tariff with them runs out 4th April next month and then I know massive rises will ensue beyond their control, by then Spring will be with us and less energy needed, its more later this year I'm worried about.

I think this thread could be a good idea if politics are kept out, we could all help each other.

My practise has changed over the years, for ages I liked to get billed quarterly, but as bills crept up I now do this monthly, and I submit my meter reads monthly too ... even take a picture of my meter readings at time for my records, this is with a monthly fixed DD and if there is adjustment I pay the balance immediately once meter reads have been accepted.

Its all going to get more expensive in the  near future and dig into our Scale Model passion budget for sure, so please lets keep this non political, we all know why prices are going up, it would be ace if we got together and helped each other in tips on how to deal with this.

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38 minutes ago, Rick Brown said:

This time last year, my car was costing £44/week to fill up. At the beginning of last week it was £66. I need to fill up today, but not sure I can afford it!

At this rate I'll soon be better off not working.

 

Rick.



Hi Rick, would car sharing be practical for where you work?  used to do this myself, even with guys that were not necessarily my best friends LOL, but we agreed the benefits of sharing travel costs were better than travelling alone.

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1 minute ago, One 48 said:



Hi Rick, would car sharing be practical for where you work?  used to do this myself, even with guys that were not necessarily my best friends LOL, but we agreed the benefits of sharing travel costs were better than travelling alone.

Unfortunately, not an option due to my type of work and pattern..

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On the matter of being helpful as @One 48 says above car drivers can save a bit by the following tips and I am sure there are more.

 

Empty the boot.  Half the time there are a few kilos of crap in there that are getting lugged around and using up petrol (diesel cars are available as are electric ones)

 

Tire pressures - check they are right

 

Drive in a manner that saves fuel - expert advice on that on a good website such as RAC no doubt

 

Air con.  uses about 10% of fuel useage if on.  We need it at times but maybe not all the time.

 

Get rid of roof boxes unless absolutely needed

 

and last - is that journey really necessary or can it be doubled up with another one later in the week?

 

I bet there are more

 

 

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Just now, JohnT said:

On the matter of being helpful as @One 48 says above car drivers can save a bit by the following tips and I am sure there are more.

 

Empty the boot.  Half the time there are a few kilos of crap in there that are getting lugged around and using up petrol (diesel cars are available as are electric ones)

 

Tire pressures - check they are right

 

Drive in a manner that saves fuel - exert advice on that on a good website such as RAC no doubt

 

Air con.  uses about 10% of fuel useage if on.  We need it at times but maybe not all the time.

 

Get rid of roof boxes unless absolutely needed

 

and last - is that journey really necessary or can it be doubled up with another one later in the week?

 

I bet there are more

 

 



Good sensible tips John, thanks.

We're all going to have to adjust. also for next winter of 22/23 when this really hits, lets look out for our elderly who live alone, tough times are ahead, but when the going gets tough the tough gets going.

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1 minute ago, One 48 said:



Good sensible tips John, thanks.

We're all going to have to adjust. also for next winter of 22/23 when this really hits, lets look out for our elderly who live alone, tough times are ahead, but when the going gets tough the tough gets going.


Good idea. Can I send you my elderly mother in law 🧙‍♀️ 
:rofl2:

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4 hours ago, 593jones said:

Since we're all  going to have to cut down on heating, it's going to be a very cold war!

Being all eletric i switched my central heating off about six weeks ago and decided to go Pay As You Go because the bills were becoming rediculous...

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2 hours ago, Paul J said:

It looks like I will have to curtail  my modelling as its all done in the shed where I need light and heat. Could do some during daytime but still too cold out there.

 

As a matter of fact,  I am still seriously  considering in stopping  all together  anyway.  Maybe with just occasional 8dabbling with a couple kits.

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4 minutes ago, Paul J said:

As a matter of fact,  I am still seriously  considering in stopping  all together  anyway.  Maybe with just occasional 8dabbling with a couple kits.



Paul. I think most of us have several life's worth of stash to complete ... I do! but still love the odd treat of a new kit too and one of the first forums i hit each visit on BM is the rumourmonger forum to see what happening soon :)

But yeah, we'll all have to reel our scale modelling ambitions back a bit now to accommodate new higher energy prices and its a shame, beyond our control but a shame, all the same !

I hope somehow these increases are not going to go creeping up vertically year by year, we need to find cheaper ways of energy usage and that is not in any way a political comment, its something we need to do, take care everyone and of each other too, its gonna be a tough ride for a bit at least 👍

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1 hour ago, Vince1159 said:

Being all eletric i switched my central heating off about six weeks ago and decided to go Pay As You Go because the bills were becoming rediculous...



Vince, not sure how that works in Guernsey, but genrely in UK Mainland, Pay as you Go meters are the more expensive way to go with a higher tarrif tacked on. Regular metres with regular calibration checks and submitting regular accurate meter readings is the best way forward i can see in this mess we are all in just now.

Maybe its different for you from mainland just now, but usually pay as you go meters is not the best way?

Honestly not sure what your payment method is mate?

 

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If you have a gas condensing boiler it's worth turning the flow temperature down to 60 deg C (usually it's 75-80 deg). The radiators will feel a bit cooler, but generally they're oversized, so on all but exceptionally cold days your house should still be warmed to whatever you've set the room thermostat to.

 

The reason for turning down the flow temp is that the boiler works more efficiently. Typical saving is 6-8%. 

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mrs fatfingers has a nasty habit of having the thermostat way up so the boiler is running on full military afterburner! I'm tempted to get Hive fitted so i can knock it down when she's at home and i'm at work 😁 I've told her that our summer bill will now be similar if not more than what our last winter bill was. I'm also going to have to limit my time in shed to the warmer months as the leccy radiator in there is a bit 'hungry' ☹ 🥶

 

Regards,

 

Steve

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