Electricity costs. Why is the UK so expensive (and what can be done about it)?

[Tobes]

I came across this video on a different forum that discusses the basis for the UK electricity costs in a very accessible way.
It happens to discuss Ripple energy (who's second project I am a member of) as well as other issues and solutions to stabilising the UK electricity costs longer term .

View: https://youtu.be/IEnFmrgEbWo?si=kJmqZadfL-uP-n0m


In light of other threads here around reducing energy costs and the sources of electricity - I thought it may be of interest.

 

[Mr Plodd]

What a fascinating video! I certainly recommend you watch it, especially the earlier part that deals with how our electricity price is arrived at. It will probably make you angry, it did me!

 

[otherclive]

I was surprised at how we arrived at this situation wrt electric pricing. My ideal would be an all electric house not on storage heaters. Had one in Plymouth in 1974, and again in Canada in the mid 1980s. No water to leak, no servicing, no pumps, valves or refrigerants etc. Looking at Ripple I wondered if there's an option there to skip the future heat pump option totally. But it dawned on me that the older you are there's less time to recoup your investment. Can you will your share?

 

[Tobes]

I was surprised at how we arrived at this situation wrt electric pricing. My ideal would be an all electric house not on storage heaters. Had one in Plymouth in 1974, and again in Canada in the mid 1980s. No water to leak, no servicing, no pumps, valves or refrigerants etc. Looking at Ripple I wondered if there's an option there to skip the future heat pump option totally. But it dawned on me that the older you are there's less time to recoup your investment. Can you will your share?

With Ripple, yes you can leave you share in your will to a beneficiary. They have a specific section of their sign up for this.

 

[Tobes]

What a fascinating video! I certainly recommend you watch it, especially the earlier part that deals with how our electricity price is arrived at. It will probably make you angry, it did me!

It's pretty maddening isn't it, and particularly so because as a consumer, you have almost no way of influencing or changing the model.

 

[RogerL]

I was surprised at how we arrived at this situation wrt electric pricing. My ideal would be an all electric house not on storage heaters. Had one in Plymouth in 1974, and again in Canada in the mid 1980s. No water to leak, no servicing, no pumps, valves or refrigerants etc. Looking at Ripple I wondered if there's an option there to skip the future heat pump option totally. But it dawned on me that the older you are there's less time to recoup your investment. Can you will your share?

A quick bit of arithmetic on the "Joe" example on the Ripple website shows a projected annual return of 9.4% - that's ignoring inflation and particularly ignoring any future changes in energy rates.

If/when Britain increases the proportion of renewables, the cost of energy should drop - particularly if any future government drops the gas price connection for renewables - in other words, some energy costs may reduce significantly at some point in the future, meaning that savings from the Ripple scheme may drop significantly - possibly down to zero.

As they say on Dragon's Den "I'm out"