I'm afraid someone has to pay for all the equipment, incentives and improvements necessary to achieve zero carbon emissions. Switching to electric vehicles will cause the exchequer to lose a great deal of tax revenue, which of course will need to be replaced.

It will hopefully give more people the incentive to improve insulation and use energy more sparingly.

Posted by: @derek-m

I'm afraid someone has to pay for all the equipment, incentives and improvements necessary to achieve zero carbon emissions. Switching to electric vehicles will cause the exchequer to lose a great deal of tax revenue, which of course will need to be replaced.

It will hopefully give more people the incentive to improve insulation and use energy more sparingly.

Exactly.  Vulnerable people need to be protected but nobody has a right to sit in their drafty, poorly insulated house at 25 degrees. With gas at current prices there is no incentive to reduce usage.  

Hi Mars,

One of the reasons why electricity prices are increasing is due to the price of gas. I looked at the price of Natural Gas on the London stock exchange and since late June last year the price of gas has risen 277%.

National Grid data shows that 40% of the electricity supplied over the past year has been from gas fired generation, so along with all the other reasons previously mentioned, this is probably one of the reasons for the price of electricity to have increased.

@derek-m, what has driven the price of gas so much? Is it likely to recover to a decent level?

@editor from my understanding it was the cold spell earlier in the year driving down stocks of gas and pressure being exerted by Russia on the EU due to Nordstream 2. The Russians want it opened to bypass Ukraine in supplying Europe (a big problem for Ukraine as it gives them lots of money in exchange fees). Because of this Russia has reduced exports of gas to Europe therefore squeezing prices even more as supply is reduced

Hi Mars,

I'm afraid it is due to supply and demand. The price of gas fell from the most recent peak in November 2018 to hit a low in June 2020, since then it has been increasing, but has still not reached the level of 2018. It may therefore increase further before decreasing again.

Posted by: @editor

@derek-m, what has driven the price of gas so much? Is it likely to recover to a decent level?

Might be worth phoning up about this to see what they can offer? I don't know if it is available online without phoning. 

https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/blog/2020/10/01/our-new-heat-pump-tariff-will-make-the-green-homes-grant-scheme-go-further-and-faster/

In the future the majority of the cost effective tariffs are expected to be time of use. I can't vouch for the mastertherm pumps but just as an example their controller can utilise the agile octopus tariff as an example. How well heat pump controllers make use of the best agile tariffs in the future may make a dramatic impact on energy bills. Heat pumps will make up a large proportion of energy use in many homes, particularly those 17 million households who currently have no access to a car and so are unlikely to own an electric car. 

https://www.mastertherm.co.uk/time-of-use-tariff-integration

Good Energy's tariffs aren't particularly cheap and their standing charges are high. I suspect their ASHP tariff will just vary summer/winter rates and standing charge but end up costing the same overall.  

https://www.goodenergy.co.uk/our-tariffs/

Using agile tariffs sounds a good idea but it may mean the ASHP is running in a less efficient way if it's switching on/off depending on rates.  But maybe a clever algorithm can make it work.

@jeff I looked at the ASHP tariff - it was higher than a normal fixed price...

Quoted in October 2020 (southern region)

Green Heat Tariff – Fixed until September 2021 (VAT inclusive)

@batalto, that would be OK today but prices have gone up a lot since October 2020.  I wonder what a year long fix would be now?  The best fix I could get now was 16.49p

Posted by: @batalto

@jeff I looked at the ASHP tariff - it was higher than a normal fixed price...

Quoted in October 2020 (southern region)

Green Heat Tariff – Fixed until September 2021 (VAT inclusive)

Summer 1st April – 30th September Unit Rate: 18.14 pence per kWh Standing Charge: 28.21 pence per day

Winter 1st October – 31st March Unit Rate: 15.52 pence per kWh Standing Charge: 0.00 pence per day

I saw these old figures when i did a quick search, i don't know what they are currently offering as a winter rate given the best rate Mars has found so far for his property. It is a long shot.