23-Feb-2007
Have UK Gas & Electricity prices fallen enough?
Following on from a couple of my recent articles discussing the recent high costs of Gas and Electricity and movements in the spot markets, I thought that reader might be interested in a Motley Fool article which suggests that there is some sleight of hand with some of the announcements.
I don't think that this takes away any of my thrust that there will be more price reductions in the offing if we as consumers can create the competitive pressure and switch to the cheapest supplier at this time.
If others then want to reclaim their lost share, they will be forced to drop their prices still further.
In terms of switching, it could not be easier with price comparison engines checking the market on your behalf based upon your postcode and consumption patterns - Motley Fool has one.
My own personal preference is USwitch, having completed a painless change of supplier managed by them last year to NPower for a dual-fuel offer on Gas & Electricity.
I checked through there last week again to confirm that my existing tariff with NPower still remains competitive at this time. But it is probably worth while checking month on month to see how prices change.
Remember, don't change just when prices may be subject to seweeping change across all suppliers - you will lock yourself into a 4-6 week transition period and may delay the opportunity to move to an even cheaper supplier who has been a little slow to review their pricing.
Somwhat surprisingly, you can often go for a Green source of fuel without paying a hefty increase either....something you way want to look at
I don't think that this takes away any of my thrust that there will be more price reductions in the offing if we as consumers can create the competitive pressure and switch to the cheapest supplier at this time.
If others then want to reclaim their lost share, they will be forced to drop their prices still further.
In terms of switching, it could not be easier with price comparison engines checking the market on your behalf based upon your postcode and consumption patterns - Motley Fool has one.
My own personal preference is USwitch, having completed a painless change of supplier managed by them last year to NPower for a dual-fuel offer on Gas & Electricity.
I checked through there last week again to confirm that my existing tariff with NPower still remains competitive at this time. But it is probably worth while checking month on month to see how prices change.
Remember, don't change just when prices may be subject to seweeping change across all suppliers - you will lock yourself into a 4-6 week transition period and may delay the opportunity to move to an even cheaper supplier who has been a little slow to review their pricing.
Somwhat surprisingly, you can often go for a Green source of fuel without paying a hefty increase either....something you way want to look at
Labels: comparison, Electricity, Energy, Gas, Green, Prices, save
11-Dec-2006
When will UK fuel bills drop? Take some positive action.
There is an interesting article under the BBC News banner looking at the short to medium prospect for UK energy prices as new inter-connectors come on line bringing new gas supplies to the UK from the continent.
The latest interconnector was brought on stream at the start of December from the Netherlands into Bacton (Norfolk) and can provide for 8% of the UK Gas demand.
Because we use considerable volumes of natural gas to generate Electricity, the volatility of the Gas prices has also led to massive increases in both Gas & Electricity prices.
The BBC News article suggests that prices will not fall immediately because the Wholesale buyers will have bought at the higher prices and will need to recover their contract costs and we as consumers should not get our hopes up for custs in our fuel costs.
I take a slightly different view - much of the North Sea supply is likely to have been contracted for periods of 5,10,15, 20 years or even more and would not necessarilly have been renegotiated during the current high prices. I would expect someone to break away from the pack with lower prices and irrespective as to whether a company has bought at the higher price, then unless he brings his price down to the leading level then he will not sell his gas (or electricity) to astute buyers.
Therefore if we always buy astutely, then we can help drive down the fuel costs.
Of course, if you don't have a look now again and compare the prices being charged in the Energy Markets, then you are helping to sustain the higher prices for longer.
So.....keep an eye on the prices, compare other suppliers prices to that of your current supplier and make the switch. There is no different quality of gas or electricity arriving at your house, it is just a different billing arrangement whereby the new supplier agrees to put your energy into the network to keep it in balance.
That sounds hard to go around all the different suppliers websites and compare prices, but in practice the hard work is removed by using one of the Energy Price Comparison websites that have pulled all the information together in one place. You enter your details once and it will advise what the best offers are for your consumption pattern.
There are others out there, just 'google' for "energy price comparison". The site that I recommend is Uswitch who say that the average household could save £140 off their energy bills if they changed supplier. Click here to find out how much you could save.
Remember, don't wait for your own suppliers prices to fall. The likelihood is that you could start saving on your Gas and\or Electricity today. There is no obligation by using Uswitch, but only an opportunity to start saving now when our fuel consumption is at its peak and you have the maximum potential to save.
If you have wondered about how to buy "Green" energy from renewable sources, then Uswitch can provide comparisons for that too. Even paying a premium for "Green" energy, you could still be paying less than you are today.
Therefore ..... go be an empowered consumer and do your bit to drive fuel prices down as quickly as we can and if you can buy "Green", then the planet saves something too..
Link
The latest interconnector was brought on stream at the start of December from the Netherlands into Bacton (Norfolk) and can provide for 8% of the UK Gas demand.
Because we use considerable volumes of natural gas to generate Electricity, the volatility of the Gas prices has also led to massive increases in both Gas & Electricity prices.
The BBC News article suggests that prices will not fall immediately because the Wholesale buyers will have bought at the higher prices and will need to recover their contract costs and we as consumers should not get our hopes up for custs in our fuel costs.
I take a slightly different view - much of the North Sea supply is likely to have been contracted for periods of 5,10,15, 20 years or even more and would not necessarilly have been renegotiated during the current high prices. I would expect someone to break away from the pack with lower prices and irrespective as to whether a company has bought at the higher price, then unless he brings his price down to the leading level then he will not sell his gas (or electricity) to astute buyers.
Therefore if we always buy astutely, then we can help drive down the fuel costs.
Of course, if you don't have a look now again and compare the prices being charged in the Energy Markets, then you are helping to sustain the higher prices for longer.
So.....keep an eye on the prices, compare other suppliers prices to that of your current supplier and make the switch. There is no different quality of gas or electricity arriving at your house, it is just a different billing arrangement whereby the new supplier agrees to put your energy into the network to keep it in balance.
That sounds hard to go around all the different suppliers websites and compare prices, but in practice the hard work is removed by using one of the Energy Price Comparison websites that have pulled all the information together in one place. You enter your details once and it will advise what the best offers are for your consumption pattern.
There are others out there, just 'google' for "energy price comparison". The site that I recommend is Uswitch who say that the average household could save £140 off their energy bills if they changed supplier. Click here to find out how much you could save.
Remember, don't wait for your own suppliers prices to fall. The likelihood is that you could start saving on your Gas and\or Electricity today. There is no obligation by using Uswitch, but only an opportunity to start saving now when our fuel consumption is at its peak and you have the maximum potential to save.
If you have wondered about how to buy "Green" energy from renewable sources, then Uswitch can provide comparisons for that too. Even paying a premium for "Green" energy, you could still be paying less than you are today.
Therefore ..... go be an empowered consumer and do your bit to drive fuel prices down as quickly as we can and if you can buy "Green", then the planet saves something too..
Labels: comparison, Electricity, Energy, Gas, Green, Prices, save
Link
19-Nov-2006
It's a Rubbish Tax and an even more Rubbish Idea
What an insane idea to be taxing us all for the amount of refuse we don't recycle.
I want to recycle, but the instructions as to what we can and can't recycle are a mess - and there is no joined up government on this. In one area a fruit juice carton may be recyclable, yet in the next county they don't have a contract in place for that, so it must go into landfill.
If one authority can put a contract in place, then why can't all?
My parents have very clear instructions relating to plastics PET numbers and making it clear what they can put in for recycling. I have basic instructions only that leave me scratching my head.
I could be hung out to dry either way - if I contaminate my recycling bins, then I will be fined and if I err on the side of caution and put it in my ordinary bin, then under ideas under review, I will have to pay extra to take it away!! Either way, I pay for something I am already paying for!!
And what about the Retail world? The things I throw away don't just land mysteriously at my house - they are sold to me and with ridiculous amounts of packaging - why does a swede need to be vacuum wrapped in polythene? Why do manufacturers encase their products in that plastic cage that is bloody impossible to open and turns into an instrument of torture when you try and squeeze your fingers in to extracate the product from the biggest hole that you dared make without cutting through the instructions\CD\warranty document or whatever else is in it. What are they doing? - I see no evidence of anything changing.
So we end up with all this rubbish that is going to cost us an arm and a leg in fines or fees to dispose of - those that don't want to pay will still not pay and fly tipping will increase. Meantime those of us that do pay will end up sharing their charges.
Labels: Green, recycling, rubbish, taxes
03-Nov-2006
4 x 4 Taxes
What is this obsession with saying that if you buy a big car you should pay big taxes to be more green - 4x4 drivers already pay the Government loads for the privilege?
If you have bought an expensive 4x4, then you have already paid more VAT....(lovely, jubbly says Del Chancellor).
Oh, yes, but you are chewing up the roads with your big car, polluting the environment every mile that you drive and using precious mineral resources, so you need to pay more Road Tax says Del, rubbing his hands as rumours of up to £4000 annual taxation rears its head.
What a load of cobblers!! The biggest source of vehicle running cost taxation in the UK comes from Fuel Duties & VAT.
Let's review what that means.....
Every mile that I drive I pay more tax. If I don't drive the vehicle as economically as it could be, I pay more Tax....and given that my fuel is 80% tax, then that is one big disincentive to drive more or any harder than I need to. If I only drive my car on a limited basis, is it reasonable that I pay a pollutiion tax when it is just sitting on my drive and not polluting?
Let's look at the oil price fluctuations based upon demand too... When oil is scarce versus demand, the prices in the wholesale narket and at the pump go up...what does that do for Del Boy Chancellor? Why....it gives him extra VAT revenue at the pump. He also decides it is time for a windfall tax on North Sea revenues.
So what about this idea about a massive hike in Road Tax on a 4x4 type car then? By now, you have probably guessed from my comments that I run a 4x4, though fortunately it is on a contract that leaves any risk of the residual value falling with the lessor; I am protected from that.
However, I can't but help feel sympathetic to those who purchased a 4x4 and used their own capital or finance to provide for better safety for their families. If these huge annual Road Taxes (effectively a tax on owning an asset) come to fruition, then 4x4s will be next to worthless in the second hand market....absolutely no one will want to own one under those circumstances.
If you have bought an expensive 4x4, then you have already paid more VAT....(lovely, jubbly says Del Chancellor).
Oh, yes, but you are chewing up the roads with your big car, polluting the environment every mile that you drive and using precious mineral resources, so you need to pay more Road Tax says Del, rubbing his hands as rumours of up to £4000 annual taxation rears its head.
What a load of cobblers!! The biggest source of vehicle running cost taxation in the UK comes from Fuel Duties & VAT.
Let's review what that means.....
Every mile that I drive I pay more tax. If I don't drive the vehicle as economically as it could be, I pay more Tax....and given that my fuel is 80% tax, then that is one big disincentive to drive more or any harder than I need to. If I only drive my car on a limited basis, is it reasonable that I pay a pollutiion tax when it is just sitting on my drive and not polluting?
Let's look at the oil price fluctuations based upon demand too... When oil is scarce versus demand, the prices in the wholesale narket and at the pump go up...what does that do for Del Boy Chancellor? Why....it gives him extra VAT revenue at the pump. He also decides it is time for a windfall tax on North Sea revenues.
So what about this idea about a massive hike in Road Tax on a 4x4 type car then? By now, you have probably guessed from my comments that I run a 4x4, though fortunately it is on a contract that leaves any risk of the residual value falling with the lessor; I am protected from that.
However, I can't but help feel sympathetic to those who purchased a 4x4 and used their own capital or finance to provide for better safety for their families. If these huge annual Road Taxes (effectively a tax on owning an asset) come to fruition, then 4x4s will be next to worthless in the second hand market....absolutely no one will want to own one under those circumstances.
Remember also that a modern 4x4 will be a lot cleaner to run than an old saloon car run with additives.
Any Government that tries to push these radical changes through is on dangerous territory. If you have taxed me once for buying something based upon the price, then why should you tax me again for owning it. There are acceptable exceptions (TV Licence for which a service is provided to my purchased TV set), but if you go down this route, then where will it stop?
Labour may think that 4x4 owners are in a minority and they will not impact General Election results....but I would suggest that such behaviour is the thin end of the wedge....what will be next...increased taxation on your house? Maybe I will discuss that one another day (council tax based upon your energy efficiency rating?).
Of course, cynic that I am.....despite all the scare stories, maybe 4x4 annual Road Tax will only go up from ~£195 to ~£250 (a whopping 25% increase) and then we will all be meant to say "phew!! that wasn't as bad as it could have been" and breathe a huge sigh of relief.
As I say, I am a cynic and have seen this all before with threatened 50% Council Tax increases that never materialises but creates an air of comfort around 10-15% rises.
One thing is for sure....motorists, smokers and drinkers carry a huge burden of taxation in the UK...probably an unfair burden...but taxation on motoring is the one that creates the biggest noise and rightly so.
Don't get me started on equity though......have a visit to http://www.targetneutral.com to see how much you need to donate (and you can here) to allow someone to offset your annual motoring Carbon emissions....typically £20-40 per annum. Someone is having a real laugh suggesting that £4,000 Road Tax is the right answer.
Rant over.........................for now!!
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