Discussion (UK) Energy Price cap increased by 54% in April

[crepuscule]

Price cap to increase by £693 from April

The energy price cap will increase from 1 April for approximately 22 million customers.

www.ofgem.gov.uk

The energy price cap will increase from 1 April for approximately 22 million customers. Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year (difference due to rounding). Prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.

From £1277 to £1971 per year for those paying by Direct Debit. I'm currently on a good fixed tarriff I got in March last year but I'm gonna be fucked when it ends lol. My bill looks set to nearly double if not more.

Fuck the government btw. Renationalise energy, or do what France is doing and let the companies eat the cost or you know at the very least do what the right of the Labour party goes on about and remove VAT on energy.

Their solution on the other hand is a £200 per year loan (which is being called a "discount" because words don't mean anything) and a £150 (actual) discount on council tax for those who live in homes in bands A-D or "discretionary funding" totalling £144m for vulnerable people who don't pay council tax or who live in homes in bands E-H.

Millions to receive £350 boost to help with rising energy costs

Millions of households will receive £350 of government support to help protect them from rising energy costs, the Chancellor announced today.

www.gov.uk

The Energy Bills Rebate will provide around 28 million households with an upfront discount on their bills worth £200. Energy suppliers will apply the discount to domestic electricity customers from October, with the Government meeting the costs. The discount will then be automatically recovered from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over the next five years. This will begin from 2023, when global wholesale gas prices are expected to come down.
Households in England, which are in council tax bands A-D, will also receive a £150 rebate. The rebate to bills will be made directly by local authorities from April. This will not need to be repaid. This one-off payment will benefit around 80 per cent of all homes in England and is £1 billion more generous and more targeted towards lower-income families than a VAT cut on energy bills.
On top of this discount, discretionary funding of £144 million will also be provided to support vulnerable people and individuals on low incomes that do not pay Council Tax, or that pay Council Tax for properties in Bands E-H.

Millions to be plunged into fuel poverty as energy bills set to soar by almost £700

Ofgem's energy price cap rise will ‘turn the cost-of-living crisis into a catastrophe,’ Unite general secretary Sharon Graham says

morningstaronline.co.uk

 

[Sumio Mondo]

It's getting so expensive to live here soon, might be a good idea to just...leave? That's where I'm at right now and I know other people thinking the same. Might just move to Ireland. Cheaper and quieter. Average rental price in Manchester alone is £969 PCM and rising (apartments going up for sale at £2 million in Ancoats nowadays).

 

[Zellia]

More people having to choose between food and heating while energy companies post record profits. This is grim even by the usual standards of Normal Island.

 

[JazzPotatoes]

This is a time when Labour's "Let's nationalise the energy companies" not only would have made perfect sense, it would have gained huge fucking support in the face of massive price hikes across the country, being felt by everyone.

So of course Starmer and Reeves have rowed back on that policy, and are instead suggesting taking VAT off energy bills instead.

Because a price increase of (54% minus 5%) is such a huge fucking difference compared to a price increase of 54%.

 

[crepuscule]

This is a time when Labour's "Let's nationalise the energy companies" not only would have made perfect sense, it would have gained huge fucking support in the face of massive price hikes across the country, being felt by everyone.

So of course Starmer and Reeves have rowed back on that policy, and are instead suggesting taking VAT off energy bills instead.

Because a price increase of (54% minus 5%) is such a huge fucking difference compared to a price increase of 54%.

I wasn't aware VAT on energy was only 5%. Neolib policy even more pathetic than I expected then.

If that is all the "Labour" opposition can muster up then I truly have no hope in electoral politics. Problem is I also have no faith in British people actually organising properly disruptive protests or other direct action either.

I have this sinking feeling that the next years are going to be really quite bad.

 

[JazzPotatoes]

I wasn't aware VAT on energy was only 5%. Neolib policy even more pathetic than I expected then.

If that is all the "Labour" opposition can muster up then I truly have no hope in electoral politics. Problem is I also have no faith in British people actually organising properly disruptive protests or other direct action either.

I have this sinking feeling that the next years are going to be really quite bad.

To be fair to Labour: As bad as their policy is, it's not as bad as Sunak's: Forcing people to take a £200 loan, then being forced to pay it back over 5 years.

That's an Ebenezer Scrooge level move.

 

[Gashead]

Build more renewables so can get away from using gas for heating homes and cooking food so that it's going only in to the businesses that need it and its price fluctuations don't hit everyone all at once.

And more controversially open up fracking sites to limit the cost and then shut them down again once this blip goes back to normal. We've known this was coming for a while but all seem content to just grumble that the rich are getting richer instead of upping output.