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Post by The Doctor on Jun 18, 2008 23:11:22 GMT
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Post by Bogatan on Jun 19, 2008 8:02:28 GMT
We went for about 4 years without central heating after our boiler broke I feel a bit foolish that we got a new one fitted a few years back just in time for all the price increases. On the plus sidewe could do so again if prices got that high.
On the other hand solar powered heating might suddenly look like value for money. Not that Id expect it to be of great help in the winter.
Andy
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 19, 2008 9:38:09 GMT
I love news like this. Particularly coming off the attacks made on the energy firms for quickly raising prices when costs go up, but being glacially slow when these artificially high costs lower to readjusting their prices.
Andy
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Post by grahamthomson on Jun 19, 2008 9:56:31 GMT
Even £400 over a year is still a hefty chunk out of a lot of people's budgets. A week's worth of basic food shopping.
Why/how are large corporations allowed to get away with twisting potential crises for average folk to their gain?
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 19, 2008 10:02:44 GMT
Because the regulatory bodies are so pitifully weak when it comes to censuring them. The biggest downside of privatising utilities is the complete loss of control.
Andy
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kayevcee
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
The Weather Wizard
Posts: 5,527
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Post by kayevcee on Jun 19, 2008 14:54:19 GMT
If people can be encouraged to look into solar cells for their roof, a lot of the price increase can be soaked up. There are subsidies available for people looking to upgrade their homes with solar generators, but these are pitifully small (something like £100,000 per local authority, or £1 per person if you're lucky) and difficult to obtain. Recent advances in LCD production that have brought flat-screen TVs down from "ludicrous" to "still pretty expensive but not as bad" can be applied to solar panels and mass uptake would help to bring the price down. Of course, as was discussed in the "when we run out of oil" thread this would be entirely dependent on political will.
If the idea was sold as a one-off subsidised expense to permanently lower electricity & heating bills (albeit by less in the winter months, but a smoothing out of bills over the year might ease the hit slightly) to government and constituents alike, we might actually be able to start signing up more than 15 households per year.
-Nick
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Post by grahamthomson on Jun 19, 2008 15:16:47 GMT
Believe it or not, we asked our local council about going solar (since we have 3,000 square feet of flat roof space at work) but were met with confusion, nervous laughter ("haha, sunshine in _this_ country") and denial. We got no further than that.
On the other side of it, the same department approved our application for a small, lighter-than-air advertising blimp within a week or so.
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 31, 2008 11:16:50 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7534421.stmI do like how the Energy Minister is on Radio 2 right now more or less shaking his shoulders and saying the Government will do fuck all. Small comfort to folk who will be unable to heat their homes. He's completely ducking questions re: pensioners dying in the cold. Bastard. -Ralph
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Jul 31, 2008 13:43:35 GMT
I fear with the solar option Graham, it is far better to just get on with doing it yourself given how the government has been cutting subsidies for solar power just as they come into the reach of people.
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 31, 2008 15:12:10 GMT
Increasingly, I can't help but feel that the first political party to propose re-nationalising the energy industry will have the next general election in the bag. Especially if it's a cold winter and deaths are attributed to people being unable to heat their homes. Especially if children are involved.
I am not looking forward to the cold.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Sept 5, 2008 11:23:48 GMT
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