[jack]

I see Macron has announced that on top of their 18 nuclear power stations the French are going to build another 14, by 2050, to immunise themselves from the fluctuations of world prices and supply. Having a state owned (88%) energy supply with a proactive investment strategy is something the UK seems to think is unneccessary..

[Landmark]

Originally Posted by jack

I see Macron has announced that on top of their 18 nuclear power stations the French are going to build another 14, by 2050, to immunise themselves from the fluctuations of world prices and supply. Having a state owned (88%) energy supply with a proactive investment strategy is something the UK seems to think is unneccessary..

That's all very fine if we invested in this way, however, are you sure you are happy to pay for that by being taxed more heavily😯

[theunknowntech]

Indeed. I'm not sure I like the idea of a 100% income tax either...

[jack]

It is true the French pay more tax than we do in the UK, but for that they get double the state pension we do, get massive amounts of investment in roads, rail, local communities and social care...plus their energy price increases have been limited to 5% compared to the 100% we're now paying extra....taxes come in many guises eh ? More importantly France aims to be even more self-sufficient and not reliant on others for their energy, which I think is actually a good idea. The UK has lacked a proper energy strategy for decades, whilever we used coal and then the gas from our North Sea reserves (which have now been sold to foreign investors)..we had the opportunity then to invest, but didn't ..now we're all paying for that lack of forsight..and will continue to pay..

[Putin]

Well I agree with all that.
I have had a few wines, so forgive for spelling mistakes!
I am not happy…….that’s the problem…it wouldn’t make a difference to me the the energy price went up ten times.
The long and the short of it……. I don’t like subsiding
other peoples mistakes in life.
Tell me I’m wrong !

[Putin]

Could some one please tell why you would choose the Next 1 year V7 tariff.
thank you

[Beki]

@Putin Hey there, you'll probably be better off popping this question in the Help & Support section. 😊

[meldrewreborn]

@Landmark

in most situations the supply of fossil fuels is a world market, with lots of consumer countries but a more limited number of major suppliers. There are exceptions though. The USA has expanded its use of fracking and this has led to a sharp reduction in the price of natural gas there. Despite switching a lot of coal fired generation to gas they still have more of it that they can handle. The price there is low because they do not have the infrastructure yet to export the gas in great quantity.

Natural Gas is more environmentally friendly than coal - about half the emissions. So countries are copying our dash for gas to reduce emissions. But while demand escalates rapidly, supply can only increase very lowly - in the meantime world prices rise - economics 101. There comes a point where prices will get to a level where affordability becomes a constraint. If consumers in major western economies are now flinching from these prices, the effect in less developed countries will be much greater.
One long term effect of the high gas prices (which i think will remain high for a long time - this is the new normal) is that alternative methods of generating electricity become more financially viable. So nuclear, wind and solar have better opportunities to grow faster. Conversion of home heating away from gas will also get better but slowly. That's because the investment will be made mainly when a system need replacing or upgrading.

I've often looked at the economics of changing my gas boiler. Its old but super reliable and its efficiency is only around 70% A new boiler might be 90% efficient. Changing might knock 25% off my gas bill. At 3p per unit I'd save about £130 per annum but at 8p per unit I'd save £340. Given the cost of boiler replacement is circa £2,500 its getting close to a point where the swap is attractive. Whether reliability is equivalent is another matter.