Lets hope it gets warmer soon!

[John Rumm]

[Tim Watts]

On Monday 25 March 2013 15:00 John Rumm wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Someone posted this a short while ago:

I must admit I fully and completely agree with the summary on page 15. The rest of it is quite educational too... Even allowing for it being produced by a political party.

I really am off to join them, on that alone.

[Andy Cap]

The greenest measure would be to cap the population, when in practice government policies increase it and then they tax us in an attempt to limit consumption. Madness.

Andy C

[Jethro_uk]

I have no time for UKIP - they have a nasty right-wing streak.

However, if they can break the current political carve-up, then I am all for them. As long as they don't win.

Be curious to see what a landscape with a UKIP-balanced coalition would look like. Will anyone fall for Daves "referendum if I win" line a second time ?

[RJH]

I keep hearing of £1000+ bills people can't afford, and we seem to be heading towards a supply problem despite higher levels of insulation and heating efficiency. I have a feeling some people turn up the heating up as some sort of anti-green protest.

I'd cap household use. Wear a hat and jumper and heat one room.

Rob

[David.WE.Roberts]

"The UK-Belgium interconnector unexpectedly failed at 7am on Friday, causing wholesale spot prices to treble. "

Bloody Belgians.

We should invade to secure our energy (and decent beer) supplies!

From the bunker.

Dave R

[Tim+]

What I don't understand is HOW they can ration use, particularly domestic use. We had a gas main supply failure a couple of years ago and it caused huge disruption. You can't just turn gas mains on and off.

So, what will they do? Come round to every house and padlock gas meters? I can only believe that it's the really major users that could be rationed (industry and power stations), not domestic users.

Tim

[Bill Wright]

They have a very nice right wing streak. Bill

[John Williamson]

Is the right answer. Big users like gas using power stations and some industrial sites have a contract which says that under certain circumstances, their gas may be turned off.

Some industrial sites also have a similar clause in their electrical supply contract. In both cases, there is a slight advantage to them in the rate they pay per unit under normal circumstances.

[Tim Watts]

On Monday 25 March 2013 20:14 Bill Wright wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Anyway, what is this alleged right wing streak? They don;t hate europeans - just the EU - a sentiment I agree with as I think more harm than good is going to come from the EU long term.

[Tim Watts]

On Monday 25 March 2013 20:08 Tim+ wrote in uk.d-i-y:

No - I've said this earlier: they turn off industrial customers - where you can lock the pipes off cleanly. Unfortunately for the rest of us, a lot of those industrial customers are gas fired power stations!

[The Natural Philosopher]

I have copied the above to Roger Helmer, the author of that policy.

"Born in 1944, Helmer attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Southampton (1955?62), and Churchill College, Cambridge where he read mathematics, graduating in 1965.

He started his business career in 1965 with Procter & Gamble in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, going on to hold senior marketing and general management appointments in a range of companies, including Readers Digest, National Semiconductor, Coats Viyella and the whisky firm United Distillers, now part of the drinks conglomerate Diageo. During the course of his business career he lived and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Korea, and ran businesses in the Philippines, Vietnam, Guam and Saipan."

The man has experience. Look at who framed our current mess.

Ed Miliband.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I believe that the first thing to go is certain industrial users who pay a lower tarriff on the understanding that they are part of a 'load shedding' program. Glass works for example

Its that way with 'leccy. anyway

Next up would probably be power stations. We can for example bring a fair bit of oil burner online to burn oil. And up the coal a little bit to help out.

There is also a smattering of 'backup plant' - essentially diesel gennys that are there to protect hospitals telephone exchanges and the like, that can also be brought on to reduce grid demand.

so we could probably knock a gig or two off the national leccy requirements that way.

But I think there are some LNG tankers on the way anyway. So no especial panic.

[The Natural Philosopher]

If actually sticking to stuff that works and not tampering with things that aren't broken and facing up to the reality of the things that are, is right wing, then yes.

I don't see it in those terms though.

The greatest difference I have noticed is that UKIP people talk to you, not at you, and the phrase that comes to mind best is 'plain common sense' plus a lot of real world experience. Sadly that means the average age of the party is rather high..

[Brian Gaff]

What I cannot figure out is that we have been here before. Weather in the UK is inherently unpredictable. March winds Duth blow and we shall hath snow was part of a saying we were tought as children. The fact that is not actually happened to a great extent in living memory does not mean it has stopped happening. You cannot treat wether like some kind of just in time fed production line making cars!

Brian

[Tim+]

It's not just bad management though Brian (for a change). There's also been an element of bad luck.

From the Times: "Gas prices surged to a new record today after one of Britain?s three import pipelines was forced to close because of a technical problem. The wholesale price of a therm of gas surged to 150 pence from

100 pence yesterday over supply shortage fears as the UK braces for another bout of wintry weather. The operator of the UK-Belgium Interconnector did not say how long the pipeline would be out of action for."

Tim

"Brian Gaff" wrote:

[Tim Watts]

On Monday 25 March 2013 22:53 The Natural Philosopher wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Yes - I'd trust him more with *any* cabinet post on the basis he can think, than any of the morons we have now - especially "folding towells" Osborne.

I was impressed with the citations page at the end of the report - very thorough.

[Tim Watts]

On Tuesday 26 March 2013 05:54 Brian Gaff wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Exactly!

I posted this link elsewhere, but I think you'll like it. It is a short summary (all text) of british winters going back to 1616:

[John Rumm]

Yup the fundamentals on that look promising. I wonder if they can form coherent policy on the broader aspects of running a country?

[jgharston]

See, this is what I don't understand about economics.

If I usually sell 10 books at £10 a go, or install 10 cookers at £10 a go, or paint 10 windows at £10 a go, my income is £100. If I sell 5 books, or install 5 cookers, or paint 5 windows my income is £50. How come there are special priviledged people who sell 10 books and get £100 one day, and then sell 5 of the exact same books the next day and demand that they STILL get £100. Everybody else in the world, if they sell less product they get less money.

JGH