Energy costs

[harryagain]

I see Milipede is promising to cap energy prices. I wonder how he thinks he will achieve that?

Just more false promises to fool the sheeple. Or even more brain dead than I thought.

[The Natural Philosopher]

as the DT p[ointed out, it will have one of two effects.

1/. Prices will be pitched higher before he arrives,, so achieving the opposite effect.

2/. no one will bother to generate power that they cant make a profit on, so there will be power shortages.

[Dave Liquorice]

But HMG can't let that happen so they (us, the tax payer) will pay the power companies to generate.

Is this "price freeze" just a smoke screen for the new, aka rebranded, regulator? What are the details of that promise, not seen those emblazoned across the media...

[The Natural Philosopher]

so intead of higher energy prices we get higher taxes...

Its just Miliband talking lefty bollocks. Promoting the myth that governments can solve the problems they create (the climate change act is Milibands) by some other means than a complete U-turn.

The way to cheap energy is to repal the climnate change act and stop all subsidies.

Then the chepaest technology would be allowed to win.

[Mark]

I really don't believe this will happen. The energy companies will ensure that they keep making large profits as they do now. Energy companies have major influence on government policy.

Is this any different from the right-wing bollocks that Cameron talks?

I would agree with this. But it's not enough.

I think it needs more. Some government investment in Nuclear power (fission) would be beneficial. More UK money should be put into fusion research too.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Research perhaps. Development no.

There is one way to get the cost of nuclear down, and that is to address all the red tape surrounding it, and come up with a better regulatory framework that improves safety, not makes it worse.

By not letting proper recycling and storage faculities be built, politicians have allowed rather alarming amounts of spent fuel rods to pile up in watertanks, where they could - and in Fukshima did - become a serious problem.

But its all catch 22 at the moment. IF the government were serious about nuclear power and IF they educated the public to the truth THEN IF other governments followed suit sellafield et al would be worth investing billions in for a world class reprocessing center and we could find a world class repository somewhere as well.

But with the neocommunists talking about phasing out nulear power everywhere there isn't much point.

Positive feedback and a chain reaction applies to nuclear politics as well as to nuclear isotopes.

[Brian Gaff]

No he has a problem. Everyone is broke including the gov, so what can you do to get a headline? the real truth of course is that whoever gets in has either got to do nothing, or jiggle things around robbing peter to pay paul, and so..... Of course what we really need is a global fiscal reboot. Brian

[dennis]

But do they make large profits in the first place? I am not convinced that they do. It may be a large figure but its not a large percentage.

[The Natural Philosopher]

we need a global population reduction, especially of sheeple.

I am trying to specify a Darwinian virus, that kills people who are simply too stupid to stay alive.

The MK I version which I called 'socialism' was very effective, but rather too indiscriminate in its actions.

[Adrian]

Interesting chart just been posted on the Guido Fawkes blog...

from to-rest-of-europe/

[Fredxx]

Is that for electricity costs, or gas costs, or oil costs? Or some arbitrary mixture of all 3?

I honestly thought that the UK had one of the lowest costs through only having 5% VAT on domestic fuel supplies.

[The Natural Philosopher]

they could have listed them in terms or renewable energy prtoprtions and the order would have been the same.

[John Rumm]

He seems to have borrowed Michael Foot's election manifesto... perhaps its not occurred to him yet that it never actually got tried for real.

[Mark]

Just cull everyone who watches Jermey Kyle, X Factor, Strickly, Eastenders etc..... ;-)

[Tim Streater]

What are these large profits of which you speak? Or did you just make that up?

According to [1] this morning, they actually make less profits that Tesco.

[1] Either the Beeb or the Times, can't remember which.

[Mark]

You could look them up yourself but I have done it for you. In 2012 the big six made £3.7bn profit (up 73% in 3 years).

[docholliday93]

So, just a tad less than Tesco on their own... I make it a bit over £140 per household - and there will be a part of tha t that goes to HMG as corporation tax.

[John Rumm]

On a turnover of what?

Would you like to see them make less profit?

Are you content to waive a proportion of the pensions of millions to achieve this?

[Richard]

Cameron right wing? Don't make me laugh.

[Tim Streater]

Yes, and your point is *what* precisely? How about comparing these profits to their sales, eh? Then I expect you'll see that in percentage terms it's no different from other big companies.

And, to echo the point made on the Beeb this morning, some of those profits will need to be paid in divvies to outfits that lend them money for capital investment.