This diversion is related in so far as pensioners are a large part of those in fuel poverty, which is currently receiving attention, together with the high rise in prices. Retail prices over the past few years have risen many times the wholesale prices, together with the profits of the monopoly suppliers.
The Government, in order to increase competition allowed anyone to sell energy and set up a regulator, without any power, to control the market. The result has been a license to print money for suppliers, who still retain a monopoly; a proliferation of confusing tariffs and increased speculation in energy.
In the bad old days, we had two prices standard and off peak, our meters were read every month or the money collected, prices hardly varied and the regional suppliers made money. Now due to major advances, we have to switch suppliers every year to get the best deal, can find a cheaper tariff if we ask, have our meters read twice a year if we are lucky, with price rises at the same time.
If you are poor, then they insist on a prepayment meter at twice the price tariff, with no choice of supplier and a take it or freeze policy. If you are on direct debit, the price is cheaper, but you have to watch the annual reviews designed to keep a permanent credit balance, which is reduced when queried.
Of course there is the large increasing global demand, but the reserves are being pumped faster and China the biggest user commission a new coal fired station every week using home dug coal. We still have large reserves of coal, remaining underground due to green policies and we are exporting our oil and gas reserves, which we should be conserving for home use.
At last the question is being asked “can we afford to go green” alone and the answer is no, until we get world action, our efforts are pitiful, we probably reduce carbon emission equal to a minute of the US and China use. The energy cost of going green is put at £50 per household per year and the sources are intermittent and incapable of meeting out needs.
The latest actual Large Wind Turbine performance has been reported at some half that expected at 20% utilisation or less, whenever I pass the North Wales offshore installation they appear stationary, Solar is worse at 8%. This means they effectively run for 1.5 days a week, all right if you only cook, heat and light at weekends. All are expensive to build and with a large import cost.
Expenditure is being increased on tidal (undersea turbines) and wave energy (bobbing corks), but our largest tidal asset the Severn Barrage has been shelved due to cost and environmental considerations! The last detailed study showed this at £15-20bn to meet 20 to 30% of our energy needs, the latest cost put this at £37bn, the same as the London to Birmingham high speed rail link. I know which I would prefer.
The Barrage cost is mainly internal on labour and concrete, but we will probably have to import the turbines, the rail link, under EU rules will be spent in Germany. The Barrage was first proposed 70 years ago, Brunel would have had it running for the past 60 years; the St Malo barrage in France has been running for 50 years without major ecological effects and great advantage, running mainly on ebb tides.
Guaranteed twice a day, the intermittent effect can be smoothed out and improved by multiple barrages upstream and pumped storage at off peak, which would improve flood defences. The main barrage could therefore have little tidal effect other than smooth out surges. The gains are enormous with stable and consistent supply and energy costs for the next 50 years or more.
Short term energy costs could be better controlled and related consistently to actual costs, tariffs could be simplified back to two rates, prepayment meter could use debit cards or tokens issued as part of benefit payments to reduce commission costs. Energy Companies could start serving and not fleecing customers.
Combined with a realistic and consistent energy policy, they could be fit and affordable to all.
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