Prices of the electricity we use to charge

guerney

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It'll be even grimmer up north ;)


Snow and ice expected in northern UK during cold snap next week
Temperatures due to plummet across country after weekend with lows of -3C predicted in Scotland



 

matthewslack

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sjpt

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Far from a complete solution, but I think it would help if energy companies were required to make their prepayment meters charge at the lowest of their standard rates.
 
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guerney

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temperatures expected to plummet to -15C in some areas amid fears cold snap could last a fortnight

 

Woosh

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Far from a complete solution, but I think it would help if energy companies were required to make their prepayment meters charge at the lowest of their standard rates.
I would suggest that the state nationalises the nuclear generators and sell cheap electricity to all those who are on prepaid meter at the moment.
Two birds with one stone.
 

flecc

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I would suggest that the state nationalises the nuclear generators and sell cheap electricity to all those who are on prepaid meter at the moment.
Two birds with one stone.
While killing the most important bird, EDF.

If you want to stop Hinckley Point and Sizewell C coming online, that's a good way of doing it.

Not to mention the ill effect on the other vital investors, such as those building the wind farms and tidal sources
.
 
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Woosh

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While killing the most important bird, EDF.

If you want to stop Hinckley Point and Sizewell C coming online, that's a good way of doing it.

Not to mention the ill effect on the other vital investors, such as those building the wind farms and tidal sources
.
I was reading some articles about the business models of nuclear industries. Apparently, they make money on supplying fuel pellets. The latter are loaded into rods. So there is some conflict of interest. If the reactor is very efficient at burning fuel, it will use fewer pellets, not so profitable for those giants in nuclear industry.
For example (in Appendix 2 of Sizewell C, 60 years, 1.6GW), 611kgs of uranium used per year, 0.560kg (only 560 grams) of the fuel is converted to energy. Less than 0.1%. The remaining 99.9% will have to be buried or reprocessed.
There are strong arguments that this particular industry needs to be nationalised.
 
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flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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I was reading some articles about the business models of nuclear industries. Apparently, they make money on supplying fuel pellets. The latter are loaded into rods. So there is some conflict of interest. If the reactor is very efficient at burning fuel, it will use fewer pellets, not so profitable for those giants in nuclear industry.
For example (in Appendix 2 of Sizewell C, 60 years, 1.6GW), 611kgs of uranium used per year, 0.560kg (only 560 grams) of the fuel is converted to energy. Less than 0.1%. The remaining 99.9% will have to be buried or reprocessed.
There are strong arguments that this particular industry needs to be nationalised.
Agreed, but definitely not now when we are at our most vulnerable.

Long ago would have been good, particularly during the North Sea oil boom. But otherwise not until we get into a much more stable future electricity supply position. That's likely to be a long way off thanks to the needs to switch away from household gas and manufacture hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles.
.
 
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Woosh

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Another weakness of current reactors is their lifetime.
60 years for Sizewell C is a long time.
Technology would have leapfrogged it long before even half way through.
Just look at how ambitious India and China are. They have the money and human resources.
 
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guerney

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guerney

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Far from a complete solution, but I think it would help if energy companies were required to make their prepayment meters charge at the lowest of their standard rates.
That will never happen: Energy companies have kicked the can down the road ie "paused force-fitting prepayment meters until 31 March", after which they'll resume their odious activities until the furore reaches fever pitch again in about a year and a half, during which time they will have profited even more from poverty and misery, at which point they may receive some measure of symbolic public finger wagging once more... but nothing will change much for those who are struggling to keep themslves warm and their homes electrically active, until the for-profit element is completely removed from the equation, which is highly unlikely unless things get grim for the 90% for a prolonged period of time.
 
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MikelBikel

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soundwave

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Parts of America are getting record amounts of "global warming" snow! ;)
global warming summer will be here soon i have a 3.5kw air con :cool:
 

MikelBikel

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Another weakness of current reactors is their lifetime.
60 years for Sizewell C is a long time.
Technology would have leapfrogged it long before even half way through.
Just look at how ambitious India and China are. They have the money and human resources.
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time is now."
A popular Chinese proverb apparently. :)

(France started building their reactors in the 70's to 80's. Originally licensed for 30yrs, they are still running, inspected regularly, producing 70% of their electricity. And they're building more!)
 
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guerney

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Parts of America are getting record amounts of "global warming" snow! ;)
Things become more chaotic before new levels of order are reached: It's a non-linear system. Eventually there will be largely just one kind of weather and we will not like it, as the hot sky retains moisture. Here's a nice accessible read, beyond the linking of which, I refuse to engage with invariably intractably hopelessly irrational climate change deniers.

 
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guerney

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