Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
£1,000-a-year for gas bills
Friday 18th July 2008, 11:42AM BST.
Gas prices are set to soar and then remain high, with the average annual bill likely to hit more than £1,000 within the next few years.
Today’s grim warning comes in an independent report commissioned by British Gas owner Centrica, which says prices could increase by up to 70 per cent.
Jake Ulrich, managing director of Centrica Energy, said gas price rises were likely to lead to a “potentially significant” rise in the number of people in fuel poverty.
He also predicted people would have to change their habits to deal with higher prices.
He said: “I do think we will see people change their behaviour. I think people will use less energy – maybe it’s two jumpers instead of one.
“I think people will change the temperature they keep the house at, they’ll be more cognisant of energy waste, they’ll buy better appliances.”
Gas prices will continue to rise for some time, he said.
“We’re part of a world economy and I don’t think we can rely on UK production or cheap gas, cheap energy of any sort any more.
“I think it’s a reality, not only in the UK but in Western Europe and North America, energy is going to become relatively much more expensive.”
Gas and electricity watchdog Energywatch called on the Government to act now to reduce the pressure on wholesale gas prices and force the industry to deliver affordable energy for Britain’s poorest consumers.
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said that the rapid increase in energy bills was hitting pensioners particularly hard.
He said they were forced to cut back on heating.
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With combined gas/lecky bills of over £2200 a year, any increase will hit hard.
Thats with wearing a thick jumper and all the insulation/glazing I can fit.
Ah well, looks like a new boiler is on the cards soon.
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In the report commissioned for British gas owner Centrica, gas prices might have to rise by up to 70%, WOW, if they can keep the rise down to 68%, they will have done a superb job.
When the gas companies can fix the prices of gas at a certain rate, why don’t they do it now for everybody. Instead they confuse people by setting different rates for all sorts of things.
Jake Ulrich, predicted we would all have to change our habits to deal with higher prices, thats it then, new double glazing, new boiler, solar panels and wind turbines to be fitted. Oh i forgot, we are not all on massive salaries like Mr Ulrich.
Does anybody know what nationalality Mr Ulrich is?
What happened to the governments pledge to cut fuel poverty?
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Within British waters, oil was found, as a by product of retrieving that oil, gas is also produced, I can remember under Maggie Thatcher’s rule, it was declared that the whole of the UK would be using Free Gas.
For years the gas produced was being burned off, then someone had the brilliant idea of piping it ashore to be used as North Sea Gas.
Maggie Thatcher for whatever reason decided that her class of people should have the financial benefit of our oil and gas industry, and it was all given away, the UK could have been self sufficient in oil and gas for years to come.
Gordon Brown is doing no more that what Maggie started, the destruction of the UK!!!
We are now in the position that the oil and gas that rightfully belonged to us, is being produced in the summer, and is being sold to energy companies in Europe at knocked down prices, in the winter it is then returned to the UK at a vastly inflated price, to the detriment of the British people.
Successive British Governments have ripped off the population of Britain, yes they are in the wrong, but the real people responsible for this are the people who have a vote and refuse to use it, the ones who make the excuse that “it’s a waste of time voting, they are all the same” “they don’t listen when you talk too them” etc, do you really think we would have been in this state if everyone had used their votes?
No one cares what is happening in the UK now, this is the price families are going to have to pay for their apathy.
Jim of Bearwood
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It’s inevitable that prices of fossil fuels have to rise, as there are finite supplies. We can’t go on using oil and gas for ever, obviously. But instead of moaning at normal people who are just using the necessary amount of fuel to heat their home, wash their clothes, etc., they should be having a go at big companies who leave the offices fully lit up at night and never switch off the appliances, and places like Tesco who waste huge amounts of energy on heating and air conditioning and have their enormous doors open all the time.
My fuel bill is already well over £1000 a year. Looks like I’ll have to buy more jumpers and hibernate through the winter… o_0
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What annoys me is the way this government favours pensioners over everyone else- free bus travel, increased heating payments, every policy just makes pensioners even richer- most moan about being poor but they have enough money to buy the beat meat from the butcher, fill up expensive coffee shops and buy bottles of whisky fron Tesco – truth is pensioners have neve had it so good whilst everyone else suffers
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Jim, get real. The gas and oil made money for the country for years, which we all benefitted from. The government spending at the time included money from the oil and gas.
But as it was companies who took the risk, companies who paid for equipment and companies that employed staff, the companies made the most profit.
It belongs to whoever gets it up. You want to spend money getting oil and gas out of the ground, you can do so. In which case you will make money.
Not all countries have fixed markets (fixed by their governments) for gas. We have a more open economy for that. You don’t like it, fine. You’d have been the first complaining about the LOWER gas costs we had for years than many of those fixed markets wouldn’t you?
Try looking at what actually has happened rather than a blinkered view strained through whatever ideology you subscribe to.
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Gordon Brown wont do anything for the people of Britian because he doesnt give a damn.He can afford a £1000 gas bill.
He can afford £1000 electric bill after all his wages are that of 10 households.
Time will come when everyone is to scared to use heating and electric and will die due to cold and malnurishment because they cant afford the gas or electic to heat homes and feed themselves.
Time to cut taxes.stop immigration.stop free hand outs of our state welfare.
Give us what we deserve…
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Realist Wulfrunian, yes this government does favour the, pensioners, no argument from me there, who’s pension fund got plundered by Gordon Brown? yes you got it, the present day English pensioners, perhaps if you had paid your share of the tax bill we wouldn’t have had to subsidise your lifestyle, who paid you’re your education and your National Health Service, yes, your right the present day pensioners, did you fight in Europe , the Far East or Korea etc? is that a NO? so don’t you think the present day pensioners are entitled to be able to live reasonably, they have paid their debt to society, have you????
Martin Davies, I love comments like yours “The gas and oil made money for the country for years” yes it did, but notice your play on words “made money for the country for years” that’s a hell of difference to made money for the workers of the country, British workers have never benefitted from North Sea Oil, Maggie made sure of that.
And as for risk there was no risk, they have known how to retrieve oil out of the ground for years, they knew the oil was there, what risk was there? There is more risk in the Building industry where there are numerous deaths every year, they couldn’t lose, and it doesn’t belong to whoever gets it up, it belongs to the country and the British people, Maggie Thatcher gave away our rights to any profit from our oil asset.
I know exactly what happened, I had to watch as Maggie Thatcher destroyed British Industry, as our coal mines were closed down, so we then had to import cheap coal from abroad, that way more profits were generated for the privileged few at the top, and all that was at the expense of British jobs.
Maggie Thatcher’s quest was to destroy the unions and to keep wages low, whenever there was a budget it was always the working class that paid for the increased taxes handed out, her weapon to keep the workers inline was mass unemployment and she succeeded.
My eyes are wide open, I had to live that experience to my cost.
Jim of Bearwood
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Jim, and how do the oil companies know where to drill and how much oil there is in an area? By exploring for it. Including drilling.
Then once found, arranging rigs and storage or pipelines.
The people of this country benefitted from low bills for years for gas, oil was sold by the companies – companies that were taxed so you didn’t have to pay more taxes.
Whether you like it or not, you benefitted from the oil and gas.
As for Maggie Thatcher, look at what happened in the decade before she came to power. I for one am glad she broke the power of the unions.
Exactly how many major strikes affecting the entire country occurred once she did break them?
Or would you have rather we ended up with no industry, little tourism, regular blackouts and transport strikes? You don’t have to like her, God knows I don’t. But compared to what we had, she had to do something.
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I HAVEBEEN PAYING OVER ONE THOUSAND POUNDS A YEAR EVER SINCE SWITCHING TO BRITISH GAS SIX MONTHS AGO THEY TOLD ME IT WOULD BE CHEAPER OFF THEM.THEY HAVE NOW TOLD ME THE PRICE IS INCREASING AGAIN DUE TO THE INCREASE IN OIL PRICES. I THOUGHT OIL HAD COME DOWN IN PRICE
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