Britain’s push towards net zero will temporarily push energy bills higher, Ed Miliband’s officials have admitted in an apparent contradiction of the Energy Secretary’s own claims.
The cost of rolling out wind farms, solar farms and other renewable power schemes will inflate prices in the “short to medium term”, making British businesses less competitive internationally, an obscure page on the Government’s website states.
Adding more more expensive generation to the system makes the system more expensive. Well I never.
Gas plants will still be kept as a backup, but only to supply power up to 5pc of the time when wind and solar output is low.
So 95% of the time renewables and “batteries” as the article coyly describes the as yet non-existent storage facilities maintaining the whole nation will prove sufficient? I searched in vain for the word nuclear in this ludicrous scenario but apparently, like Voldemort, we do not speak that name.
Not a lot of wiggle room for any meaningful level of industry is there?
Gas plants will still be kept as a backup, but only to supply power up to 5pc of the time when wind and solar output is low.
Problem is that, even if we pretend their numbers are correct, for a small but significant part of the year, solar and wind production is near zero, so this gas backup would need to be able to power the entire nation for several days at a time in winter. And then be idle for the rest of the year. And the more we ‘progress’ to net zero, the more gas capacity is needed to meet increased electricity demand.
temporarily push energy bills higher,
Are they spectacularly stupid cunts, or do they think we are? Energy bills have been rising steadily thanks to the net zero madness and will never fall. We have some of the world’s most expensive electricity already. On top of that, our taxes are being wasted on bullshit like carbon capture.
Running the gas plants only 5% of the time would be very expensive. These plants were designed to run a few hours to 24 hours a day. If you want to run them 5% of the time then they need a lot more maintenance. https://watt-logic.com/2024/12/19/unrealistic-plans-for-ccgt-fleet/
This will increase the cost of power generated in that 5% but not by nearly so much as that 5% also having to cover 100% of the gas plants capital costs and the infrastructure connecting them to the grid. The net result will be eye wateringly expensive gas generated electricity during that 5%.
In the long term this inflated cost will probably be taken and multiplied by 20 to show how expensive electricity could have been, thus propping up the claims that electricity bills are lower than they would have been.
“Temporary”. Right.
As temporary as the “Purchase Tax” introduces on 1940 that we now call VAT?
Are they spectacularly stupid cunts, or do they think we are?
Not necessarily mutually exclusive, as we are reminded ad infinitum. There’s no bigger cunt than a clever cunt, and I am struck by how clever these cunts think they are.
“You’ve got to pick a pocket or two, boys” – Ralph Miliband
It goes on to say that the Government has launched a separate subsidy scheme to help shield certain energy-intensive businesses, such as steelmakers, by exempting them from the levies. However, that policy is in turn funded by adding costs to the bills of other consumers.
What steelmakers?
Mr Miliband has repeatedly claimed that the Government’s goal of reaching a clean power system by 2030 will ultimately bring bills down by making the electricity grid less reliant on gas-fired power stations.
109 countries, you say? And never their fault?
A spokesman for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Every family in the country has paid the price of Britain’s dependence on global fossil fuel markets.
“That is why we are sprinting to clean, home-grown energy, so the UK can take back control of its energy with cleaner, affordable power.
“As shown by independent analysis from the National Energy System Operator, clean power by 2030 is achievable, more secure, and could see a lower cost of electricity, and lower bills.
Good News! Chocolate rations increased from 5 grammes to 2 grammes.
Probably the ones in India.
Do you remember when the plant at Redcar (IIRC) closed because net zero made it too expensive to run here? At the exact same time we were giving the Indians subsidies to open a steel plant in India.
BiW – I found this:
In 2024, crude steel output in the UK fell by 29% from a year earlier, totalling 4.0Mt, while in December production was only 160,000t, a drop of 63%. From January to November of 2024 overseas shipments of steel products to the UK surged by 25.8% year-on-year, reaching 6.2Mt, mainly driven by intra-group deliveries. Imports of flat steel products rose by 12.4% over the same period, while deliveries of semi-finished products jumped by 25.8%, following the closure of two blast furnaces in July and September. Overseas shipments of long products into the UK climbed by 11.1% in 2024.
A 30% drop in production in one year (!), and a massive corresponding uptick in imported foreign steel.
I reckon this is what President Trump calls “losing”.
“Every family in the country has paid the price of Britain’s obsession with net zero.”
FTFY
Well, the “take back control” line gives it away.
This is the British/WEF government deliberately trolling and laughing at its subjects. The lies about prices falling someday are gravy, the Qorn fake meat portion is immiserating the British people and economically defeating all their hopes for the future.
Oiks from Sheffield not being able to afford holidays, central heating, or a car is very much the plan. The government was always malevolent, but has doubled down on extirpating its own people since we beat them in the Brexit referendum, as a punishment.
We need a democratic revolution, like President Trump’s.
yup… typically bureaucratic definition of “temporary”…
‘renewable power schemes will inflate prices in the “short to medium term”, making British businesses less competitive…’
In the long run we are all dead (Keynes) and in the short to medium term you are all colder and poorer (Milliamp).
Swannypol said:
“As temporary as the “Purchase Tax” introduces on 1940 that we now call VAT?”
Or indeed income tax. Introduced in 1798, abolished twice, it is still in law temporary (only imposed for a year at a time, unlike VAT, NI, and most of the other taxes which continue unless abolished), but we’ve had it continuously now since 1842.
“short to medium term”
Because with Net Zero, there is no long term.
Oiks from Sheffield not being able to afford holidays, central heating, or a car is very much the plan.
This oik from Sheffield can *already* not afford a car. The only way I have transport at the moment is a work van. Management takes a “don’t take the piss” attitude to personal use.
But a couple of weeks ago I was emailed a job vacancy that paid more than my current job, and listed a work van. Along with “the van MUST NOT be used for personal travel, you MUST ONLY use it for work, it MUST NOT etc. etc. ” So, I emailed back, saying that I needed to travel for personal matters, and if I took the job I would have to use the work van for personal matters, and in many cases it would make no sense to travel *past* my destination just to park the van, and then travel *backward* to get to where I was going. And in many cases I would have to take a whole day off instead of just driving for two hours.
They replied: No, you MUST NOT use the work van, you must use personal transport for personal travel.
My reply was: WHAT FUCKING PERSONAL TRANSPORT????? This job doesn’t fucking pay me enough to afford personal transport.
So, I stay with my current job, but am mobile.
jgh – that’s mental. Most employers allow reasonable personal use?
NB if they allow personal use, Hector will cuddlefuck you for the privilege:
The HMRC has a single fixed rate BIK for van drivers which stands at £3,960. The amount of tax that you’ll pay is dependent on your personal income tax level.
For example, if you’re a 20% taxpayer, you’ll pay £792 per year (£66 a month). For higher rate taxpayers in the 40% tax bracket, the cost rises to £1,584 annually (£132 a month).
Rip off Britain, innit
Gas “to supply power up to 5pc of the time when wind and solar output is low.” Someone at the ministry for no energy security quickly worked out that a ‘clean’ grid wasn’t happening and changed their definition. Well ok, but I wonder if they realise that’s also impossible, now want to change it to also cover all the demand for 5% of the time, and mangled their words. There’s only one word needed – repeal
The tale I heard is that South Australia is thinking of building diesel power stations. SA is the state that blew up its coal burner when the push for net zero became fashionable.
Of course a large part of its power comes from the brown-coal-burning power stations in Victoria.
At least here in Queensland, the present government says it’ll keep the coal burners going indefinitely. Even better, there are regular whinges in the news about the government not paying the huge prices it used to for ‘green’ electricity. Indeed I understand there’s even talk of charging people for dumping the junk on the grid.
So I’m sure that Labor, in combination with the Greens, will soon get back into power and push the wrecking of the generating system up to top speed again.
The tale I heard is that South Australia is thinking of building diesel power stations. SA is the state that blew up its coal burner when the push for net zero became fashionable.
SA is also the state that suffered a state-wide power blackout (2016) as a consequence.