Warmer energy times ahead

Are energy companies turning coquettishly coy and dangling tantalising cuts just around the corner - as they've done so well, and trading market's really are working?

Nothing to do then with the new government announcing a push towards better efficiencies as a way of curbing the rise of energy usage & prices, with a love for all things renewable energy bill, and raising the spectre of closer investigation into the energy co's affair...

I believe there's applause there somewhere, but the avalanching haystack appears to have covered it.

Out with bad old energy, in with good clean stuff!

More funds

We need more funds to stop us becoming obese, to stop us over-eating and killing ourselves; please stop and think of the children, and donate your hard-earned money, so we can help prop up local candy stores and stop anyone else from gorging themselves on all those bad calories; which you know — in the end — will be better for us, better for them, but more importantly better for you!

Yes, carbon tax trading. 

Soon to be followed by a whole new raft of the-really-decent-thing-to-do-climate-bonus levies.  Of course it’s really nothing but a nonsense.  Another money making scam that ensures the only real change to the status quo, is the one leaving you lighter in the purse. 

At this very moment, every house or community could have solar, wind, geo, biomass energy systems installed that would cut their dependence on fossil fuels and so their emissions.  Not only that, it could even furnish stakeholders with a small steady profitable stream of income, as they pump any excess back into trimmed down national energy grids.  The acreage is available, people want it, efficiencies would improve over time. One glaring thing which could be a reason the full thrust into this land of energy independence is chugging away slower than a eurostar during a french farmers strike, is politicians and industrials haven't quite finalised how they are going to make the people & communities, who produce their own power and energy, pay "that damned levy" to make up for the global billions they stand to lose; as peoples shackled dependence on external energy sources, production, transmission routes start to diminish over months and years. 

I suppose its something that would be viewed with the same level of sneering as an uprising demanding the removal of vat on everything, with a clause inserted, insisting that moody recreationals be made mandatory — just to help us feel that little bit better about the whole thing.

But i'm sure somewhere along the line, they'll find a way.  Especially if a company like royal dutch shell, that made $3.2 billion (net profit mind not gross), still finds the need to cut 5,000 jobs for "productivity" sake, what hope will there be for small energy producing stakeholders once the fossil-giants and poketpols swivel benighted sights on them?

Ofsquawk

Lots of blundering ‘ofs’ with rheumy eyes, triple-calcified joints, and a short-sightedness that brings a whole new term to dystopic-malfunctioning.

Ofgem, that toothless parrot of quangos squawks again, and in response energy companies do their usual two fingered dance. 

Good to see markets are working. 

Liberty?

Sigh. The laudable cry of sovereignty once more rings out as new eu elections are set to take place, in less than three months time.

It's always worrying listening to people who are more intent of talking over and interrupting people to ensure their point is heard when cameras are rolling.  But who's interest does the multi-mill/billionaire business leaders serve, since very rarely does it appear to truly benefit the general populace?  Oh right theirs. No doubt someone somewhere will believe its a microsoft or chinese or russian plot to derail and destabilise the eu powerhouse from the inside.

There must be many people in constituent countries who are able to name ten members of their parliamentary betters and at least five of their eu reps. Why, here in the uk there's jacqs, gord, vince, dave (at least six of them), and for the eu, there's... er.... where's me list...

But when the time arrives i'll have read the blurbs, gone with me guts and scratched my green name; so later down the line I can say "I was robbed" and "that was a bloody wasted vote" with a modicum of self-righteous contentedness.

Yippee!  By 2018 every new built building in the eu will be required to produce as much energy as they consume.  2018?  Nine years time?  The rise in sea-level will probably have put paid to that, as the mad scramble to build-build-build to relocate coastline refugees picks up a soggy pace, and the last thing people will be thinking about is "does it have a pump!"  Just give everyone a windmill-hat and solar powered kinetic boots.

A wastebin for ofgem

So what's the ofgem regulators tough talking, no nonsense approach, to the greedy energy companies?

Give them until the 1st December to come up with something, then refer them to another talking shop after a suitable period of time.  If they don't come up with something that “sorts this out”, the regulator will penalise them, “we can fine them.”

Whoop, springs to mind.

Good he can shop around though.  What about those who can't shop around, who are penalised because they are in arrears or have a pre-payment meter so are unable (due to them been held in a vice-like grip by their suppliers) to switch. 

So when the lights go out in 2015 as we run out of capacity, the many aging plants give up the ghost, and we can't afford to import, at least there'll be a swathe of the current crop of parliamentarians around, on whom blame can firmly, very firmly be attached.

In the meantime i think this firmly sums up most peoples thoughts on the subject.

Loss labour

At the next round of world trade meetings (or letting the big multi-nationals get away with it), it will be a new conservative uk government putting it's social friendly policies with a new democratic/republican led government in the us.

But at the moment here in the uk, with all the nonsense wafting in the air of windfall taxes and tinkering about the edges with a stamp duty holiday. People are suffering.

If this winter is really bad, then like the summer of a couple of years ago, the weeks will go by and reports of people dying will flood onto the media networks.

Price increases for energy companies in the home of one of the big energy companies, is limited to 5% per year for its 28m customers. Yes it's edf and that has happened in france.  But, give or take a kw or barrel, how can the french president insist on such a small price increase been forced onto french consumers, whilst the uk government bends over backwards; seemingly just waving them through?

In the uk it, along with other energy companies, has been able to get away (like good cowboys laughing off into the sunset) with increasing prices by over 22% year on year, claiming wholesale price increases, whilst making billions in profit.  Perhaps my knowledge of the energy industry is on par with that of a gnat and i'm talking nothing but hot air through my other hole.

I'm sure stern words have been flying from ministries to companys and back again.  But why in the land of 'easily hire, easily fire', (to make us more competitive, which is why the oecd says the uk could be the only developed country to hit recession), is there such a disparity in energy pricing and pricing increases compared to other members of the european community?

Perhaps big companies are now fully aware they can gouge the uk consumer, without too much interference from a hapless regulator or an inept government.

If you spend more than 10% on fuel, you are classed as been fuel poor. For the many who are spending upto 25% if not more, they must be the new fuelslaves.  Doing everything possible to ensure the lights and gas remain on, even to the extent of cutting back on food and other basics.  The fates help them if it turns out to be harsh winter as, on current form, nothing useful looks like it will be emanating from this government, in time to stave off the worst.

The government is quick to say how much help it is providing to those over 70.  Which is excellent.  But what about those who are under that age, who don't get all the handouts - as they're not eligible to under the twisted, warped and convoluted regulations that pass for means-testing?

The dearth of useful information given by ministers is telling, when they make an appearance on television, radio or in the press.  That combined with their level of condescension, is simply a sign of a government fully out of touch with the true feelings of many of its citizens.

The way things are currently going, we can just imagine after the winter, with 30% of the population spending 40% of any income they have, just to try and keep warm. 

Over the coming weeks, the next good government thought, will be to trawl through historical archives to see how (when the last economic disaster was experienced) we, as a plucky nation, managed to pull through.

And this, no doubt, is probably one of the bright ideas they will eventually come up with....

Climate change. Official!

So the American Geophysical Union or AGU, have finally revised and re-affirmed most of the globes belief that the majority effects of the increase in melting, warming, flooding... is, with a more than 50% probability, down to human intervention.

"The Earth's climate is now clearly out of balance and is warming. Many components of the climate system—including the temperatures of the atmosphere, land and ocean, the extent of sea ice and mountain glaciers, the sea level, the distribution of precipitation, and the length of seasons—are now changing at rates and in patterns that are not natural and are best explained by the increased atmospheric abundances of greenhouse gases and aerosols generated by human activity during the 20th century. Global average surface temperatures increased on average by about 0.6°C over the period 1956–2006. As of 2006, eleven of the previous twelve years were warmer than any others since 1850." AGU

But many people have already accepted the scenario that it has been happening, for years. And started making small changes in their lifestyles to match. But how many actually recycle, how much in the way of goods are actually wasted, ending up in landfills or incinerated, all produced from energy fossil fuels.

A deep-vein coal mine has closed down in Wales today, lasting 15 years longer than anticipated. But it has come to an end, other mines will no doubt be in a similar position. Many mines in the UK have or had been in operation for centuries; before the Thatcher & Scargill fiasco.

There is no great probability of developing nations ditching their dash to luxurious modernity, by cutting back on their need for energy! Just as there won't be any real passion in developed nations to cut back on the luxuries and disposables they enjoy.

In the meantime, we know (well according to the science) that a CO2 reduction of at least 60% is in order, and that's just to get us back to where we were a decade ago! If a single digit reduction's managed, that would be a major surprise.

So what's to do?

Solar power, wind, turbine, nuclear, all with problems of their own. How many places have 12 hours of sun beating down from a cloudless sky, with at least 2 hectares given over to energy exchange? Or continual wind? Turbines sound more feasible if the motion - electricity conversion could be made more efficient. Nuclear? Current costs, possibility of meltdowns (with Three Mile and Chernobyl as benchmarks), terrorism and the dumping of burning waste for thousands of years - unless a safer means is found to secure and dispose of it.

Which brings me back. So what to do?

Fusion doesn't seem to be anywhere in the running! Could there be something peering out of the backwater?

Artists drawing of the ITER project

Environmental concerns

Most boring pompous clip in the name of a good cause, to help the environment, must go to:
Tada!

Admittedly these behemoths aren't aimed at the average Joe/Mary on the street, who happens to live in a bedsit flat or tenament overlooking patchy roadworks and broken fences. The FAQ portion of the website does - to be factual - say that! So full marks to them for popping that particular bubble. Although I Would have enjoyed a couple of them placed on the roof whizzing around from sunset till dusk, cutting down on the every increasing energy costs. But perhaps they are better off somewhere sunnier with loads of hot air, like the Ghobi desert, Sahara, San Diego, Congress... in fact any sunny place which just has the few odd days of scudding cloud cover, which might otherwise spoil the party.

But seriously, climate change is coming up fast on the inside lane as one of the most destructive series of events that might bring about the demise of many species, and take us down to the level of sticks and creaky parchment. Either that, or the gathering together of a global network of terrorists bent on world domination, or bio-weapons unleashed by desperate nations as resources get scarcer; and of course how could we forget the holy grail of hot-headed despots everywhere, with fingers itching to unleash their WMD's!

But, on a somewhat more serious note, how many disasters would it take before electricity, gas, water supplies in a few key countries are knocked out with the ensuing turmoil of food scarcity, resultant upsurge in population migrations? How long before the comforts and luxury's, so many of us in the 'developed' (sic) world take for granted, evaporate like clarity in a blizzard.

If we (or rather the Politicians) don't plan for it, make effective (efficient) use of renewables, with the knowledge of what's (possibly) just around the corner then we deserve our fate. A shame that the greedy billionaires out there are more concerned with feathering their own nests, looking out for number one without remembering that for the world to survive it's not a single horse race.

We are social animals and in general, when under direct or indirect stress, are more inclined towards selfishness, deviousness, battening down the hatches and thinking of oneself.

So if things are bad now, and we only have to look at the increasing number of disasters over the past few years to see how some sections of the population would behave, just imagine how much worse it will be when disasters are more frequent and on a far larger scale!

Time to watch those Mad Max films again, or maybe just a Marx Brothers film with a fine selection of chocolates flown in specially, from around the world!