The Lights Are Dim .. The Heat Is Off .. The Shops Are Closed

Wow, I thought things were bad here in Australia, but that’s terrible. What’s the government response?

 

Is that an effect of the Russia Ukraine war and the sanctions EU put on Russia?

 

Boris Johnson's administration has never resembled what most people would think of as a government. They are currently spending their time infighting to choose his successor.

 

It's partly the response of the European energy market to the reduction in Russian gas supplies, primarily to Germany, who are buying up large quantities for winter storage. Prices were rising anyway after covid lockdowns finished. As the chairman of Ovo energy just said, this has been clearly coming for a year or so. Lots of renewable electricity is produced close to my home yet it is sold into the market and the energy companies buy it back at a hugely inflated price based on the price of gas rather than electricity. Lots of words spring to mind, madness, racketeering....

 

And don’t forget the tabloids expect us to be upset with Boris for going on holiday after being ousted… like that wouldn’t be the response of any one of us in that situation?!

 

Yes, EU/NATO states involving themselves in the USA proxy war against Russia is having unexpected outcomes for the small minded politicians and self-proclaimed "leaders".

I wouldn't be surprised if the Winter leads to large scale civil unrest and mass disobedience, leading to the potential collapse of more than a few of these overzealous virtue signalling republics.

No one and nothing will be immune from the effects of their stupidity.

 

I’m not sure this can all be attributed to the war in Ukraine… although the issues seem to stem from the change to the energy price cap. Put in place to protect consumers it has now been increased. Profits of over 1billion in 2020 we’re obviously not enough and now it’s estimated (maybe incorrectly) that this will rise to over 220billion over the next two years…
As always in the UK. The rich will get richer. The port will receive handouts… and the squeezed middle will feel the pain.

 

Just watched this. Situation very well explained by Palki.

 

This Palki can live in a dream world.
Capping price is going to make this worse!
She needs to read a supply and demand curve.
The problem is that the unnamed war between russia and the west has cut of a BIG part of the supply.
The price goes up so the new supply can grow.
Ironically china resells ($x3) Russian gas now by sea. Gazrpom had its best year ever...

And is was all foreseeable by people with some realistic economic insight.

Remember when they were making fun of Trump when he said it woud be best for the Germans to not to be so dependent on rusian gas.

Yes even "idiot" Trump saw it. Hes a businessman an knows supply and demand.

 

You took my point before I had a chance to make it. Trump went to Europe and warned them of their reliance on Russian oil and gas. The leaders of France and Germany were openly mocking him about it. Now 4 years on I hope that sense of humor is going to keep them warm at night. So stupid.

 

well it migt not be a cold winter anyways and it dont snow evry winter here so there.

 

Here is perhaps the biggest clue. Stop blaming Russia. (This goes for the USA too). Blame your own governments.

Inflation in the USA? Bad governance. Plain and simple.

Love going green? You may get gangrene. (From freezing).

 

Energy distribution and charging is very different in Europe and UK than say the USA. In the US you have "localised" grids. Eg in Washington State electricity comes mostly from hydro power and is bought directly within the state. Texas is independent in a similar way but with different power sources. The UK produces about 40% from offshore wind but the producers sell it back into the energy market and the suppliers buy it from the market. The price of electricity on the market is pegged to gas so the actions of Russia have a direct effect through the market price of gas. In the current setup even if the UK produced all its requirements through renewables (which are about 4 times cheaper than the current market price of electricity) consumers would still pay a silly price because of the way the market works, binding the price to gas. The UK Conservative Govt has failed to reform the market methodology and bring it into the 21st century, do yes bad governance is a major factor. They would prefer to load yet more billions of debt onto future generations.

 

Thanks for additional insight. Yes. Bad government(s)

Let’s not forget the economic suicide being committed by cutting back supply like the French did. And the USA.

Allowing a dependency on Russia for gas was about as dumb as the world’s Covid response.

 

It depends on how you count them, but there are only 4-6 grids across the US and Canada. 4 of them supply power to the US and parts of Canada. In the main, there aren't 'state-wide' grids as described here. Sorry this isn't correct.