Britain paying highest electricity prices in the world | Hacker News Reader

Britain paying highest electricity prices in the world

telegraph.co.uk

48 pointsokasaki27 comments

Largely driven by high fraction of natural gas in British energy mix. British gas production in the north sea has declined, no more imports from Russia and now 60% of imported gas comes from Norway[1], which is more expensive.

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/natural-gas-chapter...

And the previous government closed pretty much all our storage capacity, disabling any ability to buy at lower prices and store for later use.

It's rather annoying as a brit. Apparently the wholesale cost of electricty is about 7p in the UK but I get charged 25p. Something not very efficient is going on.

Profit extraction, and it's very efficient

Around 30% is climate levy and similar taxes, plus there’s 5% VAT.

If 30% is climate levy then that's some rather cheap electricity, because the climate levy is less than 1p/kWh.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change-levy-rates

This is what happens when people treat the Telegraph as news rather than a source of disinformation used by wealthy vested interests to manipulate public opinion.

7p looks a tad optimistic, but only a tad - https://energy-stats.uk/wholesale-energy-pricing/

That I'm aware of, the "wholesale cost" does not include the local distribution networks. Those cost a fair number of pence to build and maintain.

And - I vaguely recall that the UK had world-beating taxes and surcharges on electricity - some for "green" reasons, some to spread the agony of the staggering cost overruns at new British nuclear plants, and some to help shore up the government's "general budget" financial woes.

some daft way so that oil, coal, and gas generators of electricity don't lose money to cheaper renewables, so the price per unit is set to the least efficient method - absolutely ludicrous.

(Developed world only.)

Of those countries where geography precludes easy imports from competent neighbors, is there any which has generally had lower-functioning government over the past half-ish century?

https://archive.ph/kpetx

Britain seems like such a crazy dystopia these days.

cameras everywhere, immigration overwhelming natives in certain neighborhoods, ASBOs, some of the highest rent prices in the world, average economy.

how are middle class britons doing?

Eh, not bad. Don’t believe everything you read online.

Yeah we have a very active tabloid press that rather amplifies the bad stuff. It does not too bad on many rankings eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_inequalit...

>cameras everywhere

Less cameras per-capita than the US.

> ASBOs

ASBOs were abolished in England and Wales in 2014.

>some of the highest rent prices in the world, average economy.

In London which doesn't have an average economy.

> Less cameras per-capita than the US.

I think comparison to density with regards to land mass and not number of people would be a more relevant comparison.

No it wouldn't.

ASBOs still exist. They have just been given a different name. Do your homework.

How about the IPP prison sentences which still exist.

>ASBOs still exist. They have just been given a different name.

Well how about using the correct name then?

>How about the IPP prison sentences which still exist.

Ended in 2012: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprisonment_for_public_protec...

>Do your homework.

Good advice, perhaps you should take it.

How about the 3000 people still serving under them? Are we going to wait another 10 years so it can turn into a media hogging scandal like the Post Office affair?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ipp-sentence-jam...

I'm sure if you can find out that IPPs were abolished in 2012 you can find out the new name ASBOs are masquerading under.

>I'm sure if you can find out that IPPs were abolished in 2012 you can find out the new name ASBOs are masquerading under.

I'm not here to correct your misleading posts. I will bring attention to them though.

I'm not from there so sorry I'm behind on some of this stuff.

It does look like on the wiki they were abolished however they were replaced by something else?

I don't know enough about it. The idea of an ASBO when I read about it sounded insane abuse of power to me.

""ASBOs were replaced in England and Wales by the civil injunctions and criminal behaviour orders"'

You need to define middle class properly in order to answer this question.

Actual middle class Brits who own property - fairly decently. There are some headwinds with regards to things like energy prices etc but it's mostly fine.

"Middle class" Brits e.g. sons and daughters of the middle class who are renting (often sharing), not so great. It's relatively difficult to buy nowadays because we stopped building.

It’s terrible and I’m currently arranging my escape to Asia. And I’m one of the lucky ones.

I think you watch too much far-right nonsense on YouTube.

Seems like Britain still pays the highest price for almost anything, in the world, and used to be known by international traders as 'treasure island', and I guess still is.

I was quite surprised when car shopping, that prices in New Zealand (always pretty expensive, being a small market far away from the rest of the world), were on average 20% to 30% less than the UK. Including European brands and vehicles actually manufactured in the UK, like the Nissan Qashqai.

compare grocery store prices between uk and us. you'll be surprised.

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