Hacker News Reader

benbojangleson TikTok's 'addictive design' found to be illegal in Europe

Am I the only one who does not know what tiktok is or does?

benbojangleson "Anyone else out there vibe circuit-building?"

yes. but it is not smooth sailing.

benbojangleson Ask HN: How can we solve the loneliness epidemic?

i like loneliness. in my teens i could not encourage my friends to travel so i went on my own and was happy. in my twenties i would comfortably break up my relationships if i knew i could be happier alone. i have worked overseas for extended periods alone. i am old now but i am happy alone. i enjoy my huge garden alone. i avoid crowds. I online shop instead of travelling to a store if i can. I just have no connection to people around me anymore and i have been able to recognise this need in me and encourage myself to follow my own understanding of a happy life. I have no real regrets. I am in a good position financially and have nobody to really bother me. I can look ahead to the next month or two and feel happy knowing there is nothing on the horizon to displace my solitude.

benbojangleson Influencers and OnlyFans models are dominating O-1 visa requests

chatgpt says i have extraordinary talent, will we be next to qualify?

benbojangleson OpenSCAD is kinda neat

I like openscad it allowed me to create a shed generator which also provides material quantity output, so an accurate shopping list is created - all done in code super impressed. I could not figure out how to do the same thing in standard cad software.

benbojangleson Adafruit: Arduino’s Rules Are ‘Incompatible With Open Source’

I have gotten into platformio cli and find it much easier to program an MCU this way

benbojangleson Minimum Viable Arduino Project: Aeropress Timer

What happens if you replace aeropress with dynamite

benbojangleson Over fifty new hallucinations in ICLR 2026 submissions

How to get to the top of you are not smart enough?

benbojangleson Fighting the age-gated internet

i'm not a russian bot and i hope the id cards and face recognition stuff is temporary while the world collaborates to catch the problem people. But my guess is once they see how successful it is they will get addicted to the power and not let go.

benbojangleson Fighting the age-gated internet

https://www.realclearhistory.com/2017/04/01/the_migrant_cris...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariel_boatlift

https://www.reddit.com/r/moviequestions/comments/133gbzl/in_...

https://www.vice.com/en/article/we-talked-to-migrants-about-...

From what i can gather, there was some confusion as to why some nations which clearly and obviously have very high crime/fraud/corruption statistics yet at the same time have incredibly low prison/prisoner statistics (https://www.statista.com/statistics/262961/countries-with-th...) and the governments couldn't figure it out or overlooked it. It turns out that those nations just kick out the trouble and the trouble arrives at other shores, quickly setting up black market trade routes, money laundering shops, heavy violence, and a complete disregard for laws.

benbojangleson Fighting the age-gated internet

Internet Gatekeeping, ID Cards, New Facial Recognition Powers, Secret government talks have identified a huge problem, planned all this during the covid years is my guess. Something is going down and this is their safest bet i reckon. Possibly to do with unregistered recent inhabitants and improving the capability to identify them. That movie Scarface in the first 25 minutes tells you something.

benbojangleson UK Government plans new powers to label dissenting movements as 'subversion'

I think bloc voting & localised majoritarianism is Britain's biggest sleeper issue right now and for the next 20 years so it makes a lot of sense to combat using government powers, even id cards are an unfortunate necessity. However I draw the line on needing ev pay per mile tax.

benbojangleson The fall of Labubus and the mush of modern internet trends

It talks about decentralization as though all those cookies/trackers/analytics & data care one hoof about which website you think you are decentralizing yourself from the next one. THEY ALL KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND THEY ARE ALL STEERING YOU

benbojangleson $40M 3D printing factory open for business on Guam, will produce parts for Navy

I hope they have anti espionage and hacking theft measures in place

benbojangleson SpaceX disables 2,500 Starlink terminals allegedly used by Asian scam centers

i would prefer to go there and visit to find out the truth before i pass judgement

benbojangleson Tinnitus Neuromodulator

36yrs with tinnitus, but this website looks like what happens when chatgpt and a tinnitus sufferer vibe codes better than nothing I suppose ... Or is it?

benbojangleson The Quiet Driving Force Behind Rising Curtailment Costs in Great Britain

How do other countries cope

benbojangleson Big Tech Told Kids to Code. The Jobs Didn’t Follow [audio]

it's been like this for decades, there's been a huge amount of peddling lies and untruths regarding tech jobs and careers.

benbojangleson Swiss voters back e-ID and abolish rental tax

makes swiss landlords richer. Foreign nationals cannot own rental homes.

benbojangleson You did this with an AI and you do not understand what you're doing here

I wonder how many university degrees have been passed using ai?

benbojangleson David Lynch LA House

It looks like he was smoking four cigarettes at once in there

benbojangleson The Storm Hits the Art Market

Gold always goes up. It's the rate of increase you have to monitor.

benbojangleson The Storm Hits the Art Market

when covid happened gold prices, crypto and art prices went through the roof; now that the covid situation appears under control and markets have returned back to normal, everything is predictable again - it makes sense that art markets are taking a steep decline back to normal levels. Being able to hide assets during a time of //war/plague/market crash/comet strike etc// is a skill which will make a man great wealth if he offers the service to whoever is rich and still alive. It therefore seems logical that art markets and shows can mothball themselves for the time being.

benbojangleson Tesla bid to become a UK electricity supplier gets politically 'charged'

my guess is tesla wants to offer cheap off peak electricity and allow people to use their tesla to power their homes during the day, thus affecting the corporate stranglehold on those huge profits from the worlds highest electricity bill nation. George Soros funded bestforbitain.org ran an article (https://www.bestforbritain.org/thousands_oppose_musks_uk_pow...) what does soros know what is best for britain?

benbojangleson Tesla bid to become a UK electricity supplier gets politically 'charged'

we have one of the worlds highest electricity bills, so tesla could shake that up with off peak special pricing, daytime use can use a tesla ev to supply the house.

benbojangleson Tesla bid to become a UK electricity supplier gets politically 'charged'

So what's the big deal when all of britains electricity suppliers are private companies anyway?

benbojangleson Tesla bid to become a UK electricity supplier gets politically 'charged'

Here's a clear breakdown:

---

## 1. Are all of Britain’s electricity suppliers private companies?

*Yes, all major electricity suppliers in Great Britain are privately owned.* There are no significant government-owned electricity supply companies currently operating for households or businesses. The exception was *Robin Hood Energy*, a publicly owned non-profit launched by Nottingham City Council in 2015—but it is no longer active as a general supplier.([Wikipedia][1])

---

## 2. Major Electricity Suppliers in Great Britain: Ownership & Revenues

Let's focus on the biggest players as of mid-2025, per multiple market sources:

As of *June 2025*, the top six energy suppliers in Great Britain (by market share) are: *Octopus Energy, British Gas (Centrica), E.ON Next, OVO Energy, EDF Energy, ScottishPower*.([Uswitch][2])

These are all private companies—some British, some subsidiaries of foreign energy groups.

Here’s what we know about each:

---

### *Octopus Energy*

* *Ownership*: Part of Octopus Group, an asset management company. Private company.([Wikipedia][3]) * *2024 Revenue*: £12.4 billion (2023: £13 billion).([Wikipedia][3])

### *British Gas (Centrica)*

* *Ownership*: Owned by Centrica, a British publicly listed (but privately held) energy company. * *Revenue*: Centrica group generated substantial revenue; British Gas alone had operating profit of £159 million for six months to June (annualized). Estimated Centrica revenue \~£26.5 billion.([The Times][4], [Wikipedia][3], [Yahoo Finance][5])

### *E.ON Next*

* *Ownership*: Subsidiary of the German energy group E.ON. * *Revenue*: E.ON UK revenue was around *£5.8 billion* in 2017. More recent figures aren’t in cited sources.([Wikipedia][6], [ibisworld.org][7])

### *OVO Energy*

* *Ownership*: British-based private company (founded 2009). Increased scale via acquisitions (e.g., SSE Energy Services).([Uswitch][2], [The Scottish Sun][8]) * *Revenue*: Not specified in sources, but likely in low-billions given size.

### *EDF Energy*

* *Ownership*: Wholly owned by the French state-owned utility EDF (Électricité de France).([Wikipedia][9]) * *Revenue*: Around *£8.72 billion* in 2021.([Wikipedia][9])

### *ScottishPower*

* *Ownership*: Owned by Spanish utility group Iberdrola.([The Standard][10], [The Scottish Sun][8]) * *Revenue*: About *£6.58 billion* (per Statista's figures for ScottishPower).([Statista][11])

---

## Summary Table

| Supplier | Owner | Approx. Revenue | | -------------- | ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | Octopus Energy | Octopus Group (private) | £12.4 bn (2024) | | British Gas | Centrica (publicly listed UK) | \~£26 bn (group) | | E.ON Next | E.ON (German multinational) | \~£5.8 bn (2017 data) | | OVO Energy | Private UK company | Not publicly reported (\~£bn est.) | | EDF Energy | EDF (French state-owned) | £8.72 bn (2021) | | ScottishPower | Iberdrola (Spanish utility) | £6.58 bn (circa 2025) |

---

### Additional Context

* The overall electricity supply industry in the UK had an estimated total revenue of *£49.7 bn in 2024*, with projections of decline ahead.([ibisworld.org][7]) * There are also various smaller, challenger suppliers active in the market (e.g., Utilita, Ecotricity, Good Energy, etc.), all private as well.([Confused][12], [Uswitch][2])

---

## In Conclusion

* *Yes*, all major electricity suppliers in Great Britain are privately owned. * The top six are *Octopus Energy, British Gas (Centrica), E.ON Next, OVO Energy, EDF Energy*, and *ScottishPower*. * Owners range from UK corporations to foreign multinational or state-owned groups. * Revenues vary significantly, from around £6–12 bn for many to £26 bn for Centrica group.

---

Let me know if you'd like details on smaller suppliers or more granular data (like profitability or customer numbers)!

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_Energy?utm_source=c... "Robin Hood Energy" [2]: https://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/big-six-energ... "Big six energy suppliers in the UK - Uswitch" [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_Energy?utm_source=chat... "Octopus Energy" [4]: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b21oct-3ghb0l23h?utm_sour... "The 'secret sauce' that helped Octopus take on British Gas" [5]: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-biggest-energy-companies-u... "10 Biggest Energy Companies in the UK" [6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.ON_UK?utm_source=chatgpt.com "E.ON UK" [7]: https://www.ibisworld.org/united-kingdom/industry/electricit... "Electricity Supply in the UK - Market Research Report (2014-2029)" [8]: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/money/15004584/energy-giant... "Energy giant with 5million customers in merger talks to create UK's 3rd BIGGEST gas & electricity supplier" [9]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EDF_Energy?utm_source=chatgpt.... "EDF Energy" [10]: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/british-gas-centrica-prof... "Who owns the major energy and water suppliers, and how much profit do they make? | The Standard" [11]: https://www.statista.com/topics/4935/big-six-in-the-uk/?utm_... "Big Six in the UK - statistics & facts | Statista" [12]: https://www.confused.com/gas-electricity/guides/big-six-ener... "Who are the Big Six energy companies in the UK in 2024? - Confused.com"

benbojangleson Jobs data denialism won't fool anyone

I would like to see other countries methods of hiding their jobs problems, I bet there are some creative and comedic things going on.

benbojangleson VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

Sandford Police are on the scene

benbojangleson Ask HN: What are you working on? (July 2025)

Euromillions data analyzer: https://github.com/benb0jangles/euromillions_analyser

My creation this week, i hope some find it interesting and fun. Last night I was bored so I created a python app to analyse historical euromillions draw numbers. I added tons of features and some statistical analysis features to examine patterns and bias. Good luck if it helps you win I would love to know, also let me know your thoughts and experiences, what you found, how it helps you understand the draw more, and any features I could add in future. I could not find many official sources for entire historical draw data; the official lottery website only appeared to provide 6 months historical data and i wanted to analyse all past draws.