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207 comments on Saturday Open Thread and News Dump

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Fletcher on March 11, 2006 - 12:27pm Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
Does anyone have information on average household expenditures for electricity, heating costs and costs for transportation fuels by region - by country would be even better? Also is there comparitive historical information?

WE've had an %18 rate increase in electrical service from Bangor Hydro on top of what I believe is the highest base rates in the U.S.

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writerman on March 11, 2006 - 12:36pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Some gas/electricity providers in the UK have announced price hikes of around 22% for the coming year. The shape of things to come? Actually the UK seems to be in even worse shape than the US in relation to it's comint energy gap. I thought that would make you all feel a bit better!
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MUDLOGGER on March 11, 2006 - 2:13pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Actually more like 30% for gas and 29% for electricity.
Our 'consumer champion' OffGas has told us to shop around for better deals. Ha! . We got lucky this year. Temps in the UK were no where near predicted from the anticipated effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation. However, it may have been just this that hurt central Europe in January.
In Theory it lets ultra cold air in from Siberia. It is possible that this effect created problems for the Germans in 1941 and Napoleon in 1812.
We got fairly warm Atlantic weather all the way through until just a couple of weeks ago and North East Scotland and the East Coast of England got Arctic air funneled down the North Sea. The gas problems are currently being blamed on the lack of supply across the Interconnector from Europe and the lack of economic harmonisation of Gas Majors in the EEC. We are at the end of a very long pipe from Russia and we found out what that means...
Though our clueless 'Elders, betters and the Great and Good' have yet to wake up and smell the peak, It has at last got Energy (or lack of it) on the agenda.
Now is not the time to be old or poor in this sceptered isle: We loose people every year due to fuel poverty.
We got lucky. But Winter comes around every year...
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Mad Maxout on March 11, 2006 - 6:35pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Interesting, particularly the comment with losing people to "fuel poverty" as you put it. For the economy to "run" home heating isn't "essential" but for health, it sure is. And to think that England gets nowhere near as cold as a good old fashioned (read: pre-global-warming) winter. Or worse, a Minnesota or Canadian winter.

To seriously reduce winter heating energy use, you'd have to take extreme measures, like wearing a snowsuit in the house, with a motorcycle helmet with heated air! Sure, you can throttle down on a thermostat, but at some point, it gets dangerous, not just uncomfortable. Also, as the house temp drops to 0C (32F) pipes freeze, causing problems that are a bane of homeowners - even if you sit in your La-Zee Boy chair in your homebrew space suit.

Why home heat isn't considered "essential" for the economy is easy to understand. That energy use does not correspond to productivity, unlike propane in a forklift or electricity in a web server for a .com store. Since that energy use doesn't directly aid and abet productivity, economists call it "non-essential" - until they can't heat their house that is! Meanwhile that propane tank on a forklift does aid and abet productivity by loading and unloading semis on a loading dock. And the web server makes the .com store possible.

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Leanan on March 11, 2006 - 7:32pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I guess that explains this:

British Gas chaos leaves thousands without heat

Thousands of British Gas customers have been left without heating or hot water for days - and in some cases weeks - during the coldest part of winter because the company's HomeCare insurance operation is in chaos.

A whistleblower who works for British Gas has revealed that staff were told customers without central heating "no longer constituted a priority", even though they have paid around £200 a year for emergency call-out insurance.

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MUDLOGGER on March 13, 2006 - 7:36am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

You may find this site interesting re the Gas situation in the UK:

http://gasissues.blogspot.com/

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Gets IT on March 12, 2006 - 8:57pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The temperature doesn't get as cold there (GB), but with the humidity, believe me I feel much "colder" in GB than I ever felt in MN.  Scotland, now that IS COLD even for you MN Swedes.
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Gets IT on March 12, 2006 - 8:51pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I'm counting on a lot of you guys coming down to Spain this summer and lifting the apartment and villa prices around there to new records!  Well, if not this year; next then.
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Gets IT on March 12, 2006 - 8:51pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
But leave your Range Rovers in GB!
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