BasswormSep 4, 2025
Emeritus Prof Christopher May

If energy produced by gas sets the price of all electricity supplied into the national grid, then one way to rescue the price payed by consumers is to end that market-making price structure.... of courses the gas-driven energy suppliers would be unhappy, but the bigger prize would be a major reduction in the cost of living & the continued consolidation of the UK's renewable energy sector....

the Q. is will Labour take that route?

#energy #politics

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/04/electricity-users-save-5bn-a-year-gas-fired-stations-removed-from-market

Energy users ‘could save £5bn a year’ if gas plants are removed from market

Former energy tsar suggests the ‘radical step’ as one of the few options the government has for cutting bills

The Guardian
Sep 4, 2025 at 5:49amWeb
Show threadRupert 🇪🇺🏴‍☠️😾🔭📷🍺🍪🌍🔥Sep 4, 2025

@ChrisMayLA6 it is a ridiculous way to run the system.

As for the cost of loving, any reduction is welcome, but in some ways it's priceless (sorry)

Show threadEmeritus Prof Christopher MaySep 4, 2025

@rupertcutler

Ha ha, now corrected, even if I did like the way it sounded like a 1960's Play for Today (showing my age there)

Show thread@IanAMartin HAS MOVED!Sep 4, 2025

@ChrisMayLA6 Alas, they probably won’t have the internal fortitude to do so. My guess is that they may receive funds from the industry, thus reducing the likelihood they would.

Any question about this asked of them would probably result in the usual flannel about ‘the complexity of the system’ or ‘the delicate balance that certain economic factors have as their nature’ and so on, until they run out of air or the questioner’s eyes start glazing over from sheer boredom.

Any UK pensioner will tell you that winter heating costs are exorbitant and no mistake. Yet, the Labourites refuse to care.

Power is as near a human right as it can be, without actually qualifying to be one.

Whither Socialism — or even compassion — today? That’s my question.

Show threadEmeritus Prof Christopher MaySep 4, 2025

@IanAMartin

Indeed; any hint of socialism has ben rendered as insurrection!

Show thread@IanAMartin HAS MOVED!Sep 4, 2025

@ChrisMayLA6 Somewhere between that attitude and the one of the USA where isurrection is treaded as — ¯(°_o)/¯ — would be what should be the case for western governments.

Oh! if only!

Show threadbeemohSep 4, 2025
@ChrisMayLA6 I was wondering a bit ago if removing baseload from the market would be enough- keep the same marketised system for every MWh that follows on the basis that they'd have to start from a lower bid to preempt other sources, or at least on the good days for renewables they might get excluded entirely and that reduces people's annual bills (even if it has no significant effect on that specific month) while still providing revenue to invest with.
Show threadGraeme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Sep 4, 2025
@ChrisMayLA6 You are right. And even more so, we have our own gas. That should be cheap, not based on international prices. We have a crazy system where the green thing to do is go electric, but electricity is around the most expensive in the world for no good reason, just lack of political will.
In answer to your question, "No" as they are gutless and unimaginative. They have no vision, and little understanding, and are beholden to the rich as much if not more than the Tories..
Show threadThe Penguin of EvilSep 4, 2025
@pa27 @ChrisMayLA6 we also buy power from abroad which ties our prices to similar places like Germany. This will also get worse with all the data centres which are effectively being subsidized by the public. Norway is pulling out of the interconnector agreements so their local prices aren't pulled up by exports all the time - that will also drive more gas (which of course they are selling to us)
Show threadEliza MBSep 4, 2025
@pa27 @ChrisMayLA6 please do share your mechanism for getting multinational energy companies to supply gas at below market price.
Show threadGraeme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Sep 4, 2025
@OneInterestingFact @ChrisMayLA6 It's called political will... Other countries seem to manage it, we have some of the most expensive commercial electricity prices there are. Domestic isn't much better.
Show threadWalrus 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Sep 4, 2025

@ChrisMayLA6

Was it by any chance the Tories who decided that the cost of the most expensive form of generation needed to meet demand, which is often gas-fired power stations, would set the price for all electricity sold in the market?

If the creation of a fake market system wasn't theirs, who else is as stupid as them?

Show threadThe Penguin of EvilSep 4, 2025
@Walrus @ChrisMayLA6 it's standard for many markets. When it was all gas coal and nuclear and not intermittent it sort of made sense especially when capacity existed.
Labour have been moving to CFD for good reasons, but nobody can magic old contracts away
Show threadJayne 🇪🇺🏳️‍🌈Sep 4, 2025

@etchedpixels @Walrus @ChrisMayLA6

Nobody can magic away old contracts…except Trump 🤦

Show threadWalrus 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Sep 4, 2025

@TCMuffin @etchedpixels @ChrisMayLA6

And Parliament, if they ever wake up, and remember their job.

Show threadThe Penguin of EvilSep 4, 2025
@Walrus @TCMuffin @ChrisMayLA6 no they signed up to all sorts of stupid investor agreements so financially they can't
Show threadJohn Caveney woke is me🛠️Sep 4, 2025
@Walrus @ChrisMayLA6 I’ve always thought that the ‘energy price cap’ was a government backed cartel.
Show threadNoam BergmanSep 5, 2025
@ChrisMayLA6 I think that if Miliband had his way, these changes would be made. He understands the outdated and problematic pricing system.