Juggling With EggsMar 19

I would desperately like to see UK government decouple the price of electricity from gas. We have just about the most expensive consumer energy prices in the world…but lazy journalism won’t get us there.

This piece is a recycled press release from a think tank…admittedly not a rightwing one, but it’s not based on the kind of research you might find in a journal.

#Energy
#Gas
#Electricity
#decoupling
#FuelPoverty
#fuel

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/19/stopping-gas-dictating-uk-energy-price-could-cut-bills-by-200-thinktank-says

Stopping gas dictating UK energy price could cut bills by £200, thinktank says

Iran war has increased gas price, with effects on UK energy bills that could be avoided, Common Wealth says

The Guardian
Show threadvksxypantsMar 19

@JugglingWithEggs Yep. If electricity were cheaper, the country would end up using more electricity -- which would require more gas at exactly the time that there is a gas shortage. The high price helps to keep demand for electricity aligned with supply of gas.

The reason why gas prices dictate electricity prices is because we're dependent on gas for electricity. It's just a straightforward case of building more solar and wind generation instead.

Show threadvksxypants
@JugglingWithEggs my view is that if you want to "decouple" gas price from electric price, you should do it via marginal cost, similar to how marginal tax rates work. The more electricity you use, the higher the cost per unit of each additional unit. The first X units you use cost an amount proportional to the cheapest generation cost, the second X units proportional to 2nd cheapest generator, and so on. I accept it would be complex to calculate, not very transparent, and nobody would like it...
Mar 19 at 10:27amWeb
Show threadvksxypantsMar 19
@JugglingWithEggs the easier alternative, which is what Octopus do, is tariffs that vary every half hour and are tied to current supply and demand.