£5,000 Energy Bill Set For 2020

[cashinmattress]

£5,000 energy bill set for 2020

If we are not running round on hover boards and flying cars, the annual cost of a home's gas and electricity in 2020 is expected to rise to £4,733.

Research by uSwitch.com suggests the annual average household energy bill is set to rocket in the coming decade, from the current level of £1,243.

The increase in the cost of gas and electricity is expected to come from the cost of reducing carbon emissions, the introduction of smart meters, new infrastructure and the energy efficiency programmes.

Pointing work by Ernst & Young, researchers claim £233.5 billion investment costs could push up energy bills by £548 a year.

In 2004, the average energy bill was £580.

Moves to increase energy efficiency in homes is only expected to mitigate the price rises.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch, said: "This is a wake-up call for us all.

"The £5,000 a year energy bill may seem like an outside possibility, but we have to remember that energy bills doubled in the last five years alone and that the huge investment needed just to keep the lights on in Britain will alone add £548 a year onto our bills.

"The fact is we are entering a new era of high cost energy and households will have to adapt their behaviour accordingly."

She added energy efficiency was "one of the biggest defences we have against escalating energy costs".

"My advice to consumers is to invest in making your home more energy efficient, reduce the amount of energy you use and make sure you are paying the lowest possible price for it," Ms Robinson said.

She claimed big projects such as a new energy efficient boiler or home insulation can be expensive, but the savings made through cutting the price of your energy could be re-invested into energy efficiency measures.

"Don't be put off. If cost is an issue, speak to your supplier to see if they can help - they have a pot of money available to help households with energy efficiency," Ms Robinson said.

"Or contact the Energy Saving Trust for advice. The key thing is to start future-proofing yourself against higher energy bills now."

We all know that we are a net importer of energy in Britain, and with the North Sea in decline and British self-energy investment at a standstill; I think these numbers may be on the low side.

Peak oil advocates do have the right idea in getting yourself prepared. Will you? Will Britain? Or will it be more of the same and spend-spend-spend willy-nilly on pointless PFI and propping up a broken and corrupt financial system?

The next quandary will which government we elect; one which passes legislation allowing people to get off the grid and be self supporting, especially as miniaturization and efficiency for machines is growing in leaps and bounds. This is Britain, so I won't be holding my breath on that one.

[200p]

Nothing to fear, the trusty CPI will influence wage increases.

[Errol]

Council tax will probably have gone up another 100% by 2020 as well.

Still, I guess we can all look forward to wage increases on a similar scale so everything will be fine.

[interestrateripoff]

More money to be sucked out of the economy.

So we can look forward to a compound effect from fiscal drag, debt drag and an energy price drag.

The global economy is screwed, the vast majority of people cannot afford these prices.

[Pezerinno]

But I only earn £5k a year.

[Cinnamon]

But I only earn £5k a year.

So you'll get to live very green!

Just think of what no heating does for a slim figure and the NHS budget

[Pindar]

But it's OK, perpetual HPI will mean we will all feel rich enough to afford the higher energy prices.

[council dweller]

In the year 2020 we'll have 5k energy bills, 10k for food and just 5k for housing.

No problem there unless the average income is 20k net. (40k gross, 50% tax)

Trying to provide some of your own food and energy might be a good idea?

[dinker]

I think we`re about half way there already. I got my electricity bill this morning and it was nearly £600, and this is the summer!

[Moo]

I think we`re about half way there already. I got my electricity bill this morning and it was nearly £600, and this is the summer!

Good lord! What do you do of an evening? Arc welding!?!

[council dweller]

Good lord! What do you do of an evening? Arc welding!?!

It's the 'plants.'

[nohpc]

god I hate these articles. They fail to account for so many other possiblities.

Like alternative energy.

Wage inflation making the bills smaller on balance.

Increased energy efficiency.

People look at the 5 grand and say oh mygod I can't afford that. It's more than ten years away for gods sake. Nobody can predict that far ahead and all predictions I have seen (for most things come to think of it) fail to take account of other factors.

[Errol]

Wage inflation making the bills smaller on balance.

Seen any of that recently? Or even in the last 40 years?

[mspL4]

Again, Load of B0110X,

There is no Energy Shortage, there is no pollution, there is NO NEED to invent new ways of Extracting/Utilising new sources of Energy this is merely another way of controlling the way in which the general population live their lives through Fear that Natural Resources are dwindling, Mass Pollution is destroying the Earth..."We're gonna run out of Electricity!", "We're gonna run out of Gas!", "We're gonna run out of Oil!" etc etc etc..."We can't fix the problem but by MASSIVE TAXATION we can inhibit the lifestyles of the general populus", thus limiting their ability to live how they like whilst making loads of money in the process via TAXATION under the guise that it will be used to "Create New Infrastructure, New Efficient Means of Energy Extraction/Utilisation, Greener Alternatives, etc etc etc".

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!

mspL4

[nohpc]

Seen any of that recently? Or even in the last 40 years?

My wage inflated heavily every year for about 5 years but hardly at all over the last 2.

My point is that if energy costs go up to 5000 per year then salaries will also be substantially higher.

[Errol]

My point is that if energy costs go up to 5000 per year then salaries will also be substantially higher.

Good luck with that one.

[nohpc]

Again, Load of B0110X,

There is no Energy Shortage, there is no pollution, there is NO NEED to invent new ways of Extracting/Utilising new sources of Energy this is merely another way of controlling the way in which the general population live their lives through Fear that Natural Resources are dwindling, Mass Pollution is destroying the Earth..."We're gonna run out of Electricity!", "We're gonna run out of Gas!", "We're gonna run out of Oil!" etc etc etc..."We can't fix the problem but by MASSIVE TAXATION we can inhibit the lifestyles of the general populus", thus limiting their ability to live how they like whilst making loads of money in the process via TAXATION under the guise that it will be used to "Create New Infrastructure, New Efficient Means of Energy Extraction/Utilisation, Greener Alternatives, etc etc etc".

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!

mspL4

i'm awake and I partially agree. Pollution is a disgusting problem I would like to see controlled.

[DementedTuna]

Guess house prices will have to fall, particularly on those big airey high celing terraces that are a nightmare to heat.

[Selling up]

Guess house prices will have to fall, particularly on those big airey high celing terraces that are a nightmare to heat.

Er... you could just put in a false ceiling. What's that? a few hundred quid? So prices won't have to fall that much.

These figures do seem fairly silly to me though.

As far as I can tell from the article, they have included the cost of energy efficiency measures such as insulation and smart meters, but it is far from clear that they have included the savings which are the whole point of such measures, or what assumptions they have used to do so.

[Gideon Gono]

More money to be sucked out of the economy.

So we can look forward to a compound effect from fiscal drag, debt drag and an energy price drag.

The global economy is screwed, the vast majority of people cannot afford these prices.

Its called inflation - dont worry, youll be earning more. Money sucked out of the economy will be printed back in

[noodle doodle]

"In 10 years time" is prediction-speak for "We don't have a clue when"

[DabHand]

Presuming figures are in real terms.

It will certainly drop kick any post 2012 nascent recovereh! right in the throat. This is economic gang rape lads*, and we really shouldn't have drunk all them beers**.

* inferring there is a series of large unpleasant experiences about to occur in fairly rapid sequential fashion.

** we inadvertently or neglectfully put ourselves in this position, but l ought to add that l don't think people who drink too many beers deserve gang rape, or even single rape for that matter.

Have coat, will leave.

[Cinnamon]

Guess house prices will have to fall, particularly on those big airey high celing terraces that are a nightmare to heat.

House prices will fall even faster once people cannot afford to heat the house in winter at all and the resulting condensation starts attacking the brickwork.

[puppee]

don't worry about it , just invest in some solar panels for hot water, ground source heating system for heating and a nice multi-fuel burner for extra heat and wind turbine then watch these big greedy companies moan when we are not using so much of their energy and their profits fall

[Kazuya]

Houses will fall even faster once people cannot afford to heat the house in winter at all and the resulting condensation starts attacking the brickwork.

Fixed