Why don't we care about the price of Petrol any more?
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: Great Britain
Posts: 22
Why don't we care about the price of Petrol any more?
Or in fact it would seem the price of anything.
Not so long ago Truckers were up in arms when Diesel went past .99p a litre. Now it's £1.89 a litre. No riots, no protests, nothing?
Soon it will be £2 a litre.
Have we just accepted our fate?
Not so long ago Truckers were up in arms when Diesel went past .99p a litre. Now it's £1.89 a litre. No riots, no protests, nothing?
Soon it will be £2 a litre.
Have we just accepted our fate?
Thought police antagonist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Where I always have been...firmly in the real world
Posts: 1,165
Think of this as being a cumulative and insidious process therefore. As the costs of living crisis continues, in the not too distant future, the fuel price will become prominent in everybody's life....Summer hols are approaching for example and what seemed like a good idea for whatever form may now have to be pared back...significantly.
And then there's the next gas / electric rises in October..just in time for Winter.
As I've said before, next door neighbour is a professional HGV driver...his opinion is, that, whilst the increases in his fuel bills are " manageable...just " with costs being passed on to the consumer, naturally, this can't last and he's aware of low key, but present, rumours for truckers protests as matters deteriorate further.
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 66
Posts: 3,547
As I've said before, next door neighbour is a professional HGV driver...his opinion is, that, whilst the increases in his fuel bills are " manageable...just " with costs being passed on to the consumer, naturally, this can't last and he's aware of low key, but present, rumours for truckers protests as matters deteriorate further.
I understand the same sort of thing is happening to truckers now.
Of course, then there is perverted logic that POTUS Biden uses to justify limiting domestic production of petroleum, then turning around and ordering the release of oil from the strategic oil reserve when fuel prices skyrocket. But I digress...
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Darkest Lincs
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: USA
Age: 58
Posts: 259
And I’m really concerned that we collectively think that it’s a good thing to take a portable fuel like LNG and use it to generate electricity, when we’re swimming in coal. For God’s sake, the UK imports sawdust from the US at who knows how many “Carbon Credits” worth of bunker oil per bulk carrier load to generate electricity on the fiction that it’s Carbon Neutral…
Trucks run great on LNG, it is very readily available, and wouldn’t need a heck of a lot of infrastructure to make it ubiquitous.
When we piss it all away on stationary electrical generation, we can’t get it back.
Trucks run great on LNG, it is very readily available, and wouldn’t need a heck of a lot of infrastructure to make it ubiquitous.
When we piss it all away on stationary electrical generation, we can’t get it back.
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Canada
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: 4DME
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mostly in my own imagination
Posts: 118
Well that one was easy! Hardly worth the effort really 
That's such a weird response really. I don't "hate" drivers of ICE vehicles, I'm just glad I made a choice that lets me avoid having to pay sky high prices for fuel for my vehicle. I'm fine with ICE drivers choosing whatever vehicle they think serves their needs
Fair point, except most of what I buy I get from thrift stores or craigslist. I don't need mountains of new furniture and electronics constantly delivered to my front door. Food, sure, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to live cheaply if you shop wisely
You're assuming I actually get one. To be fair I do, but if I thought I'd be staying in this house long enough I'd have the thing covered with solar panels. As it is, I signed up with Octopus at 10.6c per kWh fixed for three years. My nephews told me UK rates are variable and set by the government ... or something like that. We have private companies that sell the same electricity for differing rates. That too is weird, but advantageous

Which is the attitude that has made Tesla drivers more hated than Audi/BMW drivers
More fool you as we are talking about the fuel that delivers your goods which in turn is increasing the prices of everything
Wait till you get your electric bill.

Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mostly in my own imagination
Posts: 118
Tesla doesn't have dealerships, though I understand what you mean
Yeah, sure it came on the back of an HGV car transporter because the Tesla semi isn't available yet, but so what? I paid a one time delivery fee for that. They then drove it from the Delivery Centre to my house
I still don't understand why ICE drivers get so defensive about EVs. I don't really care what other people drive, I'm just glad I don't have to pay $100 to fill up some unnecessarily large gas guzzling monster every week or two - and yes, that's the US, I understand cars are a lot smaller (dare I say more sensible?) in the UK, but like I say, drive what you want, that's your decision
Yeah, sure it came on the back of an HGV car transporter because the Tesla semi isn't available yet, but so what? I paid a one time delivery fee for that. They then drove it from the Delivery Centre to my house
I still don't understand why ICE drivers get so defensive about EVs. I don't really care what other people drive, I'm just glad I don't have to pay $100 to fill up some unnecessarily large gas guzzling monster every week or two - and yes, that's the US, I understand cars are a lot smaller (dare I say more sensible?) in the UK, but like I say, drive what you want, that's your decision
Thought police antagonist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Where I always have been...firmly in the real world
Posts: 1,165
Food, sure, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to live cheaply if you shop wisely
My nephews told me UK rates are variable and set by the government ... or something like that. We have private companies that sell the same electricity for differing rates. That too is weird, but advantageous
The organisation your nephew refers to is Ofgem. The UK tried the privatisation route, naturally, it's always been a Tory Holy Grail, and, not surprisingly, because it never does, or will, it didn't work as planned.
The energy suppliers just got greedy as usual, those dividends and bonus's have to be funded from somewhere after all !!....however, Ofgem is far from the innocent party here because the organisation used a "light touch " approach as to the suitability of some private suppliers...who clearly, it has emerged, weren't. Which is why everybody is now paying more as the survivors try to recoup their losses from customers whose provider has collapsed.
Incidentally, if a UK organisation is preceded by "Of", it's a glorified paper tiger quango.
What is the energy price cap? (moneysavingexpert.com)
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Posts: 435
You're assuming I actually get one. To be fair I do, but if I thought I'd be staying in this house long enough I'd have the thing covered with solar panels. As it is, I signed up with Octopus at 10.6c per kWh fixed for three years. My nephews told me UK rates are variable and set by the government ... or something like that. We have private companies that sell the same electricity for differing rates. That too is weird, but advantageous
Unfortunately the wholesale price of electricity is driven by the most expensive producer, which is currently gas (because why would you sell your wind/nuclear/hydro energy at a lower price than you need to?) and as we know the wholesale price of gas has skyrocketed. This has caused some companies to fail (because they'd either over-committed to cheap fixed-rate deals that they could no longer afford to service, or because they couldn't even afford to supply energy at the government price cap at the same time as covering their overheads). The only options open to the government to keep the remaining companies afloat are to cap prices on the wholesale market (which is problematic in a global economy), subsidise power, or raise the retail price cap. They've chosen to do the latter, which means that the retailers are all selling energy at or very close to the price cap. New fixed-rate deals can't even compete with that, so the only people paying significantly less than the price cap are those on legacy fixed-rate deals whose suppliers haven't gone out of business.
At least, that's my understanding of how it works; if I haven't got that quite right I'm sure someone will correct me.
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mostly in my own imagination
Posts: 118
lol - "privatisation" in the Tory lexicon means giving it to their mates at knock down prices so they can run it into the ground extracting the maximum amount of cake for themselves, then offloading it back to the public sector
It's one thing they're quite good at
It's one thing they're quite good at
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Thailand
Age: 79
Posts: 560
Fuel
I remember being told that petrol was a by product of oil refining! Its where the government gets its spending money from!Someone (401?) Mentioned bunker oil,this is residue from refining.No longer burnt in the uk except possibly for start up of the remaining coal fireds(3?).When the electricity supply industry belonged to the government things were a lot simpler.There was an efficiency league table for all power stations and the grid used them in order,I worked on a top of the league and a bottom of the league station so if the old station was running we knew that demand was high!Now its so complicated!