If I could go back in time, where would I go? I could sneak back to 1889 and smother baby Adolph, I suppose. Do the world a favour, possibly. Or nip back to November 1963 and train my zoom lens on the sixth floor of a certain building in Dallas, just top sate my curiosity. Or I could be greedy and go back just a few years and buy a ton of Bitcoin for peanuts.
But right now, I’d settle for the chance to pop back to late December 2021. I’d open up the email from British Gas offering me a two year fixed deal at double the price I’d been paying. This time I’ll press the button saying ‘Yes, absolutely fucking yes.’ And I’ll be chuffed to bits at snagging such a fantastic deal. I wouldn’t have been bragging about this ‘double your costs’ deal to mates immediately. But give it a few months, and they’d have been calling me Nostradamus and asking for tips.
Straight after doubling my gas bill, I’d have called up my mortgage provider and confirmed that I absolutely bloody do wish to pay the extortionate £3,500 early repayment fees to terminate my current deal. No problemo , amigo. Just sign me up to a spangly new ten year fixed rate deal today. Yes, yes, I know that interest rates have barely moved for more than a decade. I’ve just got a feeling. Again, it won’t be the sort of deal that one would boast about straightaway. But a few months down the line? The folk calling me Nostradamus will pause. And then add, in a hushed, awestruck tone, “but better”.
Alas, I cannot go back in time. But I can still take my daily walk along the beach and enjoy the fresh air. That’s still free, for now.
The Mexile 
I was offered a high fixed rate on my electric two months ago, it was half my current rate. It is the same everywhere that shies away from power subsidies in our world.
On the plus side, renewable energy is looking a lot more reasonable.
Being prophetic: investing in firms that are making big, whole house batteries for the no wind and cloudy days might be a spinner.
The majority of Mr. Musk’s cash flow is pouring out of his giga battery factories. There are a number of battery plants being built at this time but I suspect the demand will stay strong for another few decades.
Now chips, selling chip fab stock short in our current shortage may prove prudent . I think they are building too much new capacity. I’ve been wrong before.
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Short term, Putin’s games with gas and oil will have Europe burning more coal, paying silly money for gas and oil and wrapping up in wool jumpers. Over the long term, he’s done more for the green energy revolution on this continent than any campaign group, environmental agreement or legislation.
And that is not what an economy reliant on fossil fuel energy sales should be doing.
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What are you paying for gas right now? I had a heat pump installed when we bought our present house so it covers both heating and cooling, so well worth it for the blistering hot weather we had last week in the mid to high 30’s Celsius.
Our gas bill is usually between $18 and $27 per month depending on the time of year. It has gone up mind you, the actual gas used is very little it’s the rental of the equipment, storage and transport of the gas (aka commodity fees), municipal fees, carbon tax, and government taxes and clean energy levy that plump the bill out. Last May was particularly inclement but we only used .8 of a giga joule which translates to $3.60. That was to heat a two story building circa 3000sq ft for a month.
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I got a new gas combo boiler put in almost two years ago. It is more efficient than the last one, which saves a bit. I would have likely got a heat pump, but I live in a block of flats, so it’s not my decision. Heat pumps are expensive here, but there are subsidies and the running costs are obviously much less. Heat pumps don’t seem likely to solve the UKs energy needs though. They work best on well insulated modern properties, and we have an awful lot of very old, very leaky housing stock.
Up till December we’d been paying just over £60pm for gas and leccy. The new 2 year fix was set at £122. If I didn’t sign up to that, I’d be on the £90pm standard variable for four months, and then paying £135pm when the std variable went up. I sat down and did the maths, and decided to pass on the fix and just sit on the variable rate. Then Russia invaded Ukraine, and I quickly wished I hadn’t…
Truth be told, Colm, we’re not in a terrible position. Not when we compare our lot with other folk. It’s just the two of us in a very modern well insulated two bed flat. We can take a few sensible measures to reduce our energy consumption without letting the cold in. And I’ve been building up our balance in advance of winter.
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