Gaining a lot of traction this idea.
Some households will get their energy at a lower tariff with the costs being paid for either through general taxation or through even higher tariffs for those that don't qualify for the social tariff.
I support the idea of people in need getting energy more cheaply, but worry about how it's funded.
If general taxation then it's something I feel could work.
If it's higher tariffs for everyone else, this will just further fuel division and resentment.
What do you think?
I would only be for this if they also incentivised using less energy at peak times, so it makes handling the grid load much simpler. Cheaper energy which people make no adjustments to get, doesn't seem right, as in there has to be better ways of achieving the same result (those worse off doing better).
The daily energy rate needs to be variable, or let people choose to go on a daily variable rate, which changes by the hour and season. They would simply avoid the massive peaks which cause the grid issues. The problem with energy is the volume we consume, and the massive peaks and troughs in demand, even throughout the day. It's all extremely inefficient, which drives up cost to run, and cost in bills for every end user.
Also, jack up the rate as consumption goes up. First 10kW might be 25p, but the next 10kW is 30p etc, maybe with an allowance for EV drivers. If you want to heat a 6-bed house, and your stables, for two people, fine, but you pay a higher rate than the old bloke trying to keep his old inefficient 2 bed house warm.
I think just giving the worst off better benefits, at the expense of the best off, but energy at the same prices as anyone would incentive less use.