Wind Farms Are Driving Up Electricity Bills, Admits Ofgem
Energy bills are rising to help fund the extra costs of wind farms, Ofgem admitted today as it announced gas and electricity costs will go up by double the expected amount from October. The Mail has more.
The regulator said the hike was “driven by an increase in electricity balancing costs” – which relates to the extra expense of paying wind farms in remote areas to turn themselves off because the network cannot take their power to where it is required.
This can also mean other generators such as gas plants which are closer to consumers are then paid millions of pounds to fire up to replace the wasted wind.
Today, Ofgem revealed the price cap will rise by 2% – double the expected 1% – from October for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Conservatives said the rising costs were yet another example of how Labour’s policies were costing hard-working Britons more money, as the party accused Energy Secretary Ed Miliband of being “not interested in the truth or cutting bills”.
The upcoming rise means a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will now pay £1,755 a year, which is a rise of £35 a year on the current £1,720 rate. …
Britain has so far wasted £815 million this year by switching off wind turbines and paying gas plants to switch on, according to Octopus Energy’s Wasted Wind tracker.
This equates to £3.4 million a day in costs arising from wind farm curtailment and replacement so far in 2025. The total is up from £631 million at the same point in 2024.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks claimed today that the rise in bills was evidence of the “fossil fuel penalty being paid by families, businesses and our economy”.
But Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho labelled this claim “patently untrue” and put the increase down to the cost of transiting to renewable energy.
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So is Michael Shanks a lier or are Ofgem? If the former can we expect him to resign? He also blamed high gas prices, which are only high in this country because of his demented boss’ campaign to drag us into the stone age. I try not to hate and to keep my blood pressure down but these lying bastards make it very difficult.
Gas prices are not high on an historic basis.
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uk-natural-gas
We are being gaslit by liars who seek to blame oil and gas prices [both highly efficient global markets] for the UK Grid’s problems and the UK Government’s policy changes. For example, the ‘Warm Homes’ initiative is just another welfare state product that the rest of us are being made to pay for thru our energy bills
“The Conservatives said the rising costs were yet another example of how Labour’s policies were costing hard-working Britons more money”
Sod off. You had 14 years to sort this out – you made it worse!
Their policy was not to sort it out and so they were completely successful. And of course when it comes to lying about energy costs, step forward Coutinho who claimed increasing the amount of subsidy for windmill bids, following an auction round nobody bid for, would save us money on our bills. Hopefully we will kick her lying fanny out of East Surrey next election.
It depends: if the subsidy is paid out of taxation it could produce savings in bills, but of course overall it will cost more.
Net Grifto = smoke and mirrors.
Not only did they have 14 years to sort it out – they actually doubled down on it.
Never forget that it was the CONSERVATIVES who introduced “net zero”. Before they did so, Labour’s Climate Change Act mandated “only” an 80 percent reduction.
As for Claire Coutinho – see her own website (from 2023)…
https://www.clairecoutinho.com/news/pm-announces-new-pragmatic-approach-net-zero
“We are fully committed to reaching Net Zero by 2050.”
Or from last year (when the hapless Tories were still in government)…
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/energy-security-strategy
“Britain is the poster child for net zero…Since 2010 we have seen £300 billion invested into green technology…Our target to decarbonise the grid by 2035…Our Green Industry Growth Accelerator now totals over £1 billion…”
Or how about the Conservative manifesto for last year’s general election?…
“We are proud of our record and remain committed to delivering net zero by 2050.”
Indeed – never again!
When you turn over that rock, you find the other reason scurrying out from beneath it:
ALL our utilities bills and taxes are rising, including water & public transport, in order to force paying customers to secretly fund the millions of Third World Invaders who PAY NOTHING.
“typical amount of gas and electricity… £1,755 a year”.Really? I already pay nearly £1,900pa for a fairly modest (but uninsulated) flat!
Regardless of the colour of Government (blue, red, orange, green), remove subsidies unless for matters of energy security, and let the market decide – coal, oil, gas, nuclear, wind, solar), although we will need a strategy around nuclear, fracking, north sea oil, etc.
The farce is intentional. To make the only apparently viable CO2 NetZero compliant option nuclear/hydro and hydrogen for transport. That is the simple conclusion we are being cajoled and herded towards so even the environmentalist lobby demand it.
”Wind Farms Are Driving Up Electricity Bills, Admits Ofgem”
Geddaway! Well I’ll go to the foot of our stairs.