Russia vs The Ukraine

[Bandit72]

Mescal, how much are you paying for your gas and electricity?

I'm currently paying £215 a month (240 euros). Over double from last year.

[Artemis]

Mescal, how much are you paying for your gas and electricity?

I'm currently paying £215 a month (240 euros). Over double from last year.

That's expensive!

What type of heating does your home have? Hopefully not electric baseboard heating.

[Pandemonium]

It’s looking pretty likely Russian sub(s) torpedoed the 2 natural gas lines in the Baltic Sea going to Germany. Although both are not currently supplying gas to Europe thanks to the war, it’s likely going to further drive up gas prices throughout Europe just in time for Winter.

Why would they have done that?

They just could have closed them ...

Both lines were actually not supplying gas to Germany and the UK in the past few months. One line was shut off by Russia over the Summer and the 2nd line was completed just before the war broke out but Germany denied certification to the plant on their soil due to the invasion of Ukraine, thus rendering the pipeline useless in the short term. Both lines do (or did) have pent up methane gas in their lines which is what is bubbling up in the Baltic Sea from the ruptured lines.

Why would Russia do this? To put even more pressure on the European community to ease off support of Ukraine. Also, if the pipeline is shut down suddenly that is (allegedly) the fault of neither party (like say, from an earthquake or other natural disaster), then Russia can void its obligations towards European stakeholders without legally breaking contracts, thus dodging the many penalties in doing so. It is also a strategy to keep Russian oil oligarchs who may still be wavering in their dedication to Putin, to have no choice but to continue to acquiesce to his leadership. Just a few decades ago, it was warned by various countries and politicians that European reliance on Russian oil/energy would put them in a bad position someday... well that day has already arrived.

One final thing - Biden said last February just before the invasion, that if Russia did indeed invade, "there would be no Nord Stream 2" which was the 2nd pipeline that was indeed not certified by Germany. This quote is now being used by Russia propaganda to make the claim the US actually sabotaged both pipelines.

[Bandit72]

Mescal, how much are you paying for your gas and electricity?

I'm currently paying £215 a month (240 euros). Over double from last year.

That's expensive!

What type of heating does your home have? Hopefully not electric baseboard heating.

Yes it is expensive. It 's going up again from October 1st. The government HAD to cap it to £2,500 per year (although you will pay more if you use more) as there were genuine concerns it was going up to £4,500 a year and then up again next spring to £6,000 a year. This is just unsustainable for the majority and people were going to have to make a choice between heating their home and eating. (There would have been mass rioting guaranteed).

I have gas central heating, and my house is small, so hopefully I won't go over £2,5k!

[Bandit72]

EDIT: There is no cap, £2,500 is the average bill per year for a three bedroom house.

[Artemis]

It's going to be a tough winter for folks in the UK.

I pay monthly maintenance fees which includes all my utilities but at my mother's house- a small 3 bedroom- she pays about $60(CAD) per month for electricity and $130(CAD) for gas to heat the house. We're supposed to have some increases here as well, but nothing close to UK and Europe.

[LongCovid]

Sweet! China is meeting with Russia! Do you think Jane's will play Ukraine like U2 did? It will be awesome to finally have WW3!! War mongering protects democracy!! Thank you Joe Biden and the VERY handsome Zelinsky!

Best,

Long Covid

[thoreau]

EDIT: There is no cap, £2,500 is the average bill per year for a three bedroom house.

Oof that's rough. Sorry to hear that, Bandit

[Mescal]

Mescal, how much are you paying for your gas and electricity?

I'm currently paying £215 a month (240 euros). Over double from last year.

Sorry, I missed your question.

We are paying approx 450 €/month. And we have solar panels

[Bandit72]

Mescal, how much are you paying for your gas and electricity?

I'm currently paying £215 a month (240 euros). Over double from last year.

Sorry, I missed your question.

We are paying approx 450 €/month. And we have solar panels

Jesus! That's expensive. My friend just had solar panels fitted to his roof and his initial set up cost was a lot but it seems to be working for him now. Plus any unused electricity just gets paid for and sent back to the grid.