"Green" policies are destroying this country

So renewables are not a cheap source of energy then. If they can't affect the market price (and they can't because they want to stay coupled to higher fossil fuel prices) then Ryan continually lying about them being cheap should be called out.

Renewables have been doing nothing over the years to lower the price of electricity. They have in fact been increasing it. Any time wholesale electricity prices dropped, the PSO was increased.

I'd disagree. We have had cheap power here. Like in fairness, a litre of petrol/diesel or unit of electricity was dirt cheap. Like fuel was, and is still, cheaper than a litre of water. Furthermore, before "competition" when the government was in charge of power we'd the cheapest power in Europe.

Everything is out to maximise profits. And of course, that's perfectly fine and acceptable. That's where you need competition in the mix which we have but it's put prices up over the long term. And the structure of pricing being determined by the highest component that makes that power should be done away with.

@[Deleted User] while a "windfall" tax is welcome, it's but a drop in the ocean for a country like ours awash with money. Plus, you, me and everyone has already paid the price for high prices and the tax isn't going to make much difference. Carbon tax going up, levies being reapplied, etc is putting prices up and a windfall tax is just another way of getting more money into the coffers.

The gas price would be higher if demand for gas wasn't reduced by the availability of renewables

More than 1 third of EU electricity is produced using renewables. If the demand for gas for electricity generation was 37% higher gas prices would be higher and your every bills would be higher

Don't agree. We'd buy more gas but the unit price on the composition of the fuel to make the energy would remain the same. Even if its 99% "free" wind and 1% gas, we pay the gas price per unit. Then likewise if it was 100% gas, we pay the gas price per unit. No change. Right? Doesn't matter the composition of renewable/gas as we pay the higher price regardless.

Furthermore, selling more gas would (or at least should) reduce prices as more is being sold and can be sold less resulting in same or even greater profits. Otherwise, demand falls and to keep profits the same, gas suppliers up their price to keep their bottom line up. Then per unit it's higher. Right?

I don't see how having anything bar 100% renewable, which is a pipe dream, results in lower prices.

Tell it to Denmark that has the higest priced electricity in the E.U. @ 58.71 per Kwh where hydro, solar, bio, and wind account for 84% of their generation with gas supplying just 2.99%.

We are third higest @ 41.99 per Kwh

The internal combustion engine was more expensive than a horse for most people until mass production and economies of scale kicked in.

We need to do this transition a bit quicker and get over the objections about Blacksmiths and Farriers losing their jobs.

You're largely correct Roosterman, that was how the old SEM set the price up to October 2018. Since the new SEM kicked off, the price is set by the 10 most expensive MW that aren't deemed ineligible by the Flagging and Tagging process. Typically, it ends up being coal, oil or gas that sets the price but sometimes it's Turlough Hill or a DSU or battery.

Not directly related to the thread, but Zhou mention the price per litre of diesel/petrol, is it myvsuspicious mind or is the pump price creeping up?

True, but the day ahead isn't coupled to the European markets since Brexit, meaning there's no interconnector flows and potentially a 1GW gap, so it's a bit more complex than just using the day ahead prices. Otherwise, wouldn't you think that SEMO would just use the day ahead prices all the time and save themselves the hassle of calculating the ISP (they sometimes apply it as a backup though). The one that creates all the headlines is the final price, calculated 20 minutes after real time. The balancing market covers all of the frequency regulation requirements and the network constraints etc so it's pretty important. There's a reason why all the generators panic every time it exceeds the Reliability option strike price.