Why should taxpayers have to foot the heating bills of those not at risk?
SIR – I am angry at Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, stating that middle earners (with a salary of £45,000) will need government help (report, August 27). It is bad enough for broadcasters to whip up a crisis mentality on increasing energy bills.
In my childhood we had no central heating and we survived much colder winters than we now enjoy. Why therefore should taxpayers have to foot an increasing bill to run central heating for those who are not in a risk category ?
Jonathan Pearson
Nayland, Suffolk
SIR – My wife and I are retired. Our income is approximately £30,000. We are not in receipt of benefits other than my state pension. I am a disabled amputee. We own our house.
We do not allow ourselves to be cold in winter and can pay our energy costs without problem.
What planet is Mr Zahawi on? David Webb
Bournemouth, Dorset
SIR – There is fear and anguish about the rising price of energy. Like everyone, I have saved energy where I can. The following can really make a difference without much hardship.
Some years ago I bought a halogen cooker. They now cost about £70. They do not take up a lot of room and you can cook anything in them that you would in a conventional oven, from chicken to rock cakes. The heat is almost instant and they use a fraction of the electricity of an ordinary oven.
I am fortunate to have solar panels, which I use to heat the water. On overcast days I use the gas boiler, but it only needs to be on for 20 minutes to have hot water for two showers and other daily uses. There is no point in heating the tank to the maximum as, though lagged, it loses heat overnight.
Last year the central heating thermostat was set to go on at 19C. This is a comfortable heat if suitable clothes are worn. I am going to try at 18C this winter, or perhaps 17C.
Pamela Sutton
Ingatestone, Essex
SIR – Jeremy Warner (Business, August 28) writes that “renewable sources of generation none the less manage to charge the same ruinous prices as the gas-fired variety”.
We have been assured time and again that renewables would be a far cheaper source of energy, and I cannot be alone in asking how government contracts allow production companies to make profits “off the scale”.
I am philosophically opposed to windfall taxes but in some cases I do wonder.
Tom Whinder
Bromley, Kent
SIR – A Bentley Continental costs £175,000 and a Ford Focus £25,000 because the production costs of the former are vastly higher.
Electricity, thanks to the huge amount of investment in “renewables”, is significantly cheaper to produce than gas, yet the equivalent price of a unit is the same. Why?
Paul Strong