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David Cameron speaks at the Energy Summit

May 17th, 2012
by Sephine Merlehan.
1 comment

Renewable energy sources must be “financially sustainable” if they are to meet the world’s needs, the Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Wind farm

The level of private investment in wind power is encouraging, say ministers.

A meeting of international Ministers was held last week when Mr Cameron welcomed the investment of £350 million to create 800 jobs in the energy sector, but he says the main challenge is to drive down costs.

Mr Cameron said at the event opening that “a more diverse, cleaner mix of energy sources that will give us… security without causing irreparable damage to the planet”.

He added: “Renewables are now the fastest growing energy source on the planet. And I am proud that Britain has played a leading role at the forefront of this… revolution”.

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Posted in: International, Utilities Market Regulation, Wholesale Utilities Markets.
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Ofgem staff pocket £1million in bonuses

May 3rd, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
No comments yet

Figures show that the energy regulator has given some staff bonuses in excess of £20,000. Scandal? Fair? Or just a gravy train?

Ofgem Logo

The information was revealed after shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint submitted a written request in parliament.

In summary:

  • Two people received over £20,000 in 2010.
  • 14 people received £10,000 in 2010 – 2011.
  • 38 people received £5,000 in 2010 – 2011.
  • Hundreds of staff received smaller amounts.

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Posted in: Business Electricity, Business Gas, Utilities Market Regulation.
Tagged: · · · ·

Consumers to be told best energy deals

Apr 11th, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
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Under new rules announced today, the Big Six energy suppliers will have to write to all of their customers once a year informing them if they are on the best type of tariff for their usage.

Money

The new rules do not however, mean that the supplier has to inform their customer if there is a cheaper deal with another supplier – only if they would be better off on another of their own tariffs.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg however announced plans are also in the works to print barcodes on consumers’ bills, which will be easily scanned by a smart phone, allowing easy comparison between tariffs.

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Posted in: Business Electricity, Business Gas, Utilities Market Regulation.
Tagged: · · ·

Olympic Games Street Works Embargo

Apr 2nd, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
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New Electricity and Gas Connections will not be possible in certain areas of London in the run up to and during the Olympic Games.

London

Known as the Clearway Project, from now until September, there are no street works allowed on ‘key parts’ of the Olympic Route Network (ORN). This will be expanded to cover the whole ORN from July 2012, and will run until the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The second embargo will cover most of the streets in central London. It will cease being in effect until 30th September, as stated here.

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Posted in: Business Electricity, Business Gas.
Tagged: · ·

Budget 2012: New carbon taxes for businesses?

Mar 21st, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
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In the budget today, the Chancellor George Osborne announced plans for a new “alternative environmental tax”, as a result of reforming or scrapping the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

George Osborne

The Carbon Reduction Commitment, also known as the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, is designed to reduce the energy consumptions of the largest businesses in the UK, by placing them in a league table based on their performance in terms of energy efficiency.

It also affects all companies with a half-hourly meter, requiring them to disclose information on their energy consumption.

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Posted in: Energy Efficiency, Utilities Market Regulation, Wholesale Utilities Markets.
Tagged: · · · · · ·

Which? calls for carbon price to be scrapped

Mar 15th, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
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The consumer watchdog has begun a campaign to get the carbon floor price scrapped, saying that it is nothing but a burden on UK energy consumers and businesses.

Carbon Icon

The program is designed to encourage energy suppliers to generate more from low-carbon technologies, but Which? says that it will add to our bills without really changing how the suppliers invest.

It’s the latest in a series of events that show the rising political opposition to green taxes and subsidies.

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Posted in: Business Electricity, Business Gas, Energy Efficiency, Utilities Market Regulation.
Tagged: · · · ·

David Cameron: wind farms ”over subsidised”

Mar 1st, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
2 comments

In his most vociferous criticism of green energy yet, the Prime Minister has declared that wind farms have been “over subsidised and wasteful of public money”.

David Cameron

“I think it has been over-subsidised and wasteful of public money"

Mr. Cameron plans to cut the subsidies for wind turbine construction, forcing them to be built in an economically viable way.

He said during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions “We’re cutting the subsidy to onshore wind because I think it has been over-subsidised and wasteful of public money”.

This comes after the government tried to reduce the subsidy for solar Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) earlier this year, meaning people would no longer be paid four times the going rate for every unit of electricity they generate through their solar panels.

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Posted in: Business Electricity, Energy Efficiency, Utilities Market Regulation.
Tagged: · · · · ·

How honest is your business energy broker?

Feb 22nd, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
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There are a multitude of services that Third-party intermediaries (Tpis) offer, and varying ways they obtain clients and earn remuneration. This means that choosing the right Tpi is essential.

UIA Boatmark

It is now widely accepted that up to 70% of business energy procurement is facilitated by brokers and Tpis such as ourselves, but there is no official Ofgem license or even a voluntary code of conduct.

This is why the Utilities Intermediaries Association (UIA) exists – too many ‘rogue brokers’ were destroying companies’ confidence in using Tpis, so the UIA set out to “enhance the reputation of this sector of the industry and give confidence to those who seek to use their service”.

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Posted in: Business Electricity, Business Gas, Utilities Market Regulation.
Tagged: · · ·

Wholesale gas prices rise as Europe freezes

Feb 9th, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
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Energy suppliers are warning that wholesale gas is being traded at significantly higher prices than it was a fortnight ago.

Winter Landscape

Winter 2012 - cold in the UK, but much colder in Europe

In winter 2012 we rely on imported gas more than ever. This was the main reason given for the recent winter price rises made by all big six suppliers, and it seems foreign imports are not just a problem in the UK.

Factors currently affecting wholesale gas prices:

  • Cold weather in the UK is increasing our demand for gas and electricity.
  • Exceptionally cold weather in Europe for the last few weeks – Italy saw its first snowfall in Rome for 26 years and temperatures went down to -21℃.
  • Gazprom has failed to deliver enough gas to Europe, leading to big shortages in Italy, Poland, Austria, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
  • Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) deliveries are infrequent and not supplementing the shortfall by much.

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Posted in: Business Electricity, Business Gas, International, Wholesale Utilities Markets.
Tagged: · · · · ·

Shell announces 54pc profits rise

Feb 2nd, 2012
by Andrew Spencer.
No comments yet

Oil giant Shell has announced bumper profits from 2011, up 54pc from the previous year.

Shell Logo

The company’s formula for success is astonishingly simple – it sold oil at much higher prices, compensating for losses in its other businesses.

Oil prices at an average of $109 per barrel, up from $88 per barrel the previous year, led to Shell to announce profits of £18.1 billion in 2011.

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Posted in: International, Wholesale Utilities Markets.
Tagged: · · · ·

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