A committee of MPs has said in a report released today that the planned reforms to the energy market are hiding subsidies for nuclear power The coalition government’s planned reforms of the energy industry are hiding subsidies for nuclear power, says the Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC). The committee claims these covert subsidies are betraying the previous promise that … Read More
Centrica warns of price rises
British Gas owner Centrica has released a statement warning of higher energy prices for its customers. Centrica specifies the forward wholesale gas prices for the coming winter, which are 25% higher than the prices from last winter, as the main reason for the probable price rises. Centrica said in the statement that the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan, coupled … Read More
Nuclear is UK’s ‘cheapest low-carbon option’
The Committee on Climate Change has said in its renewable energy review that nuclear power remains the cheapest low carbon energy option The CCC said that nuclear power will stay the cheapest solution to growing a low carbon energy supply for at least the next 10 years. The The Committee on Climate Change report says that the UK’s energy supply … Read More
Chris Huhne defends North Sea tax
Energy secretary Chris Huhne has spoken against concerns that North Sea taxes will jeopardise the UK’s energy security and cost jobs Chris Huhne faced fellow MPs yesterday regarding the taxes on North Sea oil and gas companies, put into place by George Osborne’s recent budget . Huhne argued that the impact on jobs and and investment would only be “marginal”. … Read More
New Ofgem 30-day rule in force
Ofgem’s new rule requiring energy suppliers to notify their customers 30 days before any price changes is now active. The rule was a result of the regulator’s recent review into the energy industry. Ofgem’s rule is intended to create more transparency between supplier and consumer, Ofgem says.
Centrica threaten North Sea gas field closure
Centrica has threatened to close one of the UK’s major gas fields over a tax dispute Centrica has closed three gas fields in Morecambe Bay for one month of maintenance, but has claimed it may not re-open one of them due to increased taxes. George Osborne increased the tax on supplementary gas production from 20% to 32% in this year’s … Read More
BP plans return to Gulf as profits drop
BP first quarter profits are lower than last year, after selling off production to help pay for the damages of the Gulf oil spill. BP announced yesterday that its “replacement cost” profit had fallen from $5.6bn in the first quarter of 2010 to $5.4bn (£3.3bn) in 2011. This is despite oil price being 31pc higher in 2011 than in 2010.
CBI warns UK of green energy failure
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned that the UK is failing to attract low-carbon investment The CBI warned today that Britain is failing to attract enough the investment required to build a low-carbon energy infrastructure. They claim that the energy sector will require £150bn of private investment alone over the next 20 years, to replace the third of … Read More
BP sues Transocean over oil spill
A year on from the deepwater horizon oil rig explosion, BP is suing Transocean for at least £24m BP has launched a $40 billion USD (£24bn) lawsuit against Transocean, the owners of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded last year in the Gulf of Mexico. The tragic explosion one year ago that killed 11 people, lead to the worst … Read More
UK Coal reports third year of losses
The UK’s biggest coal producer has reported a third consecutive year of losses Doncaster based company UK Coal has reported a losses for a third year running, the last two of which have seen losses of over £100m. UK Coal has three deep mines in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and the West Midlands.