German utility giant RWE is reportedly assessing the sale of British energy firm Npower RWE, parent company of Npower, is assessing the sale of the UK company in a rethink of strategy. This comes after German parliament last week backed a withdrawal from nuclear power by 2022, following Japan’s nuclear crisis.
Oil price down after IEA open reserves
The price of oil has dropped by $6 per barrel today after The International Energy Agency (IEA) opened up oil reserves. The IEA are to release an extra 60m barrels from emergency crude supplies. The UK is contributing 3m barrels, and half of it is coming from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Energy secretary encourages switching supplier
Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has reminded consumers that they can switch supplier if they are unhappy with price increases Huhne has urged consumers to shop around if they are hit by substantial gas and electricity price increases. The Energy Secretary made the comments to the Observer newspaper following the announcement of ScottishPower’s price increases of up to 19%
Oil price up after OPEC stalls production
The price of oil has jumped up to over $118 per barrel as OPEC is so far failing to agree on an increase in production Most of the members of the oil cartel voted against upping production levels, in an unusual show of disagreement between the nations. There are tensions within the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), with two … Read More
ScottishPower announce large price rises
ScottishPower have stirred up the domestic energy market by announcing large price rises The company have announced price rises as high as 19% for gas tariffs, and 10% rises for electricity. These new prices will come into effect on 1 August.
Centrica close Morecambe Bay gas field
Centrica have taken the decision to leave Britain’s largest gas field shut. The Morecambe Bay gas field in the North Sea, owned by British Gas parent company Centrica, is to remain closed. Centrica blamed the new taxes on profit gained from North Sea production as the reason for the closure.
Shale gas drilling suspended after earthquake
Test shale gas drilling in Lancashire has been suspended after fears it is linked to earthquakes A 1.5 magnitude tremor near a drill site in the north west has lead to Cuadrilla Resources suspending shale gas drilling. The tremor is the second in two months, and Cuadrilla will now wait to review data collected by the British Geological Survey (BGS) … Read More
Germany to phase out nuclear by 2022
German chancellor Angela Merkel has ordered all of the country’s nuclear power plants to be shut down by 2022. Merkel’s coalition government has performed a complete reversal of policy regarding nuclear power. There have been many anti-nuclear protests in Germany following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Germany is the largest industrialised nation to go anti-nuclear for 25 years. The country is … Read More
MPs support UK shale gas drilling
A committee of MPs has urged the government to allow drilling for shale gas A commons committee said on Monday that there is no need for a moratorium on shale gas hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”. Just two weeks ago France recommended freezing shale gas drilling permanently, based on environmental concerns about the fracking process.
SSE announce profits and predict price rises
Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has reported profits for the last financial year SSE, the UK’s second largest energy generator, and one of the largest suppliers, announced a pre-tax profit rise of 1.6% to £1.3bn. The company said that rising wholesale energy costs had hit profits last year.