Figures released by the Labour party last week show that the largest energy suppliers have notched up £3.3 billion in profits since the Conservative-led Coalition came into power. The combined profits of E.ON, EDF Energy, ScottishPower, British Gas, Scottish & Southern and Npower have gone up 73% in the last three years, according to Shadow Energy And Climate Change Secretary … Read More
Two of Big Six to end rollover contracts
E.ON and British Gas are to stop rolling their business energy customers into new contracts automatically at the end of their agreed term. Most organisation have experienced it. You receive a letter near the end of your electricity or gas contract informing you that there is only a few weeks or months left of your fixed-price agreement. It isn’t urgent … Read More
Centrica plans oil and shale gas exploration
The parent company of British Gas is seeking to generate more of its own energy, due to its increasing reliance on foreign imports. Centrica, owner of British Gas, has announced a new 2 year partnership with Cuadrilla Resources to extract shale gas at 7 wells across Lancashire. Fracking will take place at 6 new wells, as well as the one … Read More
Tory MP wants competitive utility markets
A senior Conservative MP has this week launched a major policy intervention, suggesting radical changes to the utilities regulators. The document was released on Monday, suggesting that draconian utility regulators like Ofgem and Ofcom should have their responsibilities for the competitive sections of the market taken away. This should be replaced with a more reactive style of regulation, by the … Read More
Ofgem fines SSE £10.5 million for mis-selling
Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) have been found guilty of the most widespread case of mis-selling in the history of the UK utilities market. The energy giant was found guilty of cultivating an internal culture of lying and misleading customers over the phone and on the doorstep. Ofgem, the energy regulator has called it the most “prolonged and extensive” case … Read More
Ofgem plans to protect more businesses
The energy regulator will protect 160,000 more businesses from sneaky supplier tactics from this summer. Ofgem are to put extra measures in place to stop electricity and gas companies from treating small and medium size businesses unfairly. Measures include plans for simpler, fairer business tariffs, an enforceable code of conduct for energy suppliers, and more time being given to switch … Read More
FiT charges to inflate business electricity bills
Due to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) costing more than expected, all companies that pay a business electricity bill could face extra charges. Since the 1st April, any household or business that generates their own renewable energy receives a subsidy for every unit of energy they produce. This subsidy is paid for through the bills of those who choose not to … Read More
Fracking ‘could be fast tracked’
The Growth and Infrastructure Bill, currently going through the House of Lords could give shale gas the go-ahead faster than expected. Shale Gas is the reason many parts of the U.S. are seeing their economy boom. Energy prices have halved in some areas, as their planning and drilling regulations have allowed shale exploration to progress to commercial extraction and sale … Read More
British Gas announces profit of £606m
The energy giant, owned by Centrica Group Plc, has announced a profits increase of 11% for 2012. British Gas claims that a colder winter compared to 2011 helped to increase profits as customers used more gas. Gas consumption was up 12% on the previous year. This comes as a shock to many, as British Gas raised their electricity and gas … Read More
CRC Scheme league table to be published late
The performance table for the CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment) Energy Efficiency Scheme is due to be published in the coming days. The Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed that the Energy Efficiency Performance League Table (PLT) is almost ready, with over 2,700 organisations being measured and ranked in order of how efficiently they use the energy they buy. The Carbon Reduction … Read More