Tim Yeo, the Energy Select Committee Chairman and former Cabinet minister has written to the head of the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) energy probe calling for the UK’s wholesale gas markets to be included in the investigation. The CMA to date has explicitly excluded the wholesale gas market because they view the wholesale gas […]
Energy Blame Game
The Blame Game – When will the Madness Stop? The energy industry is full of talk and if you’re the regulator Ofgem, very little action. But the blame game Ofgem are very good at, whether it’s TPIs or energy suppliers, Ofgem have their favoured targets and boy do they let us all know. But for […]
August SMI from Ofgem
Supply Market Indicators After the controversy surrounding July’s SMI report from Ofgem, August has been a quieter, more reflective affair complete with the suitable caveat that: “As part of the SMI, we [Ofgem] include a forward looking estimate of margins. They do not represent the profits of the individual six largest suppliers, as the companies […]
CMA Stands Firm on the Lack of a Wholesale Gas Probe
Following Tim Yeo’s call for the Competition and Markets Authority investigation to include a probe into the wholesale gas markets, the CMA has committed to consider the gas market’s impact on bills but has falling short of the Energy Select Committee Chairman’s call for a detailed focus on the market itself. Yeo had said that […]
July 2014: Another Increase in Energy Company Complaints
Another month, another increase in energy company complaints… June 2014 was heralded as a nadir for the energy industry with 4,178 complaints lodged with the Energy Ombudsman, the final arbiter in customer energy disputes unresolved after 8 weeks. Yet July 2014 was seen a further near 25% surge in complaints to 5,193, a nigh on […]
CMA: Theories of Harm
The Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the UK energy market will be a long drawn out and complex affair. In order to make sense of their objectives and to block out some of the more populist and rabble rousing commentary (from both sides), the CMA panel has established four elements that they describe as […]
Offshore Wind and the Missing Cables
Ofgem have refused RWE, the owners of perennial problem supplier nPower, request for ‘compulsory rights of entry’ to enable them to lay cables from offshore wind installations to the mainland grid. DECC, fresh from controversially awarding 5 of the initial 7 Contracts for Differences subsidies to offshore wind projects, will be watching with interest. Those […]
UK Dependency on Russian Coal Highlighted
A new report from Greenpeace has revealed the UKs indirect reliance on troubled Russia for our energy needs. The popular theory has been that we are relatively if not completely insulated from a direct impact of any interruption in the gas supply from the Russia / Ukraine crisis and as such our energy security is […]
New Subsidy for Renewable Generators
Lost in Transmission Ofgem have announced new measures to benefit renewable generators and it’s another subsidy, paid for by consumers. This time however the subsidy is somewhat different as it’s targeted on the cost of transporting energy from the power plant or generation point to the ultimate destination. In industry parlance this transportation is known as […]
CfD Budget Controversy
Contracts for Difference (CfDs) is a new regime designed to ultimately replace the Renewables Obligation (RO). However even though the scheme is yet to commence it is surrounded by controversy. Firstly the very structure of CfDs is in question with the first payments commencing in April 2015 yet the RO scheme it is designed to […]