It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Ofgem. With all the fines dished out they could be forgiven for looking forward to the Christmas break after what by any standards has been a tumultuous year for the regulator. Indeed never has insulation seemed such a commercial barometer but that is what it seems to […]
EDF Remain Bullish on Hinkley Point
You have to hand it to EDF Energy, despite all and sundry criticising the largesse of the taxpayer backing for the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear plant development, the first in 20 years in the UK, and the apparent fraying support from their partners, the French state owned business is “pressing on” with the plans. […]
Funding for Lending to SMEs extended
Once again, as the government announces an extension to the Funding for Lending scheme for SMEs the latest results underline the paucity of monies lent to date. The Bank of England reported that in the three months to September 2014 lending under the scheme had fallen by £100m. The scheme, launched in 2012, fell by […]
VAT MOSS Rule Threat to UK SMEs
A ruling designed to challenge the world’s digital marketing giants could prove the death knell for a legion of UK micro businesses. That is the fear emanating from the latest incidence of unhelpful EU regulation hitting British industry. From New Years Day 2015, small businesses that trade their wares online will face paying VAT on […]
Ovo Energy Tops MSE Poll for Service
Ovo Energy, the new entrant independent supplier, has been voted as having the best customer service of 27 companies included in a poll by MoneySavingsExpert. Fully 81% of customers rated the South West based energy suppliers’ service as “good”. However nPower and Scottish Power were once again voted as providing the worst customer service in […]
E.ON Split in Two Amid Renewable Threat
E.ON have announced plans to separate its business into two, sidelining its nuclear and fossil fuel generation assets from its supply and renewable investments. E.ON as we have reported elsewhere are suffering from the German government’s decision to refocus the country to renewable energy at the cost of marginalising existing investment. The planned new company […]
Blackout Threat Gets a Little Brighter
National Grid and the coalition government breathed a collective sigh of relief following the Peterhead folly of late November. RWE’s Littlebrook oil-fired power plant, one of the three plants ring-fenced for the Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR) contract to keep the lights on this winter, completed its first standby test successfully. After the fundamental failure of […]
Big 6 Electricity Market Domination Continues
The latest Business energy supplier market share survey, compiled on a quarterly basis by industry consultant Cornwall Energy, has revealed the stark contrast between the competitive landscapes in the gas and electricity markets. The Big 6 still, 20 years after the opening of competition account for nearly 80% of the business electricity market with the Big 6 […]
Nuclear Engineer Shortages Threaten New Nuclear
The Royal Academy of Engineering has revealed that by 2020 the UK requires 830,000 graduates in science, technology, engineering and maths yet UK universities currently produce just 23,000 engineering graduates a year. This shortfall is having a very real impact on the ability for the UK to deliver on its ambitious engineering goals over the […]
Ineos’ Portents of Doom for UK Energy Market
Highlighting the laggard status of UK shale Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe has claimed: “America has drilled 1.1m wells; the UK has drilled one, and that wasn’t drilled very well”. However Ineos’ hoped for UK shale revolution focussed on the North of England and Scotland has taken a pounding from the results of a YouGov poll […]