The Big Six are in the firing line today as the Competition and Markets Authority released their initial results of a year-long examination of the UK energy market. It transpires that UK households have collectively overpaid by £1.2bn a year for their energy due to average domestic prices being offered by the ‘big six’ energy […]
CMA to deliver verdict on energy market investigation
The Competition and Markets Authority will announce the provisional findings of its energy market investigation today. The full and final report however is not expected until the end of the year. Initial findings show that despite popular opinion, the big 6 will not be dismantled. It was claimed that the larger firms were in collusion to […]
New rules from Ofgem cause confusing bills
After the spotlight was shone on energy bills a few months ago with regard to their confusing nature, Ofgem put new billing rules into place in April. However, far from making the bills more consumer friendly, energy supplier SSE claim that the new layout has succeeded only in confusing customers further. They reported to the […]
Demand-side response is the future say National Grid
With demand-side response (DSR) being cast aside in recent months with the introduction of other energy market reforms and policies, it comes as a surprise that it’s now back in the limelight. Demand side response is the scheme where customers are incentivized financially to lower or shift their electricity use at peak times. This helps […]
Energy efficiency: Apathy or lack of understanding?
Latest results from the Energy Savings Trust (EST) reveal that consumers are unwilling to switch or save on energy because they can’t understand their energy bills. Surprisingly under 35s are the least au fait with energy terminology and pricing as 60% admit they didn’t know that energy was measured in Kilowatt hours. Over 55s pip […]
Lancashire veto fracking application
Cuadrilla are reeling from the rejection of their fracking application as Lancashire county council put an end to their shale gas exploration plans. Safe to say that the locals were delighted with the news as more than half of the councillors vetoed the application due to it’s potential impact on the landscape and noise pollution. […]
Wind farm subsidy cuts threaten job losses
The “renewables obligation” subsidy will be closed to onshore wind farms from April next year instead of 2017. As the government ends subsidies earlier than expected, it’s feared that thousands of jobs will be lost. There’s also anger that the new government aren’t taking renewable energy pledges as seriously as they ought to. Maria McCaffery, […]
Half of SMEs no longer borrowing money
48% of small and medium businesses have turned their backs on borrowing money preferring to pay off their debts instead. It seems that SMEs are more concerned with becoming debt-free than borrowing to increase growth. The remaining half of SMEs have taken advantage of bank loans and finance offerings with more applications being accepted. According […]
Energy Switching Saves Companies £2,015 in 2015
Business Juice Year to Date Figures Released Business Juice has released interim figures which show that their customers will save an average yearly sum of £2,015 for having switched energy, based on 2015 performance so far for business gas and electricity overall. The average saving on electricity contracts is £2,100 while companies will save an average £1,803 […]
New businesses to test the market with pop-up shops
With the UK economy finally picking up speed again, entrepreneurs are beginning to surface with a host of business ideas up their sleeves. But rather than dive straight in, a third of new start-ups are testing their products on the market with ‘pop-up’ shops. A pop-up shop being any retail outlet that is temporary, from […]