Scottish Power, the second most complained about supplier amongst the Big 6 has suffered a collapse over recent months rivalled only by the oil price. Ofgem, the energy regulator, fresh from their chastisement of nPower, the most complained about supplier amongst the Big 6, has set Scottish Power an ultimatum: Improve or you will no […]
The Short and Medium Term Outlook for Coal and Gas
National Grid, fresh from announcing a long term low in capacity margins for the coming winter has highlighted the expectation that coal will be playing a more prominent role in power generation over the coming season. In the year to date, gas-fired power stations have dominated the generation landscape however the rising cost of gas […]
FSB’s Small Business Energy Supplier Folly
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has some funny ideas at times. Whether it be painting all small businesses as victims, all big businesses as bullies, and in doing so seemingly not realising that all businesses start out small and some grow big. Or whether it is warning off their members from using the services […]
Russia, Ukraine & EU agree gas settlement
Phew, that was close. The long running gas supply dispute between Russia and Ukraine has taken another, more positive twist. Talks, brokered by the EU, have seen the two parties agree to reopen commercial arrangements with the EU themselves acting as a guarantor for Ukraine’s on-going payment obligations. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, announced: […]
The IPCCs 5th Climate Change Report
Another month, another view on climate change. Happily however this one, for once, does not advocate apocalyptic cost scenarios. Indeed the report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has countered common assumption in claiming that tackling climate change can be done without severely impacting economic growth. That said the report follows more […]
Employment Appeals Tribunal Rules on Holiday Pay
The Employment Appeals Tribunal has announced its judgement on the correct interpretation of EU rules on holiday pay. As expected, they have ruled, to the consternation of businesses across the UK, that overtime payments should be included when calculating staff holiday pay. This chastening burden however could have been worse. The spectre of backdated claims, […]
Drax, Biomass and the politics of renewables
Biomass, of all the renewable energy sources, has had a difficult year. Firstly, the rising controversy over the source of the wood being used for energy production. Secondly the on-going reliance on North American pellets and their associated transportation costs. And thirdly the UK government’s controversial decision to drop a promised Contract for Difference (CFD) […]
The Oil Price War Opens a New Frontier
The talk had been that the war on ISIS would be the progenitor of volatility in the oil market, whilst that still may prove the case a different war has erupted. This time however it is an economic one. Oil prices have been tumbling for weeks as OPEC producers fail to reduce production and in […]
Helm: Capacity Margin Should be More Than 10%
Respected energy commentator Dieter Helm has laid bare the failings of the UK energy market. Helm, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Oxford, told the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee that the UK’s winter capacity margin should be “North of 10% but probably less than 20%”. In their Winter Outlook Report […]
Energy Capacity Returns but Manufacturer Concerns Remain
Cheers and celebration could have been expected as rare good news was heard amongst the scare stories of dwindling generation capacity for Winter 2014/15. The Good RWE’s 400MW Great Yarmouth Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT) power station returned to service following 8 months of repairs with RWE Generation UK’s distributed assets group manager Kerry Nesbitt […]