Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd has announced the new energy policy ‘reset’ declaring that energy security is her “number one priority.” Rudd has declared plans to phase out all unabated coal-fired power plants by 2025 and expand the development of clean energy technology. While this seems like a positive step, it was quickly […]
Power cut? Who you gonna call?
So you’re sat in the dark after a power cut but what do you do? Who should you be calling in the candlelight when your electricity fails? Only 20% of people know who to call in the event of a power cut, the majority turning incorrectly to their energy supplier. Northern Powergrid is raising awareness […]
£45 million failure for Ofgem energy rules
Another failure for Ofgem as their electricity market reforms fell flat costing energy companies around £45 million. Ofgem implemented new rules to ensure that the largest energy companies are only allowed to trade at pre-determined times during the day. The idea was that it would increase trading and competition allowing smaller players to flourish yet […]
Collective energy switch tariffs must be included say Ofgem
Energy suppliers must publicise collective switch tariffs from now on in the Cheapest Tariff Message (CTM), thanks to new Ofgem rulings. The CTM is already an existing requirement that bills and annual statements should include information about the cheapest tariffs available and how much customers could save by switching to them. Collective switches are generally […]
Energy prices rise with blackout threats
As the threat of blackouts become more likely this winter, UK energy generators could be taking advantage of the opportunity to inflate market prices to astronomical figures. National Grid will be calling upon reserve capacity and back up power plants this winter to ensure a secure power supply for the UK. Wholesale power prices typically […]
Nolan backs new Ofgem comparison site rules
Dermot Nolan, CEO of Ofgem has backed up the new rules set out earlier this year with regard to price comparison websites (PCWs). Ofgem amended its Confidence Code, ensuring that all PCWs now provide a “whole of market view” of tariffs, rather than hiding some suppliers or deals with the view to restoring customer confidence. […]
Emergency electricity measures employed by National Grid
With increasing numbers of coal-fired power plants being shut down and an unusually low output of electricity from wind farms, National Grid were forced to take desperate measures on Wednesday. Under threat of blackouts, National Grid had to rely on large businesses to cut their electricity demand to ensure the UK would not be in […]
Britain has the most expensive electricity in Europe
Britain has the highest domestic electricity prices in Europe with customers paying double the continental average. The typical British household pays 14.8p/kWh before tax while the pre-tax price in Bulgaria sits at just 5.75p/kWh. While our tax sits much lower at 5% than most of the rest of Europe, Britain has still seen the biggest […]
EON pay for missing advanced meter deadline
Bad news for E.ON as they have had to fork out £7 million to the Carbon Trust after they were investigated by Ofgem for failing to meet their advanced metering rollout obligations. All suppliers were advised by the government in 2009, that they must rollout advanced gas and electricity meters to large non-domestic customers by […]
UK fracking on the rise but not in Scotland
It seems that government backing has helped to ramp up fracking planning as applications have risen. Ken Cronin, chief executive of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) has announced that he has “seen a significant increase in applications happening around the UK over the course of the last two or three months”. David Cameron has made […]