Ofgem launches review into review into energy supply costs
October 21, 2010 at 4:50 am
The energy regulator Ofgem has announced that it is going to initiate a widespread review into the cost of supplying energy to the national grid. Whilst Ofgem has a responsibility to ensure that prices are kept as low as possible, it also has to respect the 2010 Energy Act, which requires energy supply to be as “green” as possible.
As a result of this, the review will be looking at the ways in which energy prices can be kept as low as possible (with those who are reliant upon savings feeling the pinch already), whilst also considering the best ways in which to ensure that energy supply is as green and environmentally friendly as possible as the UK strives to meet the renewable energy targets that it has previously signed up to.
With this in mind, consumers will also be keenly aware of the difficulties that Ofgem face, with Trisha McAuley, of Consumer Focus Scotland, stating upon hearing of the energy regulator’s plans: “This review is welcome but it will be critical that it has the consumer interest at its heart. Any change to transmission charges will have a direct impact on the level of household energy bills and the review must assess the likely impact on consumers of all possible options for change”.
One thing that is clear to all involved in this situation is that the review will certainly be one that could affect the long-term future of both energy supply and energy prices in the UK as the regulator seeks to find a delicate balance that promotes a sustainable future whilst satisfying the demands of the here and now.
Wind power has best day yet
October 15, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Of all the renewable energy sources, wind power is currently seen as the most important for the UK. The recent announcement that the amount of electricity generated by wind reached its highest ever level therefore came as great news to the sector.
According to the National Grid, the record power output was set on September 6th at 8.30 p.m. At that time, wind power was generating 1,860MW, most of which was being produced in Scotland. This was 4.7% of the total electricity generation for the whole of the UK at the time.
The National Grid also added that over a 24-hour period, wind power was responsible for 5% of the total UK energy requirements, producing 40.5GWh out of a total 809.5GWh.
In addition, the National Grid confirmed that if embedded wind generation was also included in the figure (which would include smaller generation schemes), it would have accounted for a massive 10% of the total power output for the day.
This is great news for the wind power industry, especially as it has been criticised in many quarters for not being a viable source of energy for the country.
This could prove to be a real boost for the industry, which is set to grow over the coming years as more turbines are built and many more smaller schemes are set up in homes across the country.
It is also good news for the government, which has a target of generating 15% of the UK’s electricity from renewable resources by 2020. Although there is a long way to go yet, most of this is likely to come from wind power, so the recent record output is a promising sign.
Largest hydro-power station in the Lake District launched
October 13, 2010 at 2:47 pm
A hydro-power station that can supply electricity for up to 1,000 people has been launched in the Lake District. The project has been the work of several local businesses and was financed by the co-operative bank.
This new resource of renewable energy is based at Logan Gill, a tributary of the River Duddon, and it is yet another example of how the easily produced renewable energy may well be the future.
This hydro-electric project, officially launched on September 9, is the largest in the Lake District. However, it is relatively innocuous. From a small dam – known as a weir – on a mountain stream, a 60cm pipe runs for 1 km downhill into a barn housing generating equipment.
The pipe has been buried and the small barn is in keeping with the local aesthetic, making the project barely noticeable whilst it supplies hundreds of homes with green electricity.
Current estimates suggest that the project will prevent 1,000 tones of CO2 emissions per year.
Ellergreen Hydro, a local company specialising in development and investment for hydro-power, undertook the project. Mark Cropper, founder of Ellergreen, said “Logan Gill is not only a 100% UK plc project but also a showcase of the superb know-how and technology that exists in this area of the country.”
The energy produced was subsequently purchased by Good Energy, a specialist in supplying 100% renewable electricity. The company motto is “Together We Do This” and it is dedicated to producing greener energy that is then fed into the main grid. Their business model is a niche in the market which is set to expand as climate change fears grow and government policy to reduce CO2 emissions comes into force.
The Co-Operative Bank, which has a policy of supporting small to medium scale renewable energy projects, financed the project. Though they specialise in onshore wind energy production they work with a number of renewable energy projects to reduce carbon levels.
Chris Matthews, Senior Renewable Energy Manager at The Co-operative Bank said that for the UK to become a low carbon economy “it will need more projects like Logan Gill,” adding that “the benefits go beyond climate change, with a clear positive impact for the local community.”
As if to echo this sentiment, a similar hydro-electric project, set to supply over four thousand homes, was approved in Scotland on September 10.
Scam alert over fake prepayment electricity credit
October 1, 2010 at 2:35 pm
A new scam has hit electricity customers across the country who use prepayment meters. Criminals have managed to clone the meter keys used to top up electricity, and have been visiting households offering residents a top-up for half the price. However, customers then end up having to pay for the electricity they use on top of the money they pay the criminals.
85,000 households have been targeted since the con began at the start of the summer, according to Energy UK. This means that one in every 42 customers who have prepayment meters have fallen victim to the scam. It has also netted over £2 million for the perpetrators.
The typical scam involves someone visiting a customer posing as a salesman from the electricity provider. They offer the customer £50 of top-up for half the price, and they then use the cloned key to add the fake credit.
The customers get the cheap electricity, but electricity companies are able to tell when the top-up is illegal so the customers end up having to pay for the electricity they use, effectively losing £25 to the criminals.
Ofgem has ordered Energy UK to produce a report into how this could have happened. The report is to be released within 14 days and is to explain what can be learned and how to prevent this fraud from occurring in the future.
It seems that every major electricity supplier has been hit, and the companies are now warning customers only to use official locations to top up their electricity, including the Post Office, PayPoint and PayZone. The companies highlighted that there are no official salesmen going door to door, so people should be very wary if someone offers them cheap credit.
Homeowners could save £1,000 a year with solar panels
October 1, 2010 at 2:33 am
More and more people are starting to consider the benefits of installing their own renewable energy technology in their homes for environmental reasons. However, British Gas has now also highlighted the financial benefits to be had from doing just this.
The company has just announced that the 2 million homeowners whose properties are suitable for the installation of solar panels could save up to £1,000 per year if they take advantage of the new technology.
The bonus is two-fold. Firstly, people who install solar panels will be paying less for their energy. Secondly, they will be benefiting from the government’s feed-in tariff, which is available to anyone generating their own renewable electricity.
The feed-in tariff works out at 41.3p per KWh of green energy produced, regardless of whether the homeowners use the power at the same time or not, and is worth up to £1,000 per year. The tariff has a 25-year guarantee put in place by the government and will increase with inflation.
The reason British Gas is highlighting these tempting figures is because it has recently launched two schemes to help people take advantage of solar power. The first involves the company installing the panels free of charge, then taking the feed-in tariff for 25 years whilst the property owner receives the electricity generated (although this is only available for the first 1,500 customers to sign up).
The other scheme involves British Gas providing a two-year interest-free loan to cover the up-front costs of installation, which generally range from £10,000 to £15,000, with the property owner getting both the feed-in tariff and the electricity generated. However, anyone taking advantage of this scheme will have to be able to afford the loan repayments, which could cost anything up to £625 a month.
