Featured Posts
The energy white paper fails to deliver a detailed plan for net zero
December saw the publication of the long-awaited energy white paper, which built on Boris Johnson’s 10-point energy plan. In [...]
FES-2020 costs indicate massive investment needed for net-zero
Last week, National Grid ESO published the first costings for its Future Energy Scenarios (“FES”). The key conclusions of [...]
Boris Johnson’s 10-point energy plan: a mixed bag
Despite being forced to self-isolate having come into contact with a covid-positive MP, Boris Johnson has finally unveiled his [...]
Recent Posts
Australian electricity prices spike amid high temperatures and plant outages
One of my readers drew my attention to this article about recent Australian electricity price spikes. The combination of a heatwave and an unplanned outage at the 1,050 MW Loy Yang B coal-fired power station were widely reported as [...]
T-1 capacity auction: gas wins; consumers lose
Last week saw the first T-1 capacity auction since the GB capacity market launched, clearing in the 14th round of bidding at £6 /kW/year. 10.7 GW of de-rated capacity entered the auction, with 5.8 GW of that being successful [...]
A tough environment for small suppliers as Future Energy collapses
Within days of my post last week where I speculated on the future of smaller energy suppliers, another of them ceased trading. Future Energy, a Tyneside-based supplier with 12,000 customers announced on Thursday that it was closing, citing the [...]
Retail energy market: does size matter?
The collapse of GB Energy in November 2016 was seen by many as the start of a market correction, with other small independent suppliers being seen as vulnerable to rising prices and higher volatility. In the event, 2017 was [...]
Updating frequency control and reserve markets
In December, National Grid published a new roadmap for its frequency control and reserve markets, setting out the principles which are to govern the development of balancing services products with a view to providing greater clarity and investor certainty. [...]
Review of 2017 and the key themes for 2018
A year ago I set out my key themes for 2017, and as predictions go it was definitely a mixed bag! In this post I review the key themes of 2017 and look forward to the current year. What [...]
A recent discovery strikes an interesting note
This time of year is full of music, with carol singers out in force and the ubiquitous Christmas “hits” playing on loop in every store, but a recent discovery has brought music to mind in a different way... The [...]
GB gas market: do recent gas infrastructure failures signal trouble ahead?
The past few weeks have seen unseasonably cold weather in the UK - we even had a dusting of snow in London(!) - which has inevitably put pressure on energy supplies, particularly against the backdrop of the Rough closure. [...]
Smoke and mirrors: talking up battery storage
There has been quite a bit of news-flow about battery storage over the past couple of weeks. There was the announcement that Elon Musk had succeeded in his bid to delivery the world's largest battery storage facility to South [...]
The UK’s new nuclear saga rumbles on, but ABWR reactors may provide hope
The saga of the UK's attempts to re-invigorate its nuclear industry continues, with further criticism of Hinkley Point C, this time by the Public Accounts Committee, speculation that an investor has finally been found for the Moorside project, and [...]
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