Featured Posts
Time to accept that wind farm costs are not falling
There has been a consistent narrative that the cost of building new wind farms is falling, with falling subsidy [...]
Windfall tax harms oil and gas production and must be cut
In May last year, the UK Government introduced a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies [...]
Why Norway’s views on energy security should ring alarm bells across Europe
Norway's energy security would appear to be a done deal, yet the past couple of years have been very [...]
Addressing the high real cost of renewable generation
Over the past few months we have been inundated with claims from interested parties that more renewables are the [...]
Recent Posts
Another three energy suppliers fail – they are unlikely to be the last
Today another three suppliers failed: ENSTROGA, Igloo Energy and Symbio Energy all announced they have ceased trading. ENSTROGA had around 6,000 domestic customers, Igloo had roughly 179,000 domestic customers, while Symbio supplied around 48,000 domestic customers and a small [...]
The Government is showing fresh interest in new nuclear but can it avoid repeating past mistakes?
Against the backdrop of the current energy crisis comes the news that the Government is looking at new proposals for a nuclear reactor at Wylfa Newydd. The original proposal was for an Advanced Boiling Water Reactor ("ABWR"), but after [...]
Electric shock: the Government struggles to address the energy market crisis
The energy market crisis is suddenly big news. It is impossible to open a newspaper or turn on the television or radio without hearing stories of rising bills and supplier bankruptcies. Energy is no longer a footnote in the [...]
Welcome to the launch of Watt-Logic Training!
Today I am (finally) launching Watt-Logic Training, a new programme of online energy training courses. It has been a longer journey than I hoped – the IT was much more complicated than I thought it would be – but [...]
Gas market tightness causing prices to surge and questions over security of supply
Gas market tightness has caused prices to rise sharply over the past few weeks, not only pushing electricity prices higher, but also causing supply issues in industries such as fertiliser manufacture which rely on natural gas as a feedstock. [...]
Circling the drain: the prospect of bailouts in the energy sector
Today the Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has raised the prospect of nationalising parts of the electricity industry. Of course, it isn’t couched in those terms, but the Government has announced that it will appoint a Special Administrator to run [...]
Two more suppliers fail as energy prices soar
In the year and a half from the beginning of 2020 to July 2021 UK power day-ahead prices effectively doubled, and everyone from suppliers, three of whom have closed in recent weeks, and another two today: Utility Point and [...]
Damning NAO report into the Green Homes Voucher Scheme
This week the National Audit Office (“NAO”) has published a damning report into the Government’s failed Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme. The scheme was originally announced in July 2020, as part of the UK’s “green recovery” from the pandemic, [...]
High wholesale prices spell bad news for struggling suppliers
I have been writing recently about the need for radical reform of the retail energy market, and predicted that this autumn would see more supplier failures. Today, another two energy suppliers announced their closure today: PfP Energy (formerly Places [...]
Developing smart energy markets for suppliers and consumers
Last week I was invited to speak at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum on the subject of smart energy markets. The transcript of my speech is below: Developing smart energy markets for suppliers and consumers - [...]
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