Featured Posts
New report: The true affordability of net zero
This evening my latest report: The true affordability of net zero, was launched at an event hosted by The [...]
Norway turning away from electricity interconnection
Norway is turning away from electricity interconnection as its governing coalition collapses over disagreements over energy co-operation with Europe. [...]
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 [...]
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
Smart meter rollout extended as benefits continue to fall
The Government has finally agreed to extend the deadline for smart meter installation, pushing it back to 2024 under a new supplier obligation that will come into effect from 1 January 2021 when the current obligation ends. At the [...]
Ofgem provides further clarity on its proposed network charging reforms
Ofgem is in the process of reforming the way in which users pay for access to and use of electricity networks, which I have described in previous posts here and here. The Targeted Charging Review is the more advanced [...]
9 August blackout technical report highlights issues with Grid Code compliance
Ofgem has now published National Grid’s technical analysis of the 9 August blackout. Much of the meat is contained in the appendices. The report does not answer many of the questions that have been asked in relation to the [...]
Initial blackout report blames lightning strikes, but why was Hornsea so vulnerable?
National Grid has now published National Grid ESO’s initial report into the 9 August blackout. The extremely repetitive 26-page report sheds some new light onto the events on the day (and I was rather gratified to see that my [...]
A new direction is needed for retail energy regulation
While energy news has been dominated by talk of last week’s blackout, there have been some important developments in the retail space which are worth highlighting, and which underline the need for a new direction in retail energy regulation. [...]
Blackouts and near misses: results of the energy transition or simple bad luck?
Since Friday’s blackout, there have been press reports that National Grid has presided over three “near-miss” situations where system frequency fell close to the lower frequency tolerance of 49.5 Hz, 1% below the target level of 50 Hz. National [...]
What caused the UK’s power blackout and will it happen again?
On Friday evening, there was a widespread power blackout across many parts of the UK, with transport systems in particular being affected. Supplies were restored within an hour although the transport problems took far longer to resolve, with the [...]
Managing the transition to a sustainable gas network
Last week I spoke about how to manage the transition to a low carbon gas network at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum. Much of the conference covered the different available approaches to de-carbonising the gas network, in [...]
Mixed news for nuclear power projects in the UK
Nuclear power has been in the news again. There have been mixed updates on EDF’s difficult European Pressurised Water (“EPR”) projects, but the UK Governments ambitious new climate targets might open the door to re-evaluating the subsidy support available [...]
Capacity market top-up auction clears at a record low price
The June 2019 capacity auction for delivery next winter cleared at the record low price of 77p /kW, with 129 units securing contracts covering 3.6 GW of capacity. The previous T-1 auction in February 2018 cleared at £6 /kW [...]
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