Energy Policy
For the past year Ofgem has been trying to address concerns around the financial resilience of energy suppliers after half of them went bankrupt in late 2021 following the rapid increase in wholesale prices. Ofgem has been strongly criticised for allowing suppliers to enter [...]
Last week the Government published its much anticipated Powering Up Britain strategy, along with several thousand pages of documentation. This followed a High Court case last year which found that policy to date was insufficiently detailed to deliver on the country’s statutory duty to [...]
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of speaking at the Energy Industries Club dinner on the subject of energy security…here is a copy of my remarks... Good evening everyone, I’m delighted to be here for the inaugural evening meeting of the Energy Industries [...]
Last year I warned repeatedly that Norway can not be expected to sit passively by while other countries drain its reservoirs and that it may well take steps to restrict exports. I drew attention to comments by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and [...]
Back in October, the Government put in place energy subsidies for households and businesses, designed to protect them from the impact of high energy prices. For households, the intention was to reduce the number of people that would be forced into fuel poverty by [...]
It’s always interesting at the start of the year to look back at what I was thinking this time last year. In my opening remarks I said: “I suspect that by the end of 2022 we will have finally moved on and by the [...]
This week the EU finally acted on gas prices by agreeing a cap. Under the “market correction mechanism” which is due to come into force on 15 February 2023 and last for one year, gas contracts traded on European exchanges could see their prices [...]
In July, the BEIS Select Committee published a damning report into Ofgem’s performance, committed to greater oversight of the regulator, and made a series of recommendations, to both the Government and Ofgem, to improve retail energy market regulation. Government gives the Committee the brush [...]
Norway's energy security would appear to be a done deal, yet the past couple of years have been very challenging for its electricity market. While the rest of Europe struggles with reduced access to gas, it seems strange that a country which produces far [...]
Yesterday the new Chancellor. Jeremy Hunt, issued a new Budget for the UK in his Autumn Statement, reversing most of the policies in the Truss/Kwarteng Growth Plan. The Statement heralds significant tax increases for just about everyone, with several announcements relating to the energy [...]