Retail Market
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. Earlier this month Ofgem announced [...]
The need for reform of the retail energy market is increasingly clear – the past week has seen the failure of another new entrant supplier, bringing the total number of failures in since the beginning of 2018 to 17*. At the same time, suppliers [...]
Third party intermediaries or energy brokers are an important source of information for companies in their energy procurement and an important sales channel for suppliers; however the market is un-regulated, lacks transparency, and may be deterring customers at a time when rising prices mean [...]
It’s always interesting at this time of year to look back over the past year and ahead to what might be expected in the year to come. This time last year, I expected the retail price cap to be big news, alongside new nuclear, changes [...]
Today Ofgem has announced it is taking action against a number of challenger suppliers that have failed to make scheduled payments under the Renewables Obligation scheme. Suppliers had until 31 October to pay outstanding sums into the late payment fund however, a shortfall of [...]
There has been much hype of late surrounding the advent of “time-of-use” (“ToU”) energy tariffs for domestic consumers with some claiming consumers will be able to make large savings while others suggest consumers might be ripped off by “surge pricing” at times of high [...]
On the 11 October Ofgem published its second State of the Energy Market report, concluding that while there have been improvements in the retail market, with customers now having more energy suppliers and innovative deals to choose from, and the market share of the [...]
Following close behind Myth #1 about the profitability of the energy supply business, comes Myth #2, that the retail price cap will see the end of “rip-off tariffs” and save money for consumers. I have already written a number of posts on the price-cap [...]
The energy landscape is an increasingly confusing one for consumers – with new entrant suppliers going out of business, the introduction of price caps, and the on-going controversy over smart meters. The latest issue is the fuss suddenly being made about so-called “surge pricing” [...]
Distribution Network Operator UK Power Networks (“UKPN”), which covers over eight million homes and businesses across London, the South East and East of England, has announced a virtual power plant (“VPP”) to be developed in London, to relieve pressure on the capital’s electricity network. [...]