Despite encouraging results in Wales and a bright commercial energy structure in place in Scotland, fear is now rising over the barriers that are limiting investment in renewable energy. Mike Bradshaw, author of the report, has warned the Coalition Government that it must act now, or see it's plans to decarbonise the economy firmly derailed.

"A perfect storm is brewing, with major uncertainty around all the elements of current UK energy policy," Bradshaw said.

"This could delay the low-carbon transition and lead to a continued reliance on fossil fuels – specifically gas, most of which will have been imported," he said.

As natural gas production from the North Sea fields fell, Britain quietly became dependent on imported gas – becoming a net importer for the first time last year after decades of virtual self-sufficiency.

The energy-rich Middle East has become a hub for sea-tankers of liquid natural gas (LNG), and the region has become a crutch that Bradshaw says the UK has been leaning on for too long.

The evidence is seemingly self sufficient, as the UK could find itself dragged into the numerous geopolitical confrontations in the region, for the sake of LNG.

"Including the shutting of the Straits of Hormuz limiting LNG exports from Qatar – the main source of UK LNG imports – which could trigger military intervention," he said.

"Coming together these could result into an ever greater reliance of gas, at a time when its price is likely to increase because of growing demand from countries including China and India," Bradshaw said in a report called "Time to take our foot off the gas?"

The report's underlying message is one of energy security; that if the UK truly wants to be self-sufficient, it must move away from importing – particularly where volatile conflicts could destabilise an energy economy.

Instead, home-grown energy systems with the majority of electricity from renewable sources involves the lowest risk of energy security problems would be the ‘ideal'.

We find it hard to disagree with the idea of an inclusive, home-grown energy economy – after all we wouldn't want to see business gas or electricity here in the UK driven because of economic problems in another country.

But what do you think? Could we decarbonise the UK quickly enough? Or is the coalition's faith in nuclear power enough to stop us importing LNG?

But whether the details will provide energy companies and the market with sufficient certainty remains a very moot point.

Ministers conceded that discussions with Brussels to ensure the measures do not fall foul of EU state aid rules are at "an early stage". Davey expressly denied that the design of the Feed in Tariff with Contract for Differences (CfD) and capacity mechanism regimes was driven by the need to satisfy the bloc's regulations.

Ministers and officials also made it clear that much key detail remains to be settled. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) stressed that it still had an open mind on whether there should be a single counter-party or a scheme with a multiple number. National Grid as system operator will come up with draft strike prices over the next few months which will be consulted on but ultimately determined by the department.

The capacity mechanism is an area where more work and further consultation is planned. Exactly how demand side measures - and which - will be accommodated is still up in the air.

Also on the list of matters to be settled is how independent generators will fit into the new arrangements. Consultation on that was launched this week.

Some aspects of the timetable are now clearer, though. The draft Energy Bill will be consulted on over the summer and will be the subject of an inquiry by MPs, courtesy of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee. Their recommendations will feed into the full Bill which will be published in the autumn, conceivably by the end of October for parliamentary scrutiny. Ministers expect the legislation will gain Royal Assent by the summer of 2013. The measures themselves will be implemented over the following three years.

During the period up to 2017 the current arrangements for the Renewables Obligation will sit alongside new CfD prices, which will be set administratively (i.e. by Decc after consultation with National Grid as the administrator). The first capacity auctions could kick-in during this stage.

Decc envisages a second stage between 2017 and the 2020s which should see the capacity market becoming fully operational and some technology-specific auctions.

In the third stage (also during the 2020s) there will be a move to technology-neutral auctions. In the fourth stage (late 2020s and beyond) the expectation is that technologies will be mature enough and the carbon price high enough to "allow all generators to compete without intervention".

Davey emphasised on Tuesday that his department would retain control of policy and decisions, including CfD strike prices during administrative price setting, as well as any security of supply objectives and auction volumes during competitive price setting.

Ofgem's role in all this has yet to be fully determined. Ministers have promised further details on the respective roles and responsibilities of the Government, National Grid and the regulator later this autumn. At this stage Ofgem's main role appears to rest with regulating National Grid as system operator and overseeing its performance in delivering the CfD and capacity markets.

There will be transitional arrangements and so-called comfort arrangements as the new regimes fire-up. At this juncture these appear to consist chiefly of companies going into the department for discussions with officials.

Other elements of the Bill
Although the Energy Bill mainly contains the measures required to underpin the EMR package there are other important elements. It includes new powers to spell out the roles and responsibilities of the Secretary of State and Ofgem, establish the new Office of Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and allows for the transmission of electricity without a licence by a person who participates in offshore transmission during a commissioning period in certain circumstances. Also in the bill are provisions to allow the sale of the Ministry of Defence pipeline network that supplies aviation fuel to airbases and some airports.

In the year to end of March 2012 the overall operating profit was up 2 per cent to and the company confirmed an increased dividend and plans for further dividend growth this year.

In the retail business operating profit fell 19.7 per cent to £321.6 million, while wholesale profit rose by 6.4 per cent to £607.9 million and the networks division, which includes transmission in Scotland and electricity and gas networks across Great Britain, rose by 6 per cent to £737.1 million.

In the retail business SSE lost around 1 per cent of customers, finishing the year with 9.55 million customers - and it announced that it would acquire 130,000 more gas customers in Northern Ireland from Phoenix (see separate story). In the year to March gas consumption fell by 19 per cent and electricity consumption fell by 6.9 per cent.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, generation and supply director, said the company aims to maintain a profit margin of around 5 per cent in the supply business, but this year margin was just over 3 per cent. He said the company had made provision of £60 million to cover the costs of doorstep selling and metering issues.

Phillips-Davies complained of Ofgem "seeming to turn a blind eye to unfair pricing by our customers," and said the regulator's Retail Market Review had been "overtaken by events" and he hoped that the RMR would move from a "heavy " version to a "light" option as suggested by Ofgem, and could become irrelevant.

In the wholesale business renewable energy generation rose by 73 per cent, partly due to favourable weather conditions and partly because of an increase in wind capacity. The company said it hoped to bring the Glendoe hydro project back on line in the summer.

Gas prices were up 20 per cent over the year, SSE said, and spark spreads had fallen by 75 per cent and the company had carried out work at its Keady and Medway gas stations so they could be operated with more flexibility.

In the networks division, which represents the largest slice of SSE's business at 44 per cent, SSE highlighted network extensions at both distribution and transmission level - notably the start of construction of the controversial Beaully to Denny transmission line, where pylons stared going up early this year.

The company also noted that it had competed six new inset water supply appointments, and Gregor Alexander, finance director for the network sector, said "the ability of this business to offer a genuine multi utility service to customers will stand it in good stead."

Source: Utility Week

Another round of energy bill price hikes looms after Centrica warns cost of supplying gas has risen by £50 a year

Millions of households face higher energy bills this winter after the owner of British Gas predicted that the cost of supplying homes will rise by £50 – probably by the end of the summer.

Ahead of what is expected to be a fractious annual general meeting on Friday, Centrica served notice on its 15.9 million UK customers that another round of price hikes are in the pipeline.

In an interim management statement it said wholesale gas prices for the forthcoming winter are around 15% higher than last year while non-commodity costs – such as transportation and government environment levies – will add £50 to the cost of supplying the average household this year. Because the wholesale gas prices were not factored into the £50 figure, bills could rise by an even higher amount in the winter.

Centrica said: "The trend for retail energy costs therefore remains upwards." The statement came as Pirc, the shareholder advisory group, warned that Centrica's new executive pay scheme means "potentially excessive amounts could be awarded". Sam Laidlaw, Centrica's chief executive, was paid nearly £4m in 2011 despite a rise in pre-tax profits of just 1%. The biggest impact on Centrica's 2011 results was at its "downstream" operation, dominated by the British Gas residential outfit, which reported a 30% fall in operating profit to £522m.

Centrica's statement means that British Gas customers should brace themselves for a price rise announcement at the end of the summer. Last August British Gas raised electricity prices by 16% and gas prices by 18%, although it has since cut electricity prices by 5%, while leaving gas prices unchanged. In 2011 higher household prices were offset by lower usage due to mild weather, reducing the average bill by £37 to £1,024. If the £50 cost increase is passed on to customers it would represent a 5% increase on last year's average bill for British Gas customers.

Centrica added in its statement that the business is trading in line with expectations. In a hint to the government over its struggling plans for a new generation of nucelar power plants, the group added: "Further clarity is needed to deliver the investment required in new [energy] generation capacity." Centrica is a 20% shareholder in the eight nuclear power stations owned by British Energy, a business controlled by France's EDF. Both EDF and Centrica are waiting for the government to confirm financial support for nuclear energy – through a set carbon price and subsidies for low-carbon energy – before deciding whether to press ahead with plans to build new plants. The most advanced project is at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

Source: The Guardian

SSE has received a fine of £1.25 million at Guildford Crown Court after being found guilty on two counts relating to the use of doorstep sales aids in 2009. The figure is thought to be the largest ever fine from a court case brought by Trading Standards.

Stephen Forbes, Director of Sales, Marketing and Energy Service at SSE said: "We accept that a company of SSE's standing and with SSE's values should not have found itself in this position and we are very sorry that it did. Energy sales in SSE have been transformed in the three years since this case started and customers should have absolute trust in SSE and complete confidence in the products and service we offer."

Ironically, SSE was the first to stop door-to-door sales back in July of last year. Most energy providers have ended cold-call sales tactics, although E.ON refuse to be drawn on the matter.

Audrey Gallacher, Director of Energy at Consumer Focus said: "Firms must not be left to profit at the expense of customers who have been misled. A fine of £1.25 million set by the court sends a very strong message to the energy industry that it must play fair by its customers and get it right on sales. Surrey Trading Standards should be applauded for its persistent pursuit of a guilty verdict over these obviously misleading sales practices."

Customer who think they may have been mis-sold products by SSE are being urged to contact the firm about getting compensation.

Currently three of the ‘Big Six' energy suppliers, Scottish Power, SSE and npower are being investigated by Ofgem about whether their previous door-step sales practices have broken the rules.

Due to the increase of energy prices in today's economic state, households are struggling to keep up with their energy bills. Figures and percentages have revealed bills to have soared in recent years, with on average a fifty percent difference between 2009 and 2004/5 as figures show income spent on gas and electricity was 14%, than in 2004/2005 where only 8% was spent. Increases on prices are described as ‘scandalous' putting more strain on family budget , and is a cry for help to the UK government , who need to do more with their power to aid those in energy poverty.

Mr Hepburn from Citizens Advice Scotland said: "These hikes are hitting already under pressure households, many people paying bills have already reached the maximum value of what they can afford." the pressure from power companies and price rises is already being felt by households."The UK Government needs to re-evaluate the energy market and start helping those in fuel poverty."
Figures have oscillated between 4% and 7% since 1999 for gas and electricity with 7% of earnings was used up on gas and 7% on electricity, showing a stable rise earlier. The quantity of income spent on fuel had earlier mounted from 11% in 1996 to 13% in 2003-4, and then decreased again to a low 8%.

Lucy McTernan, chief executive said: "we see the real human misery that exists behind these statistics."Indeed we feel the problem is, statistics revealed today if anything are under-estimated by the."Gas and electricity bills have risen significantly since 2009 yet substantially higher in the last few months; people who are struggling financially face a difficult choice when faced with these high fuel bills."They either skip meals in order to pay the fuel bill instead. "The government had cut the fuel poverty budget by a third last year and urged the calls to reinstate it. Shadow Finance Secretary Richard Baker said: "Soaring fuel prices effect every household, but they have an inconsistent effect on those who are on the lowest incomes."It is our sense of duty to assist the poorest and the majority of vulnerable people, who will be hit hardest by price boost, in these tough times."The real scandal that seems to have conveniently forgotten is that it was the government that reduced the fuel poverty budget by a third."

Watchdog reporters claim that Cardiff homes have the highest energy bills, with Leeds and Manchester have the cheapest bills as Cardiff customers are paying £1,073 on direct debit and £1,175 on prepayment meters. Reports by Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) explained that the cost of gas and electricity show a discrepancy due to differing network costs.

Customers have questioned if prices were reasonable, which discovered by DECC's quarterly energy prices report showed Cardiff households pay an average of £428 a year on electricity and £645 for gas with on average, £459 on electricity and £716 on gas on prepayment meters, on the other hand Leeds has the lowest energy bills collectively in the UK, whereas bills in other areas are up to £71 higher per year.
The statistics are based on an annual gas consumption of 18,000 kWh and electricity consumption of 3,300 kWh. Liz Withers, head of policy at Consumer Focus Wales, said: "These findings are of a major concern for thousands of vulnerable people across Wales."Currently, there are 61,000 homes in Wales living in severe fuel poverty, spending £1 in every £5 on keeping their home warm.

"In recent years the cost of heating homes during the winter months has seen extensive increases, and the devastating shock that can have on household budgets. People shouldn't have to choose between whether to eat or heat but many do, with all but one of the big six suppliers so far raising their energy prices between 10 and 20%, an extra 90,000 households in Wales will find themselves in fuel poverty this winter. Therefore consumers simply don't trust that energy companies have customers' interests at heart as wholesale costs have gone up yet are still a third lower than their 2008 peak.

Energy firms are accused of being guilty of greedy and lazy behaviour, Ofgem stated that they are perplexing customers and exploiting structural weaknesses in the market, however A DECC spokesman said: "Energy prices do vary regionally: network costs, which account for 24% of the average gas bill and 21% of the average business electricity bill, include the cost of building, maintaining and functioning the local gas pipes and electricity wires and the high pressure gas and high voltage transmission networks which deliver energy directly to your home.

"Suppliers are charged for this service and convey costs to the consumer which varies according to region, therefore the costs to the consumer will depend upon the area in which they live with Ofgem setting price boundaries which limit the total amount of revenue that distribution and transmission companies can earn meaning the best value for customers, potentially saving consumers £1billion over the next ten years,"

British Gas launches Green Deal offer

19th July 2011

British Gas,  announced massive hikes in both its electricity and gas prices, has today become the first energy supplier to launch a Green Deal-style offering, promising to slash householders' electricity bills.
British Gas is calling its proposal the Home Energy Plan and said it would work like the Government's upcoming Green Deal but would be "more flexible". It said the proposal would help customers save £321 on average per annum.

"Britain's housing stock is some of the most inefficient in the developed world with £1 in every £4 spent on heating our homes wasted because of poor insulation. Under our offer, customers can improve their homes and save money by cutting bills – all at no upfront cost," said Jon Kimber, managing director of British Gas New Energy.

The Government's Green Deal, which launches next year, will provide loans to households and businesses wanting to improve the energy efficiency of their properties through measures such as insulation, heating and lighting, with no upfront cost. Under the 'Golden Rule', loan repayments are guaranteed not to exceed the cost savings brought about by the energy efficiency improvements throughout the financing period.

Home Energy Plan
A spokesperson for British Gas said the Home Energy Plan, which is effective immediately, will work like the Green Deal and enable customers to invest in green measures with no upfront costs and benefit from the 'Golden Rule'. But he said there would be other payment options also on the table.

"It's more flexible than the Green Deal […] Some customers will want to invest in bigger projects and pay a deposit and pay it over a five year period, for example," he said.

Measures available
Households will be able to take advantage of range of measures from cavity wall and loft insulation and energy-saving voltage optimisation units through to renewable technologies such as solar panels and air source heat pumps. A new generation of boiler that also generates electricity for use in the home, will be another measure available under the plan.

Energy experts
The spokesperson confirmed British Gas business tariffs has so far trained up 50 energy experts to provide free, no-obligation surveys for business and households through its Home Energy Plan. The experts will show customers, room by room, the tailored measures homes can take advantage of and the annual savings they could make as a result.

Price hikes
The launch of the Home Energy Plan follows the announcement earlier this month by British Gas that it was raising its electricity and gas prices by between 16 per cent and 18 per cent. The spokesperson for British Gas, however, denied that the price hikes were subsidising the Home Energy Plan.

He said the company had no immediate plans to launch a Green Deal offer for business customers.

The gas and electricity firm said the increase, which would affect 2.4 million households in the UK, would come into effect from 1 August.

Affected customers will see an average daily increase to a dual fuel energy bill of 48p per day.

The company said the move reflected sustained increases in the wholesale energy market.

However, it said about 700,000 households would be protected by capped or fixed priced deals.

Watchdog Consumer Focus described the price rise as a "body blow for customers".

Scottish Power, which is part of Spanish company Iberdrola, last put its prices up in November, when gas prices rose 2% and electricity bills went up by 8.9%. business electricity will no doubt follow soon!

Energy efficiency
 
Other suppliers are widely expected to follow Scottish Power's lead over the coming weeks.

Raymond Jack, Scottish Power's UK retail director, said: "Wholesale prices for gas and electricity have increased significantly since the end of last year and continuing unrest in global energy markets means future prices are volatile.

Every household in the country will now be bracing themselves for impact" 
Audrey Gallacher Consumer Focus
 "We understand times are difficult for many people, and we have done what we can to absorb these additional costs for as long as possible to minimise the impact on our customers."

The energy company has also launched an new online product with a long fixed-price offer that it claims is one of the cheapest in the market.

Scottish Power said it could also help its customers to reduce their fuel bills by making energy efficiency savings in their homes.

Mr Jack added: "Some of our customers could save an average of £459 per year by making simple changes to the way they pay for their energy, switching to paper-free online billing and selecting one of our new or existing energy products."

Audrey Gallacher, head of energy at Consumer Focus, said: "This huge increase will be a body blow for consumers and we fear other firms will follow Scottish Power's lead.

"Companies have been softening customers up for price rises for months but customers will be shocked at the scale of this rise. Every household in the country will now be bracing themselves for impact.

"When this affects the cost of keeping warm and well, it is not an acceptable state of affairs."

Energy regulator Ofgem recently called for the industry to be overhauled after it found that the "big six" companies had put up prices more quickly than they reduced them when costs fell.

A separate inquiry has been launched into Scottish Power's pricing plans.

Scottish Power's latest rise will mean that customers who take gas and electricity from the company but pay quarterly by cash will see their annual bills rise by an average of £180 to £1,391.

That message, in its latest interim management statement, was echoed by RWE Npower chief operating officer Kevin McCulloch,who told Utility Week the other big six energy companies in the UK were likely to take their cue from British Gas, Centrica's retail arm.

Centrica's statement said that forward wholesale gas and power prices for the coming winter were 25 per cent higher than last winter. Pointedly, the statement warned that "end-user prices [have] yet to reflect this higher wholesale market price environment". However, Consumer Focus dismissed that as a reason for British Gas to raise prices because Centrica will "benefit hugely at the production end from higher wholesale gas and business electricity prices".

Centrica also said it had decided to partially "mothball" four of its fleet of combined cycle gas turbine plants, which represent 20 per cent of its generation capacity, because spark spreads remained too low, below £5 per MWh for much of the year to date.

If market conditions improve, the plant could return to service within two to three days.

Scottish Power owner Iberdrola posted profit of more than £900 million for the first time for any three-month period. But the firm said the contribution from its UK subsidiary was down compared with the first quarter of 2010. Its generating capacity in the UK has now climbed to more than 7GW, 2 per cent up year on year.

If you think you are paying too much for your business Gas and Electricity Prices get a quote now, the only thing you could loose is higher energy prices.

A newly created company, to be known as TC Robin Rigg OFTO Ltd, will now hold the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) Licence. It will operate the £65 million link transporting renewable business electricity from the 180 MW Robin Rigg wind farm to the onshore grid for a period of 20 years. As part of the licence grant, the transmission link has transferred from the wind farm owner (E.on) to the OFTO.

The acquisition of the transmission assets is a result of competitive tendering for offshore links under the OFTO regime. It represents the first injection of the projected billions of pounds of new capital into the offshore wind industry arising from the new regime. Ofgem views this as being critical in ensuring sufficient investment is forthcoming to deliver the UK's energy infrastructure needs.

Alistair Buchanan, Ofgem's Chief Executive, said: "This milestone highlights how the offshore transmission regulatory regime has successfully attracted new entrants and fresh sources of investment in the GB transmission sector. This will go towards delivering some of the £200 billion worth of investment in energy infrastructure that Britain needs.

"Overall, the regime is expected to deliver investment of a total value of around £20 billion, while ensuring these links are built on time and provide good value for consumers' money."

Charles Hendry, Minister for Energy, said: "We must do all we can to ensure a safe, secure, low carbon and affordable energy mix for the future. Getting the infrastructure in place to support the move to low carbon is crucial. As we can see from the award of this landmark first licence, it is a real investment opportunity."

The offshore transmission regulatory regime has been developed by Government and Ofgem and was launched in 2009 to deliver high voltage links to offshore wind farms as cost effectively as possible. Licences for these regulated assets are granted through a competitive tendering process managed by Ofgem.

* a consortium comprising International Public Partnerships Ltd, Amber Infrastructure Group and Transmission Capital Ltd.

Today's news marks the success of the regime's first tender round for £1.1 billion of offshore transmission links to nine offshore wind farms. The tender attracted almost £4 billion of investment appetite and is expected to deliver savings of around £350 million. Ofgem expects to grant licences for the other eight links in the first round over the next year.

The second transitional round already has eight bidders competing for the first three projects to link over 1.4 GW of offshore wind, with the winners to be announced this summer. These projects are worth a further £1billion with billions more of investment opportunities to be tendered over the coming years.

BG Group will spend £9.3bn on the world's first project to liquify and ship business gas produced from coal deposits, the natural gas company's biggest ever investment, it was announced today .

The 20-year Queensland Curtis scheme is the first of a clutch of "coal seam methane" projects in eastern Australia to get the go-ahead, and will underline Australia's growing importance as a supplier of natural resources to South East Asia. It will involve building a 540km underground pipeline in Queensland which will link the gas producing coal deposits to a new terminal near Gladstone, on the east coast, which will liquify the gas for export by tanker.

BG will give more details when it reports third quarter results tomorrow. An 11% year on year increase in net income to $866m is forecast. BP is also reporting its delayed third quarter results tomorrow. Analysts expect that the ongoing costs of the Deepwater Horizon disaster will result in a slight fall in profits, compared to an 88% rise reported by Shell last week.

The BG project is scheduled to begin operation in 2014, producing 8.5m tonnes of liquified natural gas (LNG) each year initially, equivalent to one 10th of the gas consumed in the UK.

State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has signed the biggest supply contract with BG, and will buy 3.6m tonnes of LNG each year for 20 years. CNOOC will also take a 10% stake in the first phase of the project and invest with BG to build two new LNG cargo ships in China to be used in the project.

The Australian government finally sanctioned the Queensland Curtis project last month, along with a rival project near Gladstone put forward by a joint venture between Santos, Petronas, and Total.

BG chief executive Frank Chapman said: "The decision represents the realisation of a pivotal strategic objective for BG Group – to further the globalisation of our LNG business by establishing a new and material source of equity LNG in the Asia-Pacific arena. Today's sanction is also a significant milestone on the road to delivery of the group's growth agenda over the decade ahead."

The process of producing gas from underground coal seams has attracted opposition from some environmentalists and farmers in Australia over concerns that it will pollute the water table in a country already facing severe water shortages. Vast amounts of trapped salty water are released along with the gas when the coal seams are drilled into. At the peak of production in 2014, BG estimates that 190m litres of water will be released each day.

BG will build two large desalination plants to treat the water. It has also promised to monitor groundwater and compensate owners of bore pipes if the volume or quality deteriorates. Some 300 conditions have been set by the federal government for both projects, mostly concerning the protection of groundwater.

Technology improvements allowing coal seam gas to be converted into LNG, and a burgeoning market for LNG gas, particularly in Asia, has made such projects more attractive. In July, Australia's coal seam gas company Arrow Energy agreed to a £2bn takeover by Shell and PetroChina. Analysts at Merrill Lynch said they expected the market for LNG will become tighter after 2012 as demand rises, which could justify BG's latest move.

Gas bosses have given 380,000 Scottish customers a pre-Christmas kicking with a "scandalous" 9.4 per cent price rise.

Scottish and Southern Energy, who made profits of £1.29billion in the year to March, will add £67 to the average bill.

And watchdogs warned that the rest of the "Big Six" energy firms were likely to pile on the agony with rises of their own.

Audrey Gallacher of Consumer Focus said: "They adopt a pack mentality on pricing."#

Consumer groups were horrified by the inflation busting SSE increase, announced as the nation faces an icy winter, tiny pay rises and the grim fallout from the Con-Dem cuts.

It will come into force on December 1, just in time for winter to bite.

Most households use around 40 per cent of their annual energy between November and January and forecasters fear this winter will be particularly harsh.

SSE, Britain's second-biggest energy Supplier, blamed the wholesale cost of gas, which has gone up by 25 per cent since March.

But since 2008, when a frenzy of huge Gas and electricity prices hike saw household energy prices soar by almost half, wholesale gas prices have FALLEN by 40 per cent.

In 2009 and 2010, the Big Six cut bills by an average of eight per cent.

Consumer focus chief executive Mike O'Connor said he couldn't understand why bills went "up like a rocket and down like a feather". He branded the SSE move scandalous.

Customers should think about switching suppliers, saying: "People don't have to sit and take this."

The average SSE gas bill will rise to £782, according to regulators Ofgem. Dual fuel customers will see bills go up to £1226.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, energy supply director at SSE, said: "The last few months have been marked by rising wholesale prices.

"Having absorbed losses in our gas supply business for some time, we cannot delay an increase in retail prices any longer. I am sorry it will take effect during the winter period."

Sse claim they have been making losses for years on supplying gas to homes.
Ofgem said recently that on average, firms made an annual profit on gas of £50 per household, up from £20 the year before.

The Con-Dems said there was a market for energy and it was up to customers to find the best deals.

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EDF Energy Networks has agreed to pay additional compensation to customers following a major power cut in July 2009 in the area around Dartford, Kent. The power cuts were caused by a fire at an electricity cable bridge, and resulted in 94,000 customers losing supply, with almost 20,000 customers being without electricity for more than 24 hours.

The network operator has now offered to add £700,000 to the £1.1 million compensation already paid to eligible customers. This means that 12,000 customers, some of whom may not have previously entered a claim, will have the opportunity to receive a payment.

In addition, the company will donate a further £750,000 to the local community.

Energy regulator Ofgem said the extent of the incident had "caused significant local concern which Ofgem shares". It added "Ofgem welcomes the fact that EDF Energy Networks has responded to these concerns by making further payments in line with the regulatory requirements".

The regulator also said, "Ofgem has regarded the event as exceptional and has concluded that there is no evidence that any actions (or lack of actions) by EDF Energy Networks caused the event to happen. The company took appropriate steps following the event to limit the number of customers that had their electricity supplies interrupted, and to restore supplies quickly and efficiently. However, the incident has highlighted aspects of EDF Energy Networks' performance which appear to fall short of best practice".

The government today quietly imposed a £1B-per-year carbon tax on around 4,000 of the largest businesses and public sector bodies in the UK as part of its spending review.

The move was not announced as part of chancellor George Osborne's speech to parliament. Instead, it was left to a statement by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in which it detailed its spending review settlement and confirmed the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) would be reformed so that the Treasury keeps revenue raised through the carbon pricing scheme.

"Revenue raised from the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme will be used to support the public finances (including spending on the environment), rather than recycled to participants," the statement said.

The spending review document confirmed that the move would raise £1bn by 2014/15 to help tackle the deficit.

Under the CRC, companies and public sector bodies that use over 6,000 MWh of electricity a year have to participate in the scheme and purchase carbon allowances in line with the amount of energy they use each year.

During the initial phase of the scheme carbon allowances will be priced at £13 for each tonne of carbon that the company is calculated to be responsible for.

The government had intended to "recycle" the revenue raised from the sale of allowances to those organisations participating in the scheme. The level of recycled payments would be determined by the organisation's performance in an energy efficiency league table, with the best performers receiving all the money they spent on allowances plus a bonus and the worst performers receiving only some of the money back.

However, the government has now effectively turned the sale of allowances into a carbon tax, forcing all participants to purchase carbon allowances based on how much energy they use.

The move is likely to be welcomed by environmental groups and some green businesses that have long maintained that the CRC would not have a big enough impact on organisations' energy costs to drive significant improvements in energy efficiency.

It is also in line with the coalition's commitment to increase green taxes.

However, it is bound to be fiercely opposed by some business groups who have already argued that the CRC is too costly and burdensome and will now find them faced with a major hike in energy bills.

Business electricity prices

Npower says it will write to all those affected over the next two months, even if they are no longer customers. In 2007, the company started charging households a fixed monthly number of more expensive initial gas units - known as primary block units. Previously the amount of primary units charged varied according to the time of year. At the same time, Npower lowered prices and introduced some discounts. As a result, some low-use customers were billed for more than the usual number of primary units, leaving them out of pocket.

The company has always insisted most households benefited from the changes, but following an investigation by the industry regulator Ofgem, Npower initially agreed to repay 200,000 customers an average of £6 each. In a statement, Npower said "Although the vast majority of our customers benefited from the combined effect of the changes, some, who were low users of gas, did not" Watchdog Consumer Focus continued to campaign and some customers started legal action.

Npower conducted a review of everyone who was a gas customer at the time and it has now agreed to make a much bigger payment to 1.8 million people. The refunds will range from £1 to £100, with an average refund of £35. In a statement, Npower said "We're sorry that the complexity of the changes we made caused confusion. We're now doing all we can to improve our communication with customers." Npower, which has 6.5 million customers in the UK, will be writing to those affected and offering payments that can be cashed at the Post Office.

Head of Consumer Focus Mike O'Connor said it was an "excellent outcome" and showed a "major commitment from Npower to its customers". "Consumer Focus has worked closely with Npower to ensure that refunds are made fairly and that no customer loses out," he said. "A huge amount of work and collaboration has resulted in the right thing being done by Npower for its customers and we welcome this."It has been a great example of how consumer organisations can work with industry to deliver a fair deal for consumers."

ScottishPower Renewables (SPR), a major shareholder in Hammerfest Strøm for the last 5 years, has already submitted a planning application to install ten HS1000 machines at a tidal-power array in the Sound of Islay on the west coast of Scotland. Beyond this, SPR is developing a 95 turbine project at Ness of Duncansbay in the Pentland Firth as part of The Crown Estate's first marine energy leasing round. The company also confirmed that it will be entering the Ness of Duncansbay project into the Scottish Government's £10 million Saltire Prize for marine energy innovation.

Welcoming Hammerfest's announcement, Keith Anderson said: "ScottishPower Renewables is committed to leading the development of new renewable energy technologies in the UK, and we already have major projects planned utilising wave and tidal power. Following the deployment of the initial HS1000 machine in Orkney, SPR is planning to install ten of the machines in the Sound of Islay, which will be the first tidal power array of its kind in the world. Following on from this, we are also planning to install up to 95 tidal turbines in the Pentland Firth.

"We are delighted that Hammerfest Strøm has announced that it will be constructing the first HS1000 turbine in Scotland.  We know that the company looked internationally to find the right levels of expertise to deliver this contract, so it is a major boost to Scotland's renewable energy industry and to the wider economy to see this new technology going in to construction in Stornoway. With our projects in Islay and the Pentland Firth also being developed, we hope that the announcement today is just the beginning of what could be a major stream of new opportunities for the renewables and manufacturing industries in Scotland."

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, said: "I am delighted that Scottish businesses will benefit from the next stage of the development of one of the world's most advanced tidal turbines.

"With unrivalled energy resources off our coast and a range of wave, tidal and offshore wind development already underway, Scotland leads the way in generating power offshore.

"We have an estimated 25 percent of Europe's offshore wind and tidal resource and 10 percent of its wave potential, a renewable energy resource which is unrivalled in Europe.

"Awarding £4 million of contracts to Scotland is a massive vote of confidence in the talent, expertise and infrastructure we have to support the development of a clean, green renewables future.

"This is another example of how the European Marine Energy Centre, our wave and tidal technical test centre in Orkney, is continuing to pay dividends through further overseas investment in Scotland.

"ScottishPower Renewables continues to lead the way in the development of offshore energy generation. The company's entry to the £10 million Saltire Prize demonstrates that one of the largest innovation prizes of its kind continues to generate global interest in the marine energy potential around our coast."

Fraser McCreadie, Managing Director of Hammerfest Strøm UK, said "We sought bids on an international basis for the substructure fabrication works and are delighted that Burntisland Fabrication Ltd submitted the best value for money offer. We look forward to working closely with BiFab as a key industrial partner to deliver a successful demonstrator Project and to the future in supporting our further commercial tidal array projects."

John Robertson, Bifab's Managing Director commented: "We are delighted to be selected by Hammerfest Strom UK Ltd for the manufacture of the substructure for the new 1 MW tidal device. We are very impressed with the proactive approach of their management and engineering team.  This is a very exciting product with great potential and we are pleased that the next phase of development will be manufactured here in Scotland at the BiFab Arnish facility Stornoway."

The Council of the European Union (EU) recently announced the official adoption of a new invoicing directive.

It means all EU member states, including the UK, must accept electronic invoicing in the same way that paper documentation is handled.

The rules will be implemented over the next few years and must be in effect no later than 2013.

Marc Hoessels, indirect tax partner and head of the Deloitte e-invoicing group in Europe, explained: "All financial systems can already store invoice documents in a secure way, so why not acknowledge this new technology is also secure for tax audits?

"In the UK and the Netherlands, for example, companies can already make arrangements with the tax authorities in order to ensure that they used all necessary procedures to ensure a correct tax return."

The CBI today called on the Government to deliver key energy and planning reforms within six months, or risk undermining emissions targets and energy security.

Launching a new report; No time to lose: Deciding Britain's energy future,the UK's leading business group warned that without clarity on Government policy, £150bn of private sector investment in low-carbon infrastructure would fail to materialise. This investment is essential for the UK to achieve a secure, sustainable and cost-effective energy mix that includes renewable sources, nuclear power and fossil fuels.

The CBI said that uncertainty about the planning regime in particular is making investors wary of committing to new energy projects. The Government has announced it will abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) and replace it with a Major Infrastructure Unit with decision-making powers returned to Ministers.

Among measures the CBI is calling for from the Government by the end of February 2011 are tackling delays in the planning system, speeding up the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, and providing more detail on electricity market reform, its renewable energy policy, and the implications of the Emissions Performance Standard.

John Cridland, CBI Deputy Director-General, said:

"The Government's first few months in office have been rightly dominated by sorting out the fiscal deficit, but it must not let the timetable for energy and planning reform slip any further.

"Energy companies are unable to get the ball rolling on new infrastructure projects when it is unclear how the future planning regime will work.

"Uncertainty on plans for electricity market reform, slow progress on clean coal and nuclear power, as well as the cost of renewable energy are adding to the mood of caution among investors. We need investment from companies, not delays from government."

By the end of February 2011, the CBI wants the Government to have:

On planning:

Secured Royal Assent on a Decentralisation and Localism Bill which contains a coherent structure for major energy infrastructure planning, including requiring Ministers to stick to decision making timescales set out in the Planning Act and DECC Ministers having sign off for energy applications.
Completed the second consultation on Energy National Policy Statements on Energy Infrastructure and have the revised Statements ready to be approved by Parliament.
Determined all outstanding Section 36 planning applications left from the pre-IPC system.

On Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS):
Announced the winner of first CCS demonstration competition. Got the competition for the remaining three projects underway, with consideration given to one being a gas-fired power station.

On new nuclear power:
Pressed ahead with preparation for new nuclear, including deciding details of funded decommissioning and waste disposal agreements.

On additional market mechanisms:
Completed consultations on a carbon floor price and on wider market reform.

On North Sea taxation:
Ruled out changes to the tax system that would undermine investment. North Sea fiscal policy must recognise the mature age of most fields and the forthcoming cost of decommissioning.

On gas:
Reconsidered the tax treatment of gas storage in preparation for the 2011 Budget, including the capital allowance tax treatment of onshore salt cavern gas storage.

On energy efficiency:
Proposed ways to make the ‘Green Deal' financing mechanism work for households and firms, and simplified the Carbon Reduction Commitment to ensure it incentivises energy efficiency.

On energy intensive industries:
Consulted on ways to support the most vulnerable industries from the future costs of climate policy prior to an international agreement.

British Gas is set to help up to 50,000 of Britain's most hard-pressed households cut their energy bills.

This summer, Britain's largest domestic energy supplier is offering around £10 million-worth of free energy assessments and energy efficiency measures which could cut energy bills by around £250 per year for each home.

British Gas customers who want to request a free home energy assessment should call 0800 980 5 999.

The first phase of the London Array wind farm has a capacity of 630MW slated to commence operation in 2012 to be able to provide renewable energy for the London Olympics.

The company claims that once completed, the wind farm will be the world's largest offshore wind farm. Dong Energy owns 50% of the farm with E.ON (30%) and Masdar holding the remaining stake.

Carsten Thomsen, chief financial officer of Dong Energy, said: "Dong Energy's goal is to reach at least 3,000MW of wind turbine capacity by 2020, and London Array is a cornerstone in this transition towards a greener future. The EKF guaranteed EIB funding of the project supports our robustly financed investment program".

Business Electricity Prices

A joint review carried out by energy regulator Ofgem and Consumer Focus has found that suppliers continue to make good progress in the way they deal with customers in debt and have made genuine efforts to help those struggling to manage bills in difficult economic times.

Nevertheless, there is more suppliers can do and although the report particularly highlights progress suppliers are making, it also raises concerns about the way they take into account customers‟ ability to pay when setting debt repayment levels. While it is important that debt is recovered, it must be done in a way which takes account of the individual customer circumstances.

Ofgem has established a set of key principles which suppliers should consider to ensure they are properly and proactively taking account of a customer‟s ability to pay. These include making proactive contact with the customer and ensuring they understand the repayment arrangements. Ofgem and national charity Citizens Advice met with suppliers who gave their support to the key principles and suppliers are due to meet with the Energy Retail Association to discuss implementation.

Sarah Harrison, Ofgem‟s Senior Partner for Sustainable Development, said "While the number of energy customers in debt has remained relatively stable over the past 18 months, the amount that they owe has been increasing. In these difficult economic times it is particularly important that suppliers set debt repayment levels appropriate to individual customers‟ circumstances and ability to pay. We are pleased that the industry supports the key principles we have identified to improve the way suppliers deal with indebted customers."

Audrey Gallacher, Head of Energy Policy, at Consumer Focus said: „We welcome commitments from energy suppliers to improve how they treat consumers in debt. However, there are still problems with suppliers setting unaffordable debt repayment levels.

On a daily basis customers contact both us and Consumer Direct saying they are worried about paying their debts. Given the continued difficult economic situation, it‟s more important than ever that suppliers understand their customers‟ personal circumstances and agree realistic and affordable debt repayment plans.‟

Teresa Perchard, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said "It is clear that many people continue to struggle to pay for their gas and electricity bills – our latest statistics reveal that fuel debt problems dealt with by bureaux were up 33 per cent last year. Energy suppliers should do all they can to help people who are in debt. We are pleased to be collaborating with Ofgem and the energy industry to make this a reality, and are particularly keen to ensure that suppliers set repayment rates based on a customer‟s ability to pay, in keeping with Ofgem rules."

Ofgem makes sure that business Gas and Electricity customers are well protected. Ofgem has conducted a review of business energy practises and implemented a set of new rules and guidelines that will come into effect from 18th January 2010.

However it's important to note that these changes are not taking effect retrospectively; so if you're still in a business gas and electricity contract, the rules do not apply until you renew your existing contract or take out a new one. Your business energy supplier can choose to apply these changes retrospectively, so the safest thing to do is check with them directly.

The review had a number of outcomes that might affect your business. The following list gives an indication of the most significant changes:

Before entering into a new business gas and electricity contract with a supplier, the supplier must give details of the key terms and conditions to the customer and make it clear that the contract is binding.

Within 10 days of the contract being agreed or an existing contract being extended, the customer should receive a written copy of the terms and conditions
Approximately 60 days before the end of a fixed term period, business energy suppliers must send customers a statement of renewal terms.

Upon receipt of the renewal terms, the customer has 30 days to switch or negotiate a new deal.

If customers do nothing within the 30 day notification period, their contract can only be rolled over for a maximum of 12 months.

Customers who don't want to have their contract automatically rolled over at the end of a fixed term period can now stop this from happening by writing to their supplier at any point and requesting to ‘opt out' of the contract.

Will the new rules apply to my business?

The new rules will apply to your business if it fits into any one of the following criteria. Your business must:

Consume less than 200,000 kWh of gas a year, or
Consume less than 55,000 kWh of electricity a year, or

have fewer than ten employees (or full-time equivalent) and an annual turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding €2m.

Ofgem refers to any business that fit the criteria as micro-businesses. But don't assume that your business energy supplier will know that you're a micro-business; you must make sure you tell them.

Why is the rules good news for my business?

From January 18th 2010, it is the energy supplier's responsibility to make sure that the terms and conditions of your contract are presented to you clearly. Previously, they may have been difficult to find and translate. This means you should always know where you stand with your business energy supplier and your contract terms.

Also, suppliers have been prevented from automatically rolling customers onto contracts any longer than 12 months. This gives your business protection from getting stuck on a long-term contract that might not be the cheapest or the right contract for your business. This puts you in a much better position to negotiate new contracts and better gas and electricity prices on a more regular basis.

What should I do next?

We've put together a few quick tips to make sure you and your business can take full advantage of the new rules:

Make sure you read any paperwork from your energy supplier thoroughly, and make a note of any important dates that are stated.

Make sure your supplier is aware that you are a micro-business customer.

When you renew or take out your next business energy contract, it may be a good idea to opt out of it. This means that when the term of your contract is over, you won't be automatically rolled over onto another long-term contract. Instead, you'll be placed on a 28 day rolling contract (with potentially higher prices) that you can switch away from at any time. This can be an advantage if you accidentally miss your renewal date, so simply write to your supplier and request to opt out if you want to do this.

Switch to get a better deal today.

Use our business energy form to request a quote or simply call 0845 226 0046 One of our experts will be happy to help you find the best business energy deal right then and there – and we'll handle all the paperwork too.

Compare business gas and electricity prices

Britain will not build state owned gas storage to ensure energy supply as this would raise gas prices, unsettle gas the market and harm commercial investments, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said.
"In light of these challenges, the Government has decided not to pursue this option," it said on Thursday in a report on gas security.

Instead, it is considering asking gas producers to provide gas production figures ahead of the high winter demand period to assess the risk of a gas shortage, and improving communications with the Norwegian energy network operator.

Britain has a lower ratio of storage as a percentage of demand than France or Germany, prompting calls for more storage to be built to buffer against unexpected supply cuts like those caused by a Russia-Ukraine gas dispute two winters ago.

The country imports a large amount of gas from Norway, and a technical problem at a Norwegian gas field set off a gas balancing alert in Britain last winter when exceptionally cold weather sent demand soaring.

Other security measures under consideration include giving financial incentives to balance supply and demand in emergencies and possibly strengthening suppliers' obligations to provide gas for homes and small to medium sized businesses.

Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive of utility Centrica, said the government needed to back development of commercial gas storage facilities.

"The policy statement rightly recognises the success of the liberalised energy market in delivering the necessary investment in new infrastructure," Laidlaw said.

Centrica operates Rough, the largest gas storage facility in Britain, and is also investing in other storage projects.

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), through its wholly-owned subsidiary SSE E&P UK, has entered into an agreement with Hess to acquire its natural gas assets and infrastructure in three regions of the North Sea.
The regions include Everest/Lomond area, Easington Catchment area and Bacton area. SSE will pay a total cash consideration of $423m for Hess' assets. The transaction is subject to the receipt of all necessary partner and regulatory approvals.

The total gas and liquid resources, which SSE is acquiring, total around 383 billion cubic feet (bcf) or 64 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe). The headline transaction price for these resources is $6.6/barrels of oil equivalent (boe) or $1.1/million cubic feet (mcf).

Additional less certain resources of gas may also be identified through further exploration. The main production asset operators are BG Group, BP and Perenco.

SSE currently needs on average around 1300mcf of gas per day to supply its customers and to fuel its power stations and gas from the acquired assets will provide around 8% of that initially, declining over the next ten years.

According to SSE, while the upstream gas assets represent the large majority of the transaction, the company will also acquire other assets from Hess including its 17.7% equity interest in the Central Area Transmission System (CATS) pipeline, which delivers approximately 10% of the UK's total gas demand through a 400km pipeline from the central North Sea to a processing terminal in Teesside. The CATS pipeline is operated by BP.

Ian Marchant, chief executive of SSE, said: "This timely acquisition will enable SSE to enter the upstream gas sector in a measured way by buying proven and geographically diverse production assets.

"These assets will provide a new source of primary fuel and a hedge for our gas generation and supply activities. The acquisition will also give us involvement throughout the gas chain – production, transmission, storage, distribution and supply."

British Gas welcomes the attempts by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition to keep fuel poverty on the political agenda and we urge politicians of all parties to undertake a radical review of the measures to tackle fuel poverty.

We believe that available resources must be targeted at those who need it most. The Government currently spends £2.7bn per annum on the Winter Fuel Allowance. This is a helpful handout to all pensioners, but it makes no sense for wealthy pensioners and people living on the Costa Del Sol to receive it when millions of hard pressed low income families go without. British Gas calls on the Government to reform the winter fuel allowance to target it at those most in need and to ensure that the allowance is credited directly to the recipient's fuel bill. Together with the support available to customers through their energy supplier, this could more than halve energy bills for the poorest.

British Gas has been working with NGOs and the voluntary sector over a number of years to alleviate fuel poverty. We are spending over £500 million to help our most vulnerable customers between 2008 and 2011, more than any other company in Britain. Already this year we have helped more than a million hard-pressed families with reduced rate tariffs, access to free impartial debt advice and free energy efficiency measures.

Many small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK may be considering a business electricity price comparison in order to cut costs, as research has highlighted the extent of problems caused by adverse weather. According to Lloyds TSB Commercial, the freezing temperatures seen in the winter had an impact on seven out of ten such firms. And for 56 per cent of SMEs a direct financial effect was felt - with more than a third stating that they lost up to £10,000 and seven per cent saying it cost more than £30,000. Cutting back by switching business electricity tariffs could help offset the problems, with just 23 per cent of companies saying they were unaffected. Head of external affairs at Lloyds TSB Commercial Stephen Pegge commented: "The combined impact of both the recession and winter will inevitably have caused cashflow problems for many businesses." E.on recently launched its Business EnergyManager, designed to help SMEs understand how electricity is being used in an organisation. Find out how you could switch suppliers and make sure you're not caught out by the small print with your business electricity prices.

Under Ofgem's new ‘Green Energy Supply' Guidelines, launched in February, suppliers offering ‘green electricity' to consumers under the voluntary tariff system must demonstrate that their green tariff involves a commitment above and beyond what is required from existing Government targets for sourcing renewable electricity and reducing emissions. In most cases that will involve some sort of fund to support additional projects, which might include community-scaled renewables or energy saving projects, or even carbon offsetting projects.

The rules for domestic tariffs in the new scheme require that offsetting projects save or avoid the emission of at least 1 tonne of carbon a dioxide equivalent annually, and 50kg of CO2 equivalent emissions p.a. for all other environmental activities, such as community-scaled renewable electricity projects, these all having to be additional to that saved from any existing programmes e.g. as counted within the Renewable Obligation (RO). Basically they can't just use power already credited under the RO. To meet the new rules they must do more, and the new scheme provides specifications, which will be accredited by an independent panel, overseen by the National Energy Foundation.

The voluntary green power market has always sat uneasily on the margins of the UK Renewables market- which is driven by the Renewable Obligation. All electricity consumers already pay their suppliers extra for that, so the voluntary green power schemes have to offer something else to give extra value - they just can't charge extra twice for the same electricity used to meet the suppliers RO requirements. Most suppliers have already been offering additional green benefits to justify premium prices- some have set up funds to support green projects. But not all have charged more. For example, npower set up a self -financed fund for its Juice scheme to support new marine renewables projects- it's reached over £2m so far.

Quite a range of schemes have emerged, with there being some confusion and indeed scepticism about the validity of some of the claims to ‘green-ness' being made. The new rules puts these schemes, and the additional elements, on a more formal basis.

All the large main suppliers- British Gas, E.On, EDF Energy, RWE Npower, Scottish and Southern Energy and Scottish Power, and linked groups, have signed up to the new scheme, as well as independent supplier Good Energy.

Unlike the ‘big six' suppliers, who also sell non-green power, Good Energy buys in and sells 100% green power from mostly local independent sources- and retires any Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) it gets, rather than selling them on. So it claims that it will help renewables to expand, since the value of ROCs will rise proportionately. The other main independent, Ecotricity, sells a roughly 50/50 mix of green/conventional power, which it sees as being reasonable since it is still four times as much green power than currently required by the RO targets. It also charges a premium green tariff rate, but says the income helps it to invest in new renewable energy projects- and it certainly has been pushing ahead with major wind projects.

However Ecotricity has been very critical of the new OFGEM scheme and has not joined. It argues that the renewable energy used under the new tariffs will still all come from Britain's same pool of RO linked renewable electricity, which meant that the big energy companies would not be required to build any extra major source of renewable energy. They will simply provide added-on schemes such as carbon offsetting, help with micro-generation or energy efficiency schemes.

When the guidelines were first proposed last year, Ecotricity's CEO Dale Vince said: ‘In these guidelines Ofgem are accrediting everything you can imagine except the thing that really counts- green electricity. Of course we believe in planting trees, protecting wildlife and cutting carbon, all of these things have an important role to play- but not in green tariffs. Green tariffs and consumer choice of green-tariffs- people power- could play a crucial role helping us to reach government renewable energy targets. But Ofgem have sidelined the consumer in one fell swoop by excluding real green electricity from their definition of so-called green-tariffs.'

After the launch earlier this year he reaffirmed his view: ‘Green electricity tariffs should be about more than feel-good charity schemes. If suppliers want to plant trees or even help old ladies across the road, I'm all for that but not under the guise of green electricity. Ofgem's new ‘rules' set an artificial standard of what green electricity really is. This can only result in them becoming an expensive niche product in a charity ghetto, doing more harm than good. Consumers will get poorer, but Britain won't get any greener as a result of this'.

That may be overstated, after all the new scheme does require real carbon emission reductions, but he may be right in principle- while some small community project may get some support, it won't lead to extra capacity in the mainstream renewables sector. Basically the problem is that the government wants the Renwables Obligation to be the main vehicle for supporting renewables and sees the green consumer tariff as additional and voluntary. Certainly, so far, the uptake has been marginal- only about 2% of UK consumers have signed up to such schemes. What's not clear is what will happen when the new Feed-In Tariffs (FiTs) for small projects come on line from April onwards . Since it's outside the RO, will that power, including some from community projects, be available for ‘voluntary' tariff schemes? That might change things, even though the FiT is also only seen as a small, marginal exercise, leading to at most to 2% contribution to UK electricity by 2020.

Elsewhere in the EU, Feed In Tariffs and green energy certificates schemes used by consumers are taken seriously, and have had major impacts. I the UK though they are still seen as marginal- the focus remains on the competitive market orientated RO, despite the fact that, so far, this has been poor at delivering much renewable energy capacity.

Business Energy Prices

ScottishPower today announced reductions in its gas prices for around 1.6 million domestic gas customers and a new winter rebate for vulnerable customers who heat their homes with electricity.
From 31st March 2010 ScottishPower's gas prices will fall by an average of 8% or £66 per annum*, one of the highest price cuts announced by any major supplier this year. These latest reductions follow recent cuts to ScottishPower's Online and Fixed Price offers and will make ScottishPower cheaper on average than British Gas for gas^.
Announcing the cuts, Raymond Jack, ScottishPower's, Director of Energy Retail, said:
"We understand that household budgets are tighter as a result of the economic recession and recognise our customers are concerned about the effect of the recent cold weather on their heating bills. With this in mind we are pleased to be able to pass on lower prices and offer additional support to those most in need.
"We must remember though, that despite reductions in wholesale prices, the gas we are using today was bought well in advance when prices were much higher. It is important that we do this to ensure we have sufficient supplies when customers require them and to protect customers from volatile spot market prices.
"Typically, less than 60% of a bill is now based on wholesale costs. Investment, government obligations and the delivery of energy to the home make up a significant portion of our bills. Over the next few decades, the energy industry will need to invest over £200 billion to ensure that we have a modern and reliable low carbon electricity network.
"To get the most from our new lower prices we would also encourage all of our customers to make sure they are taking advantage of our best deals. By making simple changes to the way they pay and by choosing to manage their account online, ScottishPower customers could make further savings of up to £382#."
In addition to the gas price cuts, ScottishPower has also announced support for those vulnerable customers who heat their homes with electricity through a new £50 winter rebate**. Under this program 60,000 vulnerable customers will receive a £50 rebate by the end of March 2010 to help with the cost of their winter fuel bills. This package is in addition to the existing Fresh Start social tariff scheme, which already helps around 80,000 customers over 60 and in receipt of qualifying state benefits with savings of up to £382 per year. ScottishPower also remains the only UK supplier to set standard prepayment prices significantly below standard cash rates for both gas and electricity.

*  8%, £66 reduction is based on a domestic customer using 20,500 kWh of mains gas annually, averaged across payment methods and regions.
^  Based on customers paying monthly by Direct Debit or via a Prepayment meter.
#  Annual saving of £382 is based on an average of ScottishPower's Gas & Electricity Offer customers across Britain with annual mains gas usage of 20,500kWh and annual Standard Rate electricity usage of 3,300kWh, who pay quarterly (excluding prompt payer discounts) and switch to ScottishPower's Online Energy Saver 8 Offer, paying monthly by Direct Debit.
** The £50 winter rebate will be applied to multi-rate electricity accounts. Vulnerable customers have been identified using an Experian Fuel Poverty index. The rebate will be automatically credited to relevant customers accounts by 31st March 2010.

Npower Cheapest Gas Prices!

Npower have today announced reductions in domestic gas prices for approximately 2 million standard domestic gas customers averaging 7% or £50. These cuts will take effect from 26 March 2010 and will make npower cheaper on average than British Gas for gas*

Thousands of households will soon get the chance to receive more accurate energy bills as the one company to offer smart meters extends its reach. First Utility last week became the cheapest energy company in the country with its internet iSave tariff, undercutting British Gas. At the same time, it announced customers on the new iSaveV3 tariff will be offered a free smart meter in coming months, with the aim of nationwide coverage by the end of the year. Only households in the Midlands presently have access to these.

Smart meters that monitor exact energy usage multiple times a day, resulting in accurate bills, have to be in all households by 2020, the government said last year. It is hoped they will also cut carbon levels by encouraging householders to pay more attention to energy usage and make more effort to control it. So should you switch to a smart meter now, and will it really save you money?

As First Utility is the only company offering smart meters it's hard to accurately assess their impact. However, householders should not automatically expect bills to drop.

"Bill shock" is a typical initial reaction of smart meter users, says First Utility, as customers used to smoothing out costs with fixed monthly direct debits are suddenly hit with bills reflecting actual usage over a cold winter. "People who were paying estimated bills before can find they were paying less," says a customer services representative.

First Utility is also struggling with customer service issues, according to a number of postings on web forums including moneysupermarket.com, Google and MoneySavingExpert.com. The company scaled back its initial national smart meter rollout after complaints about service in the early days, but seems to be still dogged by problems. Its customer rating is four out of 10 on moneysupermarket.com, compared with eight for Ebico, an energy company with a similar number of reviews.

One industry insider told the Observer First Utility is beset by complaints and that "customer service is terrible". Another said it is only communicating by email and that this is causing problems, while it is also rejecting a higher-than- average number of customers.

Mark Daeche, First Utility's chief executive, acknowledges it has been struggling with the volume of business and that customer service has suffered. "We have been a victim of our own success," he says.

"However we are expanding staff numbers and I expect to sign the lease for new offices in the next few weeks."

First Utility is still ahead of the game with its smart meters. Other companies are set to follow its lead but will have to learn from its experience when it comes to customer service issues.

British Gas is expected to lead the major push in smart meter installation after announcing it wants to recruit 2,600 "smart meter experts" by 2012, while other companies, such as npower, are testing the meters in different parts of the country. Even relatively tiny newcomer Ovo Energy has said it will be installing such meters this year.

Once smart meters are a regular fixture in UK households, bills should be cheaper, say industry specialists. They will give energy companies better understanding of people's energy usage and allow them to make better decisions when buying energy wholesale. These costs savings should, in theory, be passed on to households.

However, substantial savings will only be made if customers learn from the meters. "If I gave you a smart meter now you wouldn't save a penny," says a spokesman for npower. "It's about encouraging you to interact with it and that's what energy companies need to be doing. The benefits will only come when you start paying attention to it." By this he means making energy-saving decisions after seeing how much is being used by certain actions, such as switching on a hairdryer or taking a long shower.

Some remain sceptical about how much smart meters will change behaviour. Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com, says his company has recently tested energy monitors, devices connected to your electricity supply to tell you how much your energy costs each day but which are not used for billing. "We found that people are fascinated by how much turning on their kettle costs for the first week but they soon lose interest and stop looking at it," he says. "The only real benefit I see is that they will give you accurate billing. But we've almost already got that."

All the cheapest tariffs are online, he says, and most of these require customers to enter monthly meter readings.

Householders keen to get a more accurate view of bills might be better taking a "transitional approach", says Joe Malinowski of the energyshop.com. "I would advise householders to pick the cheapest tariff they can and then buy an electricity monitor to keep track of their daily usage," he says.

Energy companies are generally becoming more proactive in helping customers keep track of their energy usage, which can't come too soon. A report out this weekend from Britain's only not-for-profit energy company, Ebico, reveals more than 80% of the British public do not know how much they pay for their gas and electricity, and one in 10 never looks at their meters.

"Attempts to persuade people to reduce their energy use cannot be successful until consumers can make a simple correlation between the amount of energy used and cost," says Phil Levermore, managing director of Ebico. "People need to relate to household energy use in the same way they do to fuel consumption in a car."

Ebico has teamed with Oxford University to promote an energy-measuring tool. This lets you monitor real energy use and carbon emissions by submitting regular meter readings. You are given results as a £-spend-per-week and an A-E carbon rating. You can compare results with friends, family or other households.

Business Electricity

The average annual household bill for those paying by direct debit will drop by £42 as a result, E.On said.

The move comes after British Gas and Scottish & Southern cut their standard household gas prices by an average of 7% and 4% respectively.

The changes come after a period of lower wholesale costs. The move meant E.On would be offering the cheapest standard tariff for gas users. However, the cheapest average dual fuel bill - covering gas and electricity - is currently with British Gas.

E.on has about 5.5 million UK customers. It said many of those would not be affected by the cuts as they either received only electricity, or were on fixed-rate deals.

Gas providers have come under pressure to cut bills after prices that they pay on the wholesale markets fell.

However consumer groups have criticised the sector for not moving faster to cut prices in the face of a bitterly cold winter.

And British Gas's price reductions came into force immediately - while Scottish & Southern and E.On customers must wait until the end of the month.

The latest moves are expected to push the others in the "big six" energy providers into cutting prices.

"This will heap pressure on the remaining three major suppliers to follow suit." 
 

British Gas today announced it is creating 80 full time jobs at a new insulation depot in Reading, which is due to open in March 2010. The new depot in Basingstoke Road is the first of 12 that British Gas will be opening across the UK over the next 14 months to help its customers become more energy efficient. 

Based in Reading, the new roles will cover Berkshire, Surrey and Oxfordshire and will involve the installation of cavity wall and loft insulation in homes and businesses.

Wayne Smith, Head of Insulation at British Gas said: "In today's economic climate, I'm delighted to talk about the creation of 80 new jobs in Reading.  There is much talk about utilising green technologies and cutting our energy usage, but we can only do this if we have enough people with the right skills.  Insulation is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to cut carbon emissions, which is why British Gas is investing in insulation depots right across the UK."

Martin Salter, MP for Reading West said: "I am delighted that British Gas is investing in Reading and creating much needed engineering, technical and blue collar jobs in my constituency. This is welcome news and a real vote of confidence in the economic recovery that we are starting to see. It is clear that there is a bright future in these new green jobs and in the business of creating better energy efficiency".

The rise in customer numbers, together with rock-bottom wholesale gas and Business electricity prices, should help British Gas to report profits of more than half a billion pounds for the year.

City analysts predict that British Gas Residential, the nation's biggest retail energy supplier, generated profits of £554 million in 2009 for its parent company, Centrica — up 46 per cent from £379 million in the previous year.
 
British Gas comes in from the cold

Centrica, due to publish its annual results on Thursday, is expected to reveal that with 150,000 new accounts, British Gas has finally reversed a seven-year run of falling customer numbers, bringing the total to 15.7 million.

Bobby Chada, utilities analyst at Morgan Stanley, said British Gas was in a "sweet spot" following a 7 per cent price-cut in its gas tariff this month and predicted that the group would continue to win new accounts in 2010.

Between the end of 2003 and 2008 Centrica shed a total of three million customers, amid accusations of uncompetitive pricing and poor quality service. Desertions reached a peak after a botched new IT system in 2006 that reduced the customer billing process to chaos.

Profits at British Gas were also boosted last year after wholesale gas and electricity prices plunged as the recession sapped demand. The wholesale price of gas fell to below 40p per therm in the second half, down from more than 100p per therm during mid-2008.

Sam Laidlaw, chief executive of Centrica, is expected to use Thursday's results to unveil details of a new strategy focused on selling home services, including insurance products, energy efficiency and renewable energy products such as wind turbines and solar panels.

But while British Gas enjoyed brisk growth in both profits and customer numbers in 2009, profits across the wider Centrica group are expected to have fallen back. Other, less well recognised businesses such as Centrica Energy, which operates power stations and acts as a wholesale gas supplier, are expected to report steeply lower earnings.

Average forecasts from City analysts predict total operating profits of £1.82 billion for the whole Centrica group, down 7 per cent from £1.94 billion in 2008.

Nevertheless, the announcement of a big rise in profits for British Gas is likely to fuel anger from consumer groups who accused the company of delaying retail price cuts last year, despite a steep fall in wholesale prices.

They have also attacked Centrica for profiting from increased demand for gas during the recent cold snap.

The results next week will not include earnings from January, when Britain was hit by some of its worst winter weather since the early 1980s. On January 7, UK daily gas demand hit a record high of 454 million cubic metres, up 30 per cent from a seasonal average of 350 million cubic metres.

Microgeneration is the new buzz word

British Gas seems finally to be on something of a roll. The company, which now claims to be the UK's cheapest gas supplier after trimming retail prices this month, is tempting new customers and winning market share from its Big Six rivals.

The strength of the British Gas brand and the company's hefty marketing spend during the downturn have no doubt helped.

But the strategy pursued by Centrica, its parent, of bundling gas and electricity supply together with home services, such as boiler, plumbing maintenance and appliance insurance products has also proved remarkably effective in drawing in new customers.

Now Sam Laidlaw, Centrica's chief executive, is planning to open up a new front in the battle for customers by capitalising on government plans to improve home energy efficiency and to encourage so-called microgeneration of renewable energy, which will see households producing some of their own power from small-scale wind and solar generation.

He believes that by offering customers "home energy audits" and with the use of new technology such as smart meters, Centrica can build a whole new market installing and maintaining these sorts of products.

Meanwhile, two shrewd deals last year could mark a turning point for Centrica by permanently reshaping the business.

Historically, Centrica has suffered from a shortage of its own gas and electricity production. That has forced the company to buy supplies on the open market, leaving it exposed to volatile wholesale prices.

The £1.3 billion purchase of Venture Production, a North Sea gas producer, and a 20 per cent stake in British Energy, the UK nuclear generator, from EDF for £2.3 billion, have helped to solve this problem.

Centrica is now more vertically integrated and more independent than it has been since its creation in 1997 after a demerger from the old British Gas.

In time, that should also improve Centrica's ability to compete on price.

Business electricity

Biomethane will make a contribution to decarbonising the gas grid by delivering renewable heat to households through the existing gas network and central heating boilers.  According to a study by National Grid, it could account for at least 15 per cent of the domestic gas market by 2020.

Biomethane is a mixture of gases (predominantly methane) that are sourced from organic material, such as cattle slurry, food and household waste.  It has similar thermal characteristics to natural gas and, once upgraded to grid specification, can be injected into the gas grid for end use by customers.

The first project will involve British Gas working with Thames Water and Scotia Gas Networks to build plant at Didcot sewage works.  Thames Water already makes and flares raw biogas from sewage processing.  The project will design and build a plant to clean the gas and inject it into the grid.

First gas from this project could flow into the grid in summer 2010.  Upon completion, British Gas will also enter into a long-term gas purchase contract with Thames Water.

British Gas has also signed development agreements with four other companies to carry out feasibility studies with a view to delivering biomethane to grid.  The agreements are with GWE Biogas (using food waste and farm crops), Potters Waste (manufacturing waste), Dillington Biogas (farm waste slurry) and Adnams Brewery (brewery waste).

Assessment and development of these projects will start immediately.

Gearóid Lane, Managing Director of Communities and New Energy, British Gas, said: "We're delighted that the Government will provide support to make investment in biomethane commercially viable.  With 85 per cent of homes heated by natural gas, this is a fantastic opportunity to deliver renewable heat through our existing gas network and central heating boilers."

"These five projects demonstrate once again British Gas' leadership in renewable energy.  By making early investments in biomethane we intend to drive forward the opportunity to deliver green gas to our customers."

Government support for biomethane injection into the grid is part of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), which sets out proposed financial incentives for the generation of renewable heat by households, communities and industry

Mel Karam, Thames Water's director of asset management, said:

"Our  project  with  Centrica and Scotia Gas Networks at Didcot marks a big step  forward  for  our ‘poo power' endeavours. For decades we've generated electricity  by  burning  sewage  sludge or methane derived from it, saving £15m  in power bills last year alone. Next on our renewable energy hit list is  using  biomethane  from  sewage  as another source of gas, so to see it become  a reality later this year will be great for customers and great for the environment."

Ofgem 'has failed to protect the UK from increasing business gas and electricity prices'

Energy regulator Ofgem is under pressure amid concern that it has failed to protect the UK against ever-increasing business gas and electricity prices.

It has been widely reported that the recent cold snap, coupled with Norwegian pipeline supply issues, has seen gas prices rise significantly on the wholesale market.

According to financialadvice.co.uk, these price hikes will in due course filter through to the consumer market.

However, despite its warnings the regulator has failed to introduce any new price regulations or price restrictions on UK energy supplies.

"Protecting consumers is meant to be Ofgem's first priority, but so far the regulator has been shying away from tackling the big issues," Dr Fiona Cochrane, a senior policy adviser for Which?, told the Times.

Dr Cochrane added that Which? Would continue to urge Ofgem to take action to ensure business gas and electricity customers did not lose out.

Businessgasprices.com is the UK's leading business price comparison and switching service. Find out how you could get the cheapest business gas prices and business electricity prices

Friends of the Earth has threatened to launch a legal challenge against the government over its "fundamentally flawed" plans to approve hundreds of new nuclear reactors, power plants, wind farms, electricity pylons and pipelines.
The group has written to energy secretary Ed Miliband warning him that government planning statements issued in November breach environmental regulations and had not followed proper consultation. Friends of the Earth said it was also supported by conservation groups, the WWF and RSPB.
The energy industry and ministers have been braced for a legal challenge for months, particularly over plans to build as many as 10 new nuclear reactors.
Friends of the Earth said it believed the statements, which new planning commission the IPC will use to block or approve applications, would result in Britain "locking-in" to a high-carbon energy infrastructure. It said the IPC should have to directly take into account the carbon emissions resulting from individual applications.
Friends of the Earth's executive director, Andy Atkins, said: "The government's draft national planning statements on energy are fundamentally flawed. The consultation was insufficient, the alternatives were inadequately explored, and the policies are poorly justified. And because they fail to assess the carbon impact that the proposed development will have they threaten to undermine UK carbon budgets."
A government spokesman said that the statements were set in accordance with its overall carbon budgets.

British Gas Business

Tel: 0845 600604 Fax: N/A

The Retention Team, British Gas Business, Spinneyside, Penman Way, Grove Park, Leicester LE19 1SZ

contract.renewals@centrica.co.uk (can also email the account manager named on each bill)

CNG Business

Tel: 01423 502554 Fax: 01423 502556

Contract Natural Gas Ltd, CNG House, 5 Victoria Avenue, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG1 1EQ

info@cngltd.co.uk

Corona Tel: 08442 646464 Fax: 0870 2429665

Corona Energy, Edward Hyde Building, 38 Clarendon Road, Watford WD17 1JW

mail@coronaenergy.co.uk

EDF Business Energy

Tel: 0800 096 2255 Fax: 01273 793 114 (marked ‘Site Loss')

EDF Energy, Southdown View Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN14 8NL

customer_correspondence@edfenergy.com

Eon Business

Tel: 0800 068 6516 Fax: 0115 877 7514

Eon Contract Terminations, PO Box 9042, Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottingham NG15 5AZ

smecontractterminations@eonenergy.com or business@eonenergy.com

Haven Power

Tel: 01473 725943 Fax: 01473 726788

Haven Power, The Havens, Ransomes Europark, Ipswich IP3 9SJ

info@havenpower.com

Npower Business

Tel: 0845 166 3360 (3320 for gas) Fax: 01482 495 305 (for both)

Npower Business, Contract Terminations, Bridge House, 200 Clough Road, Hull HU5 1SN

smeconsultant.renewals@npower.com

Opus

Tel: 0845 3302655 Fax: 0845 223 5445

Opus Energy Limited, Royal Pavilion, 2 Summerhouse Road, Northampton NN3 6BJ

contactus@opusenergy.com

Shell Gas

Tel: 0207 257 0100 Fax: 0207 257 3410

Shell, 1-3 The Strand, London WC2N 5EJ

user@shell.com

Scottish Power Business

Tel: 0845 2700 700 Fax: 0141 568 3383

Scottish Power, SME Contracts Manager, Section 12, Cathcart Business Park, Glasgow G44 4BE

customer.services@scottishpower.com

Scottish & Southern

Tel: 01256 304278 Fax: 01256 304270

Energy Sales Dep, Scottish & Southern, Centenary House, 10 Winchester Road, Basingstoke RG21 8UQ

terminations.Reboot@scottish-southern.co.uk

Notice: at least one calendar month ahead of contract end date

Notice periods and contact details are correct @ the time of publication.

Business energy prices

"This claim by the GMB is untrue. 

"While we did remove around 300 non customer-facing roles last year, we also announced the creation of more than 4,000 new roles - including engineers and smart energy experts who will lead the roll-out of smart meters and energy efficiency measures.

"Just this week we briefed the GMB on our plans for growth as a business. It is very disappointing that the GMB has now seen fit to tell the media, incorrectly, that we have plans to make major redundancies, as this will cause concern among our people who are all working flat out to keep our customers homes warm and lit during this cold snap."

Russia comes to the rescue as Norwegian gas supplies to Britain falter Energy users' watchdog says UK lucky to escape gas shortages

Russia rescued British energy consumers by ensuring a steady flow of gas into the power network as supplies from Norway faltered during the cold weather, industry customers users said today.

As the National Grid warned of a "high" possibility of shortages in the north-east and south-west owing to another cold snap, the Major Energy Users' Council said Britain had been lucky to survive without shortages. Eddie Proffitt, chairman of the council's gas group, said: "The [British] gas industry has coped very well but we have been lucky. It would have been desperate if we had seen the kind of disputes between Russia and Ukraine that have reduced gas flows on the continent in the past two or three Januaries."

Politicians said four "gas balancing alerts" – warnings of pending shortages – in the space of a week meant it was time Britain reviewed its whole energy policy.

"This winter has shown the system we have devised does not have the resilience it should have. It runs on a 'just-in-time' principle which has economic benefits when it works but risks ending up in a 'just-too-late' if all goes wrong," said John Hemming, MP for Birmingham Yardley.

"If the Russians had hit the kind of problems with its neighbours seen in previous years then we would have toppled off the knife edge we have been sitting on with our gas supplies."

The disruptions to supplies from Norway – normally seen as highly reliable – left Britain importing gas through the interconnector pipeline which runs from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Bacton in north Norfolk. In previous years shortages from Siberia have led German and Dutch suppliers to halt gas exports to Britain.

The National Grid admitted that much of the stress in the gas supply system had been caused by technical problems on Norwegian fields such as Ormen Lange and Troll but said everything was back to normal. A Grid spokeswoman insisted the gas alerts had worked as they were expected to: drawing new supplies from other sources, such as liquefied natural gas on board vessels and the continent. She declined to comment on what would have happened if Russian gas had not been flowing normally.

The Major Energy Users' Council also had serious concerns that changes to the regulatory regime next year could make the situation worse. Proffitt said there were 1,250 customers around Britain on "interruptible" gas contracts, but this number would fall to 27 by October 2011 when new Ofgem regulations come into force. "Some of our members are very concerned about this because they fear a supply shortage could lead to demands that sites lose their gas. Many of those who choose to have interruptible contracts have back-up power sources such as diesel-fired generators," he said.

Nearly 100 customers had their power cut at one stage last week, including the Vauxhall car plant at Ellesmere Port on Merseyside. National Grid said none were cut off today though its website earlier in the day had said that there was a high risk of interruptions in the north-east and south-west. This eased off later.

Majority of electricity in the UK is produced from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas. The power stations that burn these fuels to generate the electricity emit thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year and this has a major impact on the environment.

A much more environmentally friendly option is green electricity. This is produced from renewable energy sources and has little or no impact on the environment. There are a variety of ways of generating green electricity, which are listed below.

Wind Power
The winds that sweep the UK can be utilised by wind turbines to provide electricity. These are in use in growing numbers in the UK and many more are planned, particularly off shore wind farms and domestic turbines with the availability of government funded renewable and alternative energy grants.

Solar Power
The sun can be used to provide electricity, even here in the UK! Solar photovoltaic panels installed in buildings turn rays from the sun directly into electricity and solar energy into hot water.

Hydro Power
Water turbines are currently in use in the UK and provide around 1% of the electricity used here. This technology has already been in use here for over 100 years.

Wave Power
There is great potential in using the energy created by the powerful waves off the British coastline. This is still in development stages but looks likely to be a major source of energy in the future.

Tidal Power
One possible way of using the sea tides as a source of energy is by creating turbines underwater similar to wind turbines. Another system, which involves capturing tides behind an estuary barrier and releasing at low tide, is planned for the Severn Estuary.

Geothermal
This type of energy is created from hot rocks deep under the ground. In some areas, steam rises at ground level and can be used to power steam turbines to generate electricity. Water can also be directed down to the rocks creating steam. Geothermal energy can provide heat and hot water for domestic use through ground source heat pumps.

Biomass
Organic matter or specially grown plants are used as fuel for power stations or in the form wooden pellets for domestic biomass boilers. This is a carbon neutral method of providing electricity, as the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when the plants are burnt is equal to the amount absorbed when they were growing.

Landfill gas
Household waste that is disposed of in landfill sites across the country gives off methane gas whilst it decomposes. This gas can be captured and burnt in gas turbines to generate electricity. This will give off carbon dioxide but much less than the methane would emit.

Waste Incineration
As the UK rapidly runs out of landfill sites for waste, much of it is now being burnt in special incinerators. A percentage of this energy is being used to provide electricity. However, this is a disputed method as much of the waste being burnt could have been recycled. It also emits toxins into the air.

All major energy providers now offer green electricity to their customers either by supplying your power from a sustainable source or by funding renewable energy projects. The government has put in place a law, called the Renewables Obligation, stating that a percentage of each unit of electricity an energy provider sells must be offset with electricity from a renewable source. This percentage is set to rise but currently stands at 3%.

Eco Friendly Products
In addition to considering green alternatives to heating and powering your home it's equally important to consider purchasing eco friendly products. These are items manufactured from recyclable products, bulbs that use less energy and goods manufactured from sustainable and renewable resources, to name but a few.

You can also easily recycle items within the home such as plastic bags, bottles, boxes or even start harvesting rainwater for the garden, they are all small contributions that collectively make a massive difference to the environment.

The price of carbon – paid by heavy polluters such as power plant operators – plummeted yesterday by almost 10% on Europe's emissions trading market. This was in response to the EU scrapping a planned commitment to cut emissions by 30% by 2020 because other countries failed to show similar ambition.

E.ON and Centrica warned that they would not invest the tens of billions of pounds to build expensive new nuclear reactors and clean coal plants at today's carbon price, which is supposed to penalise dirty coal and gas plants.

Spot prices are now around €12 (£10) a tonne, close to a six-month low, and experts say that to make building new nuclear reactors financially viable, a price closer to €40 is needed.

A spokesman for E.ON said that without government action to tighten carbon markets, companies would wait until ageing reactors and coal plants close over the next decade and until power prices rocket before they made the investment.

"It is taking a hell of a risk of the lights going out," he said. "Power prices would go through the roof – they would have to get at a level where we think 'there's money to be made'. But we will get very, very tight [on security of supply]. It's the worst case scenario."

Some companies including Centrica repeated calls for the UK government to intervene and put a floor – or higher minimum price – on carbon to guarantee them a profit on building the expensive low carbon emitting power plants. The Guardian reported in October that senior government officials had promised the nuclear industry to fix a higher carbon price in the event of a failure at Copenhagen. A spokeswoman for Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, last night would not comment on his plans.

Centrica also pointed out that the failure by the EU to increase its commitment from a 20% reduction in carbon emissions to a 30% cut by 2020 left the UK at a distinct disadvantage. Gordon Brown has already set a much higher target for the UK to cut emissions by 34% by 2020. This will make it harder for heavy polluters in Britain, such as manufacturers, to be competitive with their European rivals, who have less onerous pollution targets. The EU's lower reduction target – which determines the price of carbon on the EU emissions market – also makes it much harder for the UK which needs a higher carbon price to meet its own target.

Global energy companies such as Shell have also been pushing for a global market for carbon as the best way to stimulate investment in low carbon technologies. But analysts said the Copenhagen talks made this less likely, because countries did not sign up to individual binding emissions targets as they did under the Kyoto protocol. Countries also split into negotiating blocks, epitomised by the final agreement drawn up by the US, China, India, South Africa and Brazil, which excluded the rest of the world, making it harder to set up a global carbon trading system.

Andreas Arvanitakis, senior analyst at Point Carbon, said: "In some respects, it looks as though a single international carbon market is less and less likely, with a patchwork of regional price signals emerging instead."

A spokeswoman for Shell was downbeat about the Copenhagen summit. "The Copenhagen accord is just a step towards a global framework, but much more is required. We appreciate the difficulties of the process and recognise that the accord reflects a true political willingness to combat climate change. However, it remains unclear how this political willingness will translate into concrete steps and drive an international process to deliver a global framework." business gas prices

How would you like £10,000 to make your home more energy efficient? British Gas is looking for 100 households to take part in a new scheme called Pay as You Save. The trial will help the government decide how it delivers on its pledge to make the UK's homes more energy efficient.

Although the launch was rather lost, by coinciding with the first day of the Copenhagen talks, the pilot scheme will see householders given a loan to allow them to install either energy efficiency measures or micro-generation projects, such as photovoltaic solar panels.

The householder pays back the loan over as much as 25 years, through the money saved by reduced gas and electricity bills, or the income generated by the energy they produce. The consumer can therefore pay for the energy- and climate-saving measures without incurring extra monthly costs.

The government has pinned its hopes on this scheme as it struggles to upgrade the nation's housing stock and produce more electricity from renewable sources. This week the Conservative party said it would launch a similar scheme in partnership with Tesco and Marks & Spencer if it won the next election. It was apparently unaware of this trial.

The Energy Saving Trust, an independent non-profit body that offers advice to government and the private sector, says its research shows that householders are more likely to make larger investments if the costs can be spread through the savings they make on their energy bills. It couldn't say whether the loans would be interest-free, as the details are "yet to be properly established".

In total, 500 households will benefit from the pilot scheme – 100 each in Birmingham, Sunderland, Sutton, and Stroud. A further 100 can join the scheme through British Gas, although only households in the south-east are eligible.

The pilot scheme will be used to evaluate which delivery method provides the greatest benefits. The loans will start going out next spring, and the trial will run until April 2011.

British Gas is especially keen to hear from householders who are interested in micro-generation projects.

A spokesman says those applying do not have to be British Gas customers. The company is looking for different types of homes that would benefit from measures such as photo voltaic solar panels, air source heat pumps, solar water heaters, or solid-wall insulation.

If you are interested in applying email British Gas. Your email should include your postal address and phone number, as well as giving an indication of what measures you are interested in and brief details about your house.

Because the trial runs for two years, it would help if you are not planning to move during that period, although if there is a mass take-up of the scheme, the debt might stay with the home if the household installing the measures moves before it is paid off.

Speaking at the launch, energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband said: "Many British householders want to reduce their emissions, but are put off by the upfront cost of installing insulation, solar panels or ground source heat pumps. Pay As You Save will trial different ways of paying for this work. One quarter of the UK's total emissions come from homes, so householders have to be a part of the solution to climate change. Increasing the energy efficiency of homes not only helps reduce emissions, but will also help reduce fuel bills."

Business Electricity

British Gas is changing the way it bills its customers by offering to get rid of unpopular estimated bills. The company said estimates are the biggest source of frustration among customers because they are "hard to predict and budget for". Instead it is encouraging people to use Energy Smart meters, which allow customers to submit readings online or by text, and pay monthly for the exact amount they use. The new service comes with a monitor which displays and updates the household's gas and electricity usage.

The move away from estimated bills is part of a campaign to encourage more customer feedback. British Gas has also invited customers to join a panel "to come into our business, meet our people, ask anything they like - and report back publicly on what they've found". However, the company explained it would not be cutting prices this year as it is still supplying gas and electricity purchased at prices that were fixed more than twelve months ago.

 Campaigners said the firm was making "a killing" while many pensioners were left struggling to pay high energy bills over the winter months. They called for the company to cut energy bills and offer more help to the most vulnerable people. Centrica has revealed profits of over £1.8billion, with British Gas raking in over £540million despite a 7 per cent fall in energy consumption. Chris Brooks, secretary of the Suffolk Pensioners Association, said: "It is hard for pensioners during these winter months because it means that a higher percentage of the state pension is spent on energy.

 "Energy prices have a great impact on pensioners because during these cold times the heat is essential otherwise hypothermia becomes a massive problem. "It's an endless circle because the state pension is below the official poverty level and it just makes it so hard for people. "Poor little, frail old pensioners just don't really stand much of a chance."

Bob Russell, Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester, said: "I think this indicates how unfair life is. "It shows the abstract failures of this government by highlighting these private industries are making a killing while others suffer. "It won't just be pensioners that suffer but it will also be the millions of children who live in poverty in this country." Tim Yeo, Conservative MP for Suffolk South, agreed that energy costs were increasingly becoming an issue for older generations. He said: "Energy prices are a real problem and they are going to rise in the next five years - so issues will become a lot worse. "It is the unavoidable outcome that costs will become more expensive as energy supplies become greener.

 "A certain amount can be done, such as insulation, but people really do need cash payments and assistance - I'm very concerned about this issue." British Gas has also revealed that wholesale gas prices are set to increase from 31p to 49p a therm for the winter period of 2010/11 and could reach up to 57p in the following winter months.

 Wholesale prices are fixed around 18 months to two years in advance, which suppliers argue means that there are often substantial time lags before they pass on changes to customers. A spokesperson for Centrica said: "We cut our gas and electric prices earlier this year by 10 per cent which is more than any other provider. "By doing so, we have become the cheapest supplier in electricity only and the second cheapest for dual fuel - this is why we have gained 200,000 more customers since the end of June. "We have a special tariff particularly for vulnerable people and those with a lower income - this has been widely available and is currently being used by 500,000 of our customers."

 A spokesperson from the Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "Because of significant increases in fuel bills, we are determined to redouble our efforts to help the most vulnerable. "We will build on the measures we've already brought forward, including the £20billion on benefits and programmes, without which 800,000 more people would have found themselves in fuel poverty. "We plan to legislate to give new powers to the regulator to take action, make social tariffs mandatory not optional, and we are planning new measures on energy efficiency targeted at the poorest."

British Gas staff manned the phones at their call centre at the Oxford Business Park South, in Cowley, on Friday night to collect charity donations via the Children In Need hotline for the first time this year. Callers pledged £122,296 in the five hours, including one single donation of £5,000. Staff also raised thousands of pounds dressing up for work in their pyjamas and taking part in a sponsored cross-dressing football match and chest waxing. Leena Patel, employee engagement officer at British Gas, said: "It was amazing and so surprising to find people being so generous.

"We had children phone up offering their pocket money and we had to explain they must go to the bank to do it.

"Then we had the other end of the extreme when a guy phoned up and donated £5,000.

"It is just amazing how many different people phoned up to pledge money.

"The office was so busy and so noisy.

"I have never seen the office like that.

"It was the first time we have been a Children In Need call centre.

"We have done Sport Relief and Comic Relief before, but Children In Need is bigger."

About 170 members of staff, including managing director Kanat Emiroglu, were joined by friends and family members volunteering to take the calls. Mrs Patel added: "To get £122,000 is staggering as it is almost double what we would normally receive for Sport Relief and Comic Relief." Nationally, 3,000 volunteers at 52 call centres, including Oxford, took 200,000 calls during the night. The Children In Need campaign had raised £19m by the time the live BBC1 television show presented by Terry Wogan and Tess Daly finished. The star-studded telethon featured appearances by Dr Who and the cast of EastEnders. In Oxfordshire two nursery school nurses sat in baths of custard, rugby players had their chests waxed and children from Woodstock covered themselves in Pudsey-style spots.