Home supply and services

  • Home supply and services

    Rocketing energy prices and failing suppliers—what is happening?

    Sky high gas prices and energy suppliers going out of business have been key headlines in the news over recent weeks, but what is actually happening?  Through the COVID-19 pandemic we saw much lower gas prices, which have been surging upwards since the spring and risen rapidly through the summer, a time...

  • Home supply and services

    The default tariff cap and the law of unintended consequences

    With all eyes on the immediate challenges facing the energy supply market and the impact of the default tariff cap as a contributing factor, it is important to note that the cap for the coming winter period should not be considered in isolation and that attention will swiftly turn to...

  • Business supply and services

    Have we given up on competition in the retail market?

    “Q: How does 2pm on Wednesday sound? A: Assuming we still have a functioning energy market that'd be great”.  It’s not really what you expect to see in an email at 5pm on a Friday when trying to arrange a call. But then these are certainly not normal times. In this Energy Perspective, we will...

  • Home supply and services

    Consolidation in the energy market predicted to continue

    It has been a turbulent time for the retail energy market, experiencing a period of consolidation with mergers and supplier exits. This supplier consolidation is expected to continue in the near term. If suppliers fail to shift their business models for the new world it is likely to continue, according...

  • Home supply and services

    “Green” tariffs in the spotlight as BEIS commences review

    With the announcement on 16 August of a call for evidence on Designing a Framework for Transparency of Carbon Content in Energy Products, consultant Josephine Lord looks at the issues being considered and what the future may hold for so-called “green” tariffs. The call for evidence is the first step...

  • Heat networks

    Reallocating electricity policy costs to incentivise low carbon heating technologies

    Funding the cost of decarbonising the power system has mainly been through the consumers' electricity bills. In fact, in 2020-21 these costs amounted to a whopping £10bn. But is this method of raising revenue for decarbonisation still fit for purpose when faced with the need to decarbonise the nation's heat?...

  • Business supply and services

    Energy suppliers must be ready to demonstrate compliance with new principles

    From 22 January, energy suppliers were required to follow new principles resulting from Ofgem’s Supplier Licensing Review (SLR), which initially kicked off nearly three years ago. Such was the breadth of the SLR, changes were introduced in two rounds, with the first round of changes bringing the introduction of tougher...

  • Announcement

    BBC interview | Robert Buckley discusses Ofgem’s price cap

    Robert Buckley spoke to Felicity Hannah on BBC Five Live’s Wake up to Money programme ahead of Ofgem’s announcement to increase the default price cap by £96 to £1,138. Robert explained that a combination of a rise in wholesale prices and policy costs for renewable electricity, as well as the inclusion of £23.69...

  • Business supply and services

    A look back at 2020 part 3

    As we take our first steps into 2021, we continue to look back at the biggest developments in the UK energy markets in 2020, setting us up for the significant year ahead. The mergers and exits from the supply market that were seen in 2019 continued into 2020 and led...

  • Business supply and services

    Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose: the RO late payment deadline

    Today (11 November 2020) Ofgem has confirmed that there will be mutualisation of the 2019-20 Renewables Obligation. On Monday, in our 'Energy Spectrum' Perspective, we explained to customer’s why this was important and likely and what it means for the energy industry. Find out more about a free trial to Energy...

  • Business supply and services

    Responses to COVID-19 boost energy suppliers’ reputations with customers

    2020 is, unfortunately, proving to be a year that we will never forget. It has been a year of change and adaptability for us all, including domestic energy suppliers, with many suppliers having had to adapt to increasing numbers of customers in distress while operating at reduced capacity and/or with...

  • Business supply and services

    COVID-19: A collection of resources

    This year has seen Governments, businesses and industries coming to terms with the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. The arrival of the pandemic shook the energy market across the value chain. Throughout, our experts have provided the industry with coverage of how COVID-19 has impacted the energy market. We analysed...

  • Business supply and services

    Why now? Regulation in the TPI market

    Ofgem published its long-awaited policy proposals on 29 July following a review of the microbusiness sector. These build on its initial consultation from May 2019 and look to ensure that microbusinesses can access a competitive market and secure adequate levels of protection. The approach will be a defining moment for...

  • Business supply and services

    All mod cons: Routes to market for household flexibility

    According to National Grid’s 2019 Future Energy Scenarios[1], meeting decarbonisation targets could require deployment in GB of 13GW of flexibility from commercial and industrial consumers by 2050, compared to around 1GW currently available. While there are currently no comparable forecasts for domestic demand-side response (DSR), energy suppliers and technology companies...

  • Home supply and services

    COVID-19-driven changes to electricity Third Party Charges

    The impact of COVID-19 on the energy sector has been a hot topic for the last few months. As we progress further into the UK’s lockdown period we are now beginning to piece together the wider picture of effects across energy Third Party Charges (TPCs). These impacts are expected to...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Tesla builds capacity across the energy value chain

    In May, Tesla released details of its Autobidder platform, which can aggregate and optimise assets down to the behind-the-meter domestic scale for wholesale trading and grid services. The platform has already been utilised at a site in South Australia and is now available for generators and suppliers in GB. Tesla...

  • Home supply and services

    From “what if?” to “what now?”

    As the UK begins its third week of lockdown, the nation’s energy sector continues to wait to see whether there will be any economic or financial support targeted specifically at end users, suppliers, network operators and fellow participants alike. Immediate issues for end users include their ability to pay their...

  • Home supply and services

    BBC Radio Norfolk interview: The drop in oil price and the potential effects on customers bills

    Craig Lowrey, one of our Senior Consultants, was live on BBC Radio Norfolk’s airwaves discussing the recent drop in oil prices, following a dispute by Russia and Saudi Arabia over reducing oil production. Craig told listeners that last Friday in response to the Coronavirus hitting global demand for oil, there...

  • Home supply and services

    DCC systems now supporting over 4mn meters

    One year ago, the SMETS1 end date was approaching for suppliers with derogations and for smart meters installed for prepayment customers. At this time, there were only around half a million SMETS2 meters installed, with almost 12mn SMETS1 meters deployed. A year on, SMETS2 installs have ramped up significantly, and...

  • Home supply and services

    Comparing smart tariffs – could it be smarter?

    By the end of September 2019, 15.6mn households had a smart meter installed, increasing access to consumption information and monitoring. While only a small proportion of households currently use half hourly tariffs (and there isn’t currently market wide half hourly settlement of domestic smart meters), the industry is widely discussing...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Missile strikes and price spikes risk higher bills for UK customers

    The past week has seen a period of renewed volatility in the energy market, notably in the oil price, given developments in the Middle East. With the missile strike by US forces on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on 3rd January being followed by a retaliatory strike by Iran...

  • Home supply and services

    The competition is on in the domestic energy market

    It is difficult to deny that the Big Six have faced significant competitive pressure in the domestic market over the course of the year. Despite the 11 domestic market exits recorded since January 2019, new entry, new propositions and revitalised sales channels have resulted in some of the highest switching...

  • Home supply and services

    Consumer energy customer event 2019: The energy market now in 4D

    The annual retail customer event – Setting the course for net zero, was held on 19 November. Delegates heard from seven speakers discussing how finance, transport, heat, consumers and regulation could be utilised to help GB meet its 2050 net zero target. The event began with Gareth Miller Cornwall Insight’s...

  • Home supply and services

    Editor’s Pick | All Hallow’s Eve in the retail market

    This article was originally published in Energy Spectrum Issue 689 on 4 November 2019. Whether by accident or design last week’s last payment date for the 2018-19 Renewables Obligation (RO) followed nine days after Ofgem issued its proposals and impact assessment for ongoing monitoring of energy retailers. Halloween was always going to...

  • Home supply and services

    Editor Pick’s | Fuel Poverty Monitor reveals systemic challenges in Northern Ireland

    This article was originally published on 8 October 2019 in Energy Spectrum Ireland.  On 17 September, EAS and National Energy Action (NEA) published The Fuel Poverty Monitor 2018/19. It highlighted that stakeholders in Northern Ireland have shown an interest in energy efficiency and affordability, however, several barriers to entry remain. Affecting...

  • Home supply and services

    Editor’s Pick | GB retailers set sights on international markets

    Cornwall Insight retail market analyst Molly Lloyd examines suppliers moving into international markets and discusses some of their potential motives for doing so. The GB energy retail market has long been characterised by entries and acquisitions from suppliers outside these shores. The oil and gas majors in the 1980s and...

  • Home supply and services

    Power to the People? The rise of municipal energy companies continues…

    London has become the latest municipal authority to take a position in the energy market through the launch of the “London Power” white-label partnership with Octopus Energy. Our Energy for Londoners Feasibility Study, commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA) in 2017, advised on the pros and cons of establishing a fully-licensed...

  • Home supply and services

    Editor’s Pick | Australia’s Retailer Reliability Obligation implemented

    A new mechanism to support energy system reliability came into effect on 1 July in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM). The Retailer Reliability Obligation (RRO), if triggered, requires suppliers and some large energy users to hold contracts with or invest directly in generation or demand response. It has been introduced...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    The default price cap decreases by £75 but predicted to rise in April 2020

    Ofgem has announced today that the default tariff price cap will fall by £75 from £1,254 to £1,179 per year and the new levels will apply from 1 October. The pre-payment meter cap has also been reduced, falling from £1,242 to £1,217 per year for the same period. Lower wholesale...

  • Home supply and services

    Editor’s Pick | The Dark Arts of removing price caps

    The regulator is facing a difficult challenge. Tasked by the legislation that introduced the mechanism, Ofgem now finds itself in the position of establishing whether competition in the market is “effective” enough to remove the cap on default energy tariffs. It has the opportunity to make the decision each year...