Home supply and services

  • Home supply and services

    How has Ofgem’s focus on vulnerability evolved? 

    Over the last few months, the focus on protecting consumers has stepped up as Ofgem begins to take strides toward improving treatment of vulnerable customers. In this week's blog, we discuss some of Ofgem's recent work around protecting customers, including its Vulnerability Summit, and most recently looking at the calls...

  • Home supply and services

    Generation guaranteed: suppliers increase Smart Export Guarantee rates  

    The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), as the successor to the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme, offers payments to small-scale low-carbon generators for the electricity they export, with export rates and tariffs being set by SEG licensees. Since the new year we have seen notable increases and changes in the export rates...

  • Home supply and services

    Our response to the publication of the REMA consultation summary

    On 7th March the government published the summary of responses received from its Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) consultation. The responses received showed the industry has expressed strong support (92% agreement) for energy market reform that prioritises decarbonisation, security of supply, and cost-effectiveness. Respondents also agreed that the current...

  • Home supply and services

    Integrate to Zero: Carbon and cost reduction opportunities from integrated energy in GB

    Our insight paper, 'Integrate to Zero: Carbon and cost reduction opportunities from integrated energy in GB', summarises the current market landscape, opportunities, and barriers to offering integrated energy propositions to consumers in Great Britain (GB). We define an integrated energy proposition as one which aims to provide end users with...

  • Home supply and services

    Our response to the announcement of the April price cap

    The predictions for the Default Tariff Cap in this piece are out of date, please click here to find our latest forecasts and commentary on the cap. Following the announcement by Ofgem that April’s Default Tariff Cap (price cap) will fall to an average £3,280 per year, nearly a £1,000 drop for...

  • Home supply and services

    Our final forecast for the April price cap

    The predictions for the Default Tariff Cap in this piece are out of date, please click here to find our latest forecasts and commentary on the cap. We have released the final prediction for the April Default Tariff Cap (price cap) following the closure of the observation window1, on 17 February. We...

  • Home supply and services

    Benefits of household rooftop solar – a personal point of view

    This is the next blog post in our irregular series from the Cornwall Insight team on their experiences of installing or owning various energy assets. Like my colleague Ed, I took the decision to invest in solar in March last year as energy prices were making front page news. So yes,...

  • Home supply and services

    Addressing consumer harms in the non-domestic market

    In recent months, Ofgem has shone a light on areas across both the domestic and non-domestic market where suppliers could improve their practices for customers and go beyond what they are obligated to do in the licence conditions. In a time of significant and extended volatility, the regulator has brought...

  • Business supply and services

    What happened in 2022 in the energy market?

    The GB energy market never stands still and 2022 was no different. In this infographic, we look back at some key happenings from the past year in different segments of the GB energy market.  Click the image below to see our snapshot.

  • Home supply and services

    The role of smart meters in energy security

    Smart meters have the potential to play a critical role in energy security, providing near real-time information through a visual in-home display, empowering consumers to change how much energy they use and when they use it. If consumers reduce or shift their energy consumption away from peak periods, they may...

  • Home supply and services

    Drop in wholesale energy prices sees price cap predictions fall below the EPG for second half of 2023

    The predictions for the Default Tariff Cap in this piece are out of date, please click here to find our latest forecasts and commentary on the cap. Our latest forecasts for the Default Tariff Cap (price cap) have shown energy bills for a typical household are predicted to be below the government’s...

  • Home supply and services

    Determining how we fund, not just what we fund, is critical

    Concerns that the strike prices in the upcoming CFD auction round could be too low to be deliverable have been raised as more details of the scheme have emerged. Back in May 2022, our chief executive Gareth Miller discussed why such fears may have some grounding. Last week I was...

  • Home supply and services

    Why short-term high wholesale prices aren’t the key driver of domestic energy bills

    The current cold snap across most of western Europe has resulted in high wholesale electricity prices. Observed prices in the GB wholesale market are typically higher than those in neighbouring electricity markets, and here we provide an explanation of why this is likely the case but also why short-term periods...

  • Business supply and services

    Our thoughts on the energy crisis and interventions that may help

    Blog | Short-term energy market interventions There is considerable concern about the availability and price of energy for this winter and those that follow.  Cornwall Insight has been contributing to the policy discourse through our widely-referenced domestic Default Tariff Cap analysis.  Read here The Times | Cornwall Insight suggests power plant gas subsidies could help...

  • Home supply and services

    Cornwall Insight comments on the announcement of the October price cap

    If you are a consumer seeking support with their energy bills, please read our blog here: https://www.cornwall-insight.com/support-for-consumers-concerned-about-rising-energy-bills/ The rise in the Default Tariff Cap (price cap) was unfortunately inevitable, as UK bills continue to be the victim of an unstable and unpredictable global market. While there is still some time until...

  • Home supply and services

    Highlights from our Energy Supplier Compliance webinar

    As part of our Energy supplier compliance portal service, we run a webinar every 6 months which looks at key updates.    Our latest webinar looked back at the decisions made under Ofgem’s financial resilience plan. This included strengthening milestone assessments and introducing additional reporting requirements. It also decided on the short-term interventions...

  • Home supply and services

    What is the price cap?

    We release our price cap forecasts in the hope that we can encourage policy change.  We have created this infographic to help people understand the price cap and how we make our predictions. We would also like to clarify that we cannot influence Ofgem to change the amount of the price cap.  You...

  • Home supply and services

    Cornwall Insight release final predictions for October’s Price Cap

    If you are a consumer seeking support with their energy bills, please read our blog here: https://www.cornwall-insight.com/support-for-consumers-concerned-about-rising-energy-bills/ Cornwall Insight are releasing our final predictions for October’s Default Tariff Cap (Price Cap) prior to Ofgem’s announcement on Friday 26th August. Predictions show a typical household1 will be paying £3,554 equivalent per year...

  • Home supply and services

    Price cap forecasts for January rise to over £4,200 as wholesale prices surge again and Ofgem revises cap methodology

    If you are a consumer seeking support with their energy bills, please read our blog here: https://www.cornwall-insight.com/support-for-consumers-concerned-about-rising-energy-bills/ Our new forecasts for the January Default Tariff Cap have risen by over £650(1), meaning a typical household is now predicted to pay the equivalent of £4,266 a year for the three months to...

  • Home supply and services

    Price cap to remain significantly above £3,000 a year until at least 2024

    Our latest forecasts for the Default Tariff Cap have shown a typical household’s energy bill will be well over £3,000 a year for the next 15 months, with the average bill over Summer 2023 (Apr-Sep) sitting at £3,649 – just over £300 per month. We have also updated the predictions...

  • Home supply and services

    Support for consumers concerned about rising energy bills

    Energy bills are on the rise and many consumers will have questions on how they can access support and advice.     Cornwall Insight cannot advise individual consumers on their energy bills, however, below is some information on places you can contact for information and guidance. This includes advice on what to...

  • Home supply and services

    Making the switch – how much will really change?

    Last week on 1 July, Ofgem confirmed that the designated Go-Live date for the Centralised Switching Service (CSS) would be 00:01AM on 18 July 2022, as was previously anticipated. The most significant impact of this will be the requirement on suppliers to ensure switches are completed within five working days,...

  • Home supply and services

    Default Tariff Cap forecast climbs further as Ofgem announcement looms

    Due to market volatility, world events and Ofgem's new methodology, our price cap prediction has changed. Please see the latest predictions via our blogs page here Updated price cap figures here As the energy market continues to grapple with global political and economic uncertainty, the corresponding high wholesale prices, and...

  • Home supply and services

    A Q&A with our price cap specialist, Principal Consultant Dr Craig Lowrey

    We recently held an interview with our price cap specialist, Principal Consultant Dr Craig Lowrey. This discussed recent concerns over the price cap, what makes these predictions useful for domestic and non-domestic consumers and more. Dr Craig Lowrey has over 25 years’ experience in the energy sector, building upon academic...

  • Home supply and services

    New forecasts for the January Default Tariff Cap rise to over £3,000 for a typical user

    Due to market volatility, world events and Ofgem's new methodology, our price cap prediction has changed. Please see the latest predictions via our blogs page here Updated price cap figures here This week Cornwall Insight released its updated forecasts for the Default Tariff Cap. Q1 2023 which runs from January...

  • Home supply and services

    Windfall taxes are not the only solution to the energy crisis

    The energy market is in a state of transition, with geopolitical concerns threatening to undermine energy security and subsequent wholesale energy rises pushing up bills. It is inevitable that policymakers will look at how best to deliver an affordable energy system for consumers. The temporary, targeted energy profits levy, or...

  • Home supply and services

    Tapestry: Ofgem’s new quarterly Default Tariff Cap

    This article was extracted from our Energy Spectrum publication published 23 May 2022. Energy Spectrum is a weekly news service which keeps you up-to-date with developments in the market. For the full article please contact Jack Hunt at j.hunt@cornwall-insight.com The announcement by Ofgem of its minded-to decision in respect of...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Oil prices are dropping, so why are bills still high?

    https://youtu.be/kEvKyeFGZb4 Video transcript Oil prices dropping… why are my bills still high? Last week, in particular, gas and power prices were very low. Gas for one day was 35p/th similar to what we were used to The drop is because Britain is now a major transit point for gas to...

  • Home supply and services

    What is the Market Stabilisation Charge?

    The Market Stabilisation Charge (MSC) requires all domestic suppliers acquiring a customer to make a payment to the supplier that is losing the customer. The charge applies to all switches, so suppliers are not obliged to inform competitors which tariff the consumer switched to or from. It is comprised of...

  • Announcement

    The Energy Security Bill explained – from the Queen’s Speech

    On Wednesday 11 May, the Queen's Speech was delivered which announced that an Energy Security Bill will be introduced at some point over the next parliamentary session. What is the Energy Security Bill and what does the Government state the benefits will be? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLfmkM0mAqc What are the main elements of...