electricity

  • Home supply and services

    “The more [retailers] we come across, the more problems we see”

    Thirty-one retailers have gone bust since the start of 2021 in the UK. At least one of those entities has a subsidiary in the Australian market (having yet to acquire any customers, according to the most recent AER and ESC data). In this Chart of the week, we take a...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Nobody said it was easy, but it’s time for us to part: VIC’s climate targets & coal

    In 2017, the Victorian Government legislated a state target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Since then, short-term targets have been set in five-year increments, with the 2030 target being to cut emissions by 45-50% below 2005 levels. The Government is currently consulting on the 2035 target, which must...

  • Business supply and services

    SMEs (Small and medium businesses) experience record breaking prices

    In Q321 the average SME gas contract was priced at the highest value since we started tracking propositions in 2012 (4.98p/th for 1-year acquisition contracts that assume a 25MWh annual consumption). Our Pricing in the SME Gas/Power Markets reports also shows SME electricity contracts seeing record highs, priced at 19.95p/kWh...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Examining Victoria’s recent wind drought

    This ‘Chart of the week’ examines the recent spell of low wind generation in Victoria and associated elevated prices. Previously, ‘Chart of the week’ issue 78 highlights the risk of wind droughts within the National Electricity Market (NEM) due to the high correlation of wind fronts both within states and...

  • Power and gas networks

    Australian Chart of the week | Green hydrogen costs plummet, LNG prices soar

    The ACCC currently calculates the LNG netback price as the price a gas exporter could receive for gas exports excluding the costs to convert and ship the gas. Asian cold weather and supply bottlenecks have driven the February LNG netback price to nearly $20 a gigajoule, more than double the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Chart of the week | Increasing electricity balancing costs and an increasing System Operator role

    Last week saw the publication of Ofgem's review of GB energy system operation. This makes recommendations that the roles and functions of the electricity and gas system operators need to change in light of net zero. In this week's 'Chart of the week', I wanted to focus on one aspect...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Chart of the week | Nearly 6mn customers switched electricity supplier in 2020

    This article was originally published as part of a larger piece in Energy Spectrum, published on 25 January 2021. To find out more about a subscription to Energy Spectrum, contact Nick on n.palmer@cornwall-insight.com. This week's 'Chart of the week' discusses the latest electricity switching figures from Energy UK, published on 21...

  • Regulation and policy

    Chart of the week | Ofgem Switching Programme regains momentum

    This 'Chart of the week' follows the seventh edition of Cornwall Insight’s Faster Switching Service (FSS), issued on Monday. Our FSS is designed to help readers understand Ofgem’s major industry programme to deliver faster and more reliable switching for consumers. The service comprises two elements: a walk-through of the entire...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Chart of the week | Demand returning to normal?

    At the beginning of the week, 15 June, non-essential business was allowed to open. This follows a removal of lockdown restrictions which have meant many more people returning to work. This week's 'Chart of the week' explores how these changes affected electricity demand.

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | CleanCo – little ripples make big waves

    Many would have noticed that CleanCo received their electricity retailer authorisation from the AER recently. Therefore, signifying a key step to providing retail electricity services to customers. In order to sell energy, a retailer needs to obtain a retailer authorisation, under the National Electricity Retail Law. Now, Cleanco can sell...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Prices in the NEM: Is variability the new black?

    The price escalation in the NEM in recent years has been well documented. Closure of ‘low-cost’ coal generation (particularly Hazelwood) has seen average prices in the NEM increase significantly. This is a result of the overall supply/ demand balance tightening. Some of this tightness has been alleviated by the significant...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Pixie Chart of the week | Piclo publishes DNO flexibility findings

    Software company Piclo released two white papers in September sharing findings from the pilot phase of its Piclo Flex Marketplace trial. The papers, supported by BEIS, explore the future of distributed flexibility procurement as researched through Piclo’s trials with all six of GB’s Distribution Network Operators (DNOs). This week’s Chart of...

  • Business supply and services

    Australian Chart of the week | I think I can, I think I can: Can new retailers make it in the NEM?

    Electricity retail registrations have exploded since 2016. In this time, the Australian Energy Regulator awarded 30 new electricity retail licenses. This represents an increase of 70% since 2016. In this week's Chart of the week, we look at the annual market entrants from 2012. We also explore the benefits of...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Early coal closure signalled: a sign of things to come?

    The news from Alinta this week that one of Victoria’s largest coal plants - Loy Yang B - is unlikely to see out the full length of its licence should not be a major surprise to the market. The 1.1GW Loy Yang B station has a licence to run until...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Pixie Chart of the week | National Grid forecasts for EV uptake changed

    National Grid issued its 2019 Future Energy Scenarios forecasts on 11 July. This annual forecast provides detailed insight into the expected future energy system, against four scenarios across gas and electricity. National Grid use this data to plan the future transmission systems, but it gives a fascinating insight into likely future energy...

  • Low carbon generation

    Pixie Chart of the week | IEA demonstrates a future with hydrogen

    This week's Pixie Chart of the Week demonstrates policies directly supporting hydrogen deployment by target application. It also shows the emphasis being placed on hydrogen-based energy solutions in the transport sector (currently minimal). The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) latest report The Future of Hydrogen illustrated that the momentum of hydrogen as a fuel is...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Pixie Chart of the week | Identifying the optimum subsidy for microgrids

    In this week's Pixie Chart of the week, we explore a recent study by researchers from the School of Economics and Business Administration at Chongqing University, China. They have identified the optimum coefficient for a government subsidy to rationalise the investment in microgrids, and an increase in the subsidy coefficient leads to greater profits for both...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Pixie Chart of the week | NYISO forecasts extensive growth in battery storage

    The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has released its publication, Reliability and a Greener Grid – Power Trends 2019, outlining the potential network developments in the New York region. NYISO forecasts that wholesale energy storage and behind the meter (BTM) energy storage capacity growth will accelerate over the coming decades. The...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Pixie Chart of the week | EV and HHP deployment forecast to reduce electricity costs

    In this week’s Pixie Chart of the week, we investigate the impacts on electricity wholesale costs if rapid deployment scenarios of electric vehicles, hybrid heat pumps or a combination of both are put in place. Research from Vivid Economic and Imperial College London shows that electricity costs could drop by as much...

  • Net zero corporates and ESG

    Pixie Chart of the week | Local Authorities delivering local energy

    In this week's Pixie Chart of the Week, we discuss a recent report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) which highlighted the growing concerns Local Authorities (LAs) have in respect of energy costs. PwC surveyed four business types on six areas of energy strategy: cost, sustainability, security, related costs, smart energy and other.

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Pixie Chart of the week | Range of incentives can stimulate EV purchases

    On 16 February, CleanTechnica posted a chapter from its latest electric vehicle (EV) driver report Electric Car Drivers: Demands, Desires & Dreams. The chapter focuses on what incentives can stimulate uptake of EVs in North America and Europe for four customer groups: Non-Tesla EV driver, Tesla drivers, Plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) drivers and...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | The end of vertical integration…or not?

    Within the last decade the vertically integrated (VI) model, whereby companies own generation and supply businesses, has fallen away. In 2008 the traditional VI model was at its height – the Big Six owned over two-thirds of the generation fleet, and supplied over 90% of electricity by volume (99% in...