price cap

  • Business supply and services

    The first month of the EGL against a backdrop of falling wholesale prices

    The end of January means the end of the first month of the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL). First announced as part of the Autumn 2022 budget, the EGL places a 45% tax on generation receipts above £75/MWh for non-Contracts for Difference (CfD) renewable and nuclear generators until March 2028. In...

  • Home supply and services

    With wholesale prices falling, how many domestic customers are looking for better prices?

    In anticipation of supply contracts being offered below the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), what might happen to customer switching rates? In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we look at how many domestic consumers might be ready to switch when suppliers increasingly offer contracts below the price cap supported level,...

  • Business supply and services

    Sectoral spread of energy price hikes in GB

    We recently published a report exploring the impact of price increases and the approaches which companies are already taking to mitigate their exposure. In this week's 'Chart of the Week', we discuss some of the key findings from this report.

  • Home supply and services

    No easy fix: tariff prices remain high

    In response to the unprecedented increases in global gas prices, Ofgem announced last week time limited measures “to help stabilise” the supply market. This includes a requirement for all domestic suppliers to offer existing customers the same tariffs available to new customers from 14 April, echoing changes made by the...

  • Home supply and services

    Last Resort Supplier Payments: the impact on domestic electricity bills

    The presence of a significant increase in commodity costs in 2021, combined with the Default Tariff Cap limiting the revenues that suppliers can recover in the domestic market, has contributed to a number of suppliers falling into insolvency in the last 9 months. The Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) process...

  • Home supply and services

    The default tariff cap: More questions than answers?

    Throughout the recent period of wholesale and supply market volatility, the government and Ofgem have remained committed to the default tariff cap and continued to highlight its benefits to customers in protecting them from rising energy prices this winter. However, Cornwall Insight’s forecast of the default tariff cap for Summer...

  • Home supply and services

    Ticking Clock

    With the political debate regarding energy prices and their impacts on the cost of living – not to mention the economy at large – the default tariff cap announcement for Summer 2022 from Ofgem at the start of next month is the most anticipated since the cap’s inception.

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | Default tariff cap set to rise by at least £100 for coming winter

    The default tariff price cap for a typical dual fuel direct debit customer looks set to increase by over £100 for the Winter 2021-22 period, according to an initial assessment from Cornwall Insight’s bi-annual tariff cap predictor. The latest forecast for the cap indicates that it will increase to around...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Resizing the bumper car (market price) floor?

    In the last two years the NEM 5-min prices fall to the floor more often than hit the cap as some regions struggle to deal with mid-day excess supply. This has raised questions about whether the price floor, which has stayed at -$1000/MWh for years, will be changed by the...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Is now the time to consider an operating reserve service?

    This summer has already seen a number of instances of tightening supply/demand balance across the National Electricity Market (NEM). This has consequently resulted in a range of reactions from the market operator (AEMO) and other market stakeholders. There were extreme weather events as well as fluctuating supply and disruptions. As...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | How low can you go? The price cap to fall by £77/year

    Just over two months after the default tariff cap was increased for summer 2019, our thoughts have turned to Ofgem’s 1 October winter 2019-20 adjustment to the cap. The start of May marked the start of the second half of the data window for wholesale costs in the cap formulas....

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | SVT and fixed tariff gap widens

    Prior to the increase of the default price cap on 1 April 2019 to £1,254/year, we reported on 14 March that some suppliers were already positioning their default variable tariffs against the increased cap. We also reported that the gap between default and market-based fixed tariffs was increasing as wholesale...

  • Home supply and services

    Chart of the week | A tariff cap is not a price freeze

    The final confirmation of the default tariff cap on 6 November has caused a good deal of commotion. Most notably the announcement from SSE and npower that the cap is a key factor in renegotiating their merger. But, the price cap that will apply from 1 January is just over...