COVID-19

  • Press Releases

    European LNG supply under pressure amid escalating competition and price surge

    A new report from Cornwall Insight has exposed the challenges facing Europe's Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) supply, as growing competition from China and price rises increase pressure on the gas market. The analysis, focusing on LNG security over the upcoming winter, highlights that heightened Chinese gas demand, driven by economic...

  • Press Releases

    900,000 domestic customers impacted by SoLR over the last two years

    Analysis by Cornwall Insight shows that 1.7% of customers in the retail energy market have been with suppliers subject to the Supplier of Last Resort mechanism (SoLR) process. Between 2020 and 2019, 887,000 domestic customers were supplied by a company that exited the market via SoLR, and in 2021 alone,...

  • Press Releases

    High wholesale prices and negative pricing events forecasted to grow

    Research from Cornwall Insight’s Benchmark Power Curve, which forecasts the power market to 2045 under different net zero scenarios, highlights volatility in the wholesale power market is set to increase. Its central case scenario predicts that the standard deviation of hourly wholesale prices could reach £41.8/MWh by 2030. In the...

  • Media Mentions

    Smart Energy International | TPIs revenues

    Third-party Intermediaries (TPIs) have seen a decrease in growth in both the Small and Medium Enterprise and Industrial & Commercial sectors. This is due to COVID-19 and market uncertainty, according to our 'TPI in the business and industrial supply markets' report. The decrease in revenue was partly due to the...

  • Press Releases

    TPIs revenues fall by 18% due to COVID-19

    Third-party Intermediaries (TPIs) have seen a decrease in growth in both the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) and Industrial & Commercial (I&C) sectors, as a result of COVID-19 and general market uncertainty, according to Cornwall Insight’s Annual TPI report. This led to a target revenue pool for TPI’s of £335mn/year,...

  • Press Releases

    Electrifying your fleet? We look at three battery electric vehicles

    We conducted research into the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) vehicle registration data. We found that Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in 2020 have already grown 76.1% on the whole of 2019. Katie Hickford, our Analyst said that during COVID-19 lockdown there has been a backlog of already ordered...

  • Media Mentions

    Smart Energy International | Could COVID-19 positively impact future EV sales?

    Our research into the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) vehicle registration data shows battery electric vehicles in 2020 have already grown 76.1% on the whole of 2019. During COVID-19 lockdown there has been a backlog of already ordered vehicles that will have contributed to this increase. It is...

  • Press Releases

    Could COVID-19 positively impact future EV sales?

    Research into the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) vehicle registration data by Cornwall Insight shows Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in 2020 have already grown 76.1% on the whole of 2019. SMMT recorded the lowest September car sales this century at 328,041 vehicles, down 4.4% on September 2019. Despite...

  • Press Releases

    Heightened risk of suppliers failing to meet their Renewables Obligation

    Latest forecasts from Cornwall Insight show a potential shortfall in the Renewables Obligation (RO) buy-out fund of approximately half of the £16.94mn mutualisation threshold. Supplier exits to date alone are not expected to trigger the mutualisation process. However, there is a heightened risk that some active suppliers may now be...

  • Press Releases

    Batteries see 149% increase in Balancing Mechanism activity

    Research from Cornwall Insight highlights that there are significant changes in the technology type that has been providing balancing actions to the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO), with activity from newer asset types seeing the greatest year-on-year increase. Accepted volumes in the Balancing Mechanism (BM) from identified batteries, gas...

  • Press Releases

    GB energy demand reaches last year’s levels for the first time since COVID-19 lockdown

    Lockdown measures created a sudden fall in electricity demand at the end of March and into April, with demand falling by ~15% below 2019 levels. However, recent research from Cornwall Insight shows that since July, there has been a gradual rise in energy demand back up towards 2019 levels. In...

  • Press Releases

    Electric vehicle sales during lockdown give us a glimpse into the future

    Further research by Cornwall Insight into data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that despite a 97% drop in vehicle sales and difficult market conditions, there continues to be demand for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). In fact, 1,374 BEVs were registered during April, accounting for...

  • Media Mentions

    PowerTechnology | More renewable technology required

    Research from our market and asset-level power price modelling service ‘Benchmark power curve’, predicting that up to ~46GW of new-build renewable technology ̶ ~11GW onshore wind, ~10GW solar, and ~25GW offshore wind may need to be developed by 2030 was featured in PowerTechnology today. The net zero target is defining...

  • Media Mentions

    The Guardian | Energy bills cut

    Robert Buckley commented the Ofgem's default tariff cap reduction has lowered after wholesale energy market prices tumbled during the coronavirus pandemic. He explained the difference between the costliest deals on the market and the cheapest stood at £562 at the end of last month, meaning a “notable gap will remain”,...

  • Media Mentions

    The Guardian | Energy bill savings

    Our predictions showing approximately a £100 fall in the price cap for this winter was featured in The Guardian today. This is following a record low energy market prices during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to analysts. We are expecting to see a significant decrease to the default price cap in...

  • Press Releases

    Customers face rising energy bills due to increase in subsidy scheme costs

    The COVID-19 lockdown and the resulting reduction in energy demand have seen the costs of supporting renewable subsidies increase both in terms of £/MWh and overall expected spend for 2020-21. Research from Cornwall Insight's 'Third-Party Charges forecast' highlights that as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown, the total cost of...

  • Press Releases

    Smart meter rollout significantly dented by COVID-19 lockdown

    Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the progress of the smart meter rollout uncertain. Research from Cornwall Insight looks at BEIS and Ofgem’s initial indications of future rollout levels compared to pre-pandemic expectations. The below graph shows two COVID-19 impacted rollout profiles, based on recent assessments from Ofgem and BEIS...

  • Media Mentions

    Power Technology | COVID-19 and oil

    Daniel Atzori Research Partner at Cornwall Insight was featured in Power Technology discussing the effect of COVID-19 and the signals for clean energy investment. Addressing the risks to developers of newer technologies Daniel explained that clean technologies that are at an earlier stage of development and deployment are likely to...

  • Press Releases

    Irish energy demand increase as lockdown restrictions are lifted

    Research from Cornwall Insight Ireland highlights that as the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted across Ireland, energy demand in the Single Electricity Market (SEM) has increased. Weekday demand has risen by 3% (3GWh) on average, with current weekday demand levels averaging 94GWh since the lockdown restrictions started to ease on 18...

  • Media Mentions

    Power Technology | Balancing charges and lockdown

    Lee Drummee Analyst at Cornwall Insight featured on Power Technology discussing the effects of fall in energy demand, caused by the UK Covid-19 lockdown on the Balancing Mechanism. He explained that the fall in energy demand because of the Covid-19 lockdown was always expected to increase the £/MWh rate of...

  • Press Releases

    Cornwall Insight comments on the increase in BSUoS charges

    The effects of the fall in energy demand due to the COVID-19 lockdown accompanied with a high penetration of renewables on the transmission system has seen the activity on the Balancing Mechanism (BM) increase. This increase in accepted volume on the BM is reflected in BSUoS charges. The average half-hourly...

  • Press Releases

    Energy demand increases as lockdown restrictions lifted

    The COVID-19 lockdown had a significant impact on Great Britain’s (GB) energy demand, causing it to drop by almost 15-20% compared to the previous year. However, analysis by Cornwall Insight shows that as GB has slowly started to ease out of lockdown and some sectors start to reopen, electricity demand...

  • Press Releases

    The effects of lockdown on the Balancing Mechanism

    The COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdown restrictions have impacted GB’s energy market, with record low demand and wholesale prices. These changes in market conditions have seen National Grid as the Electricity System Operator (ESO) face operational challenges in balancing the electricity system. Research from Cornwall Insight highlights that during...

  • Press Releases

    COVID-19 impacts on low-carbon investments

    The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many sectors across the UK, and investment in low-carbon infrastructure has paused in many markets. Daniel Atzori, Research Partner at Cornwall Insight, comments on the likely impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in low-carbon infrastructure finance and investor confidence. “Despite the decrease in electricity prices due...

  • Press Releases

    COVID-19 impacts on the TPI industry

    While the discussion continues around the impacts of COVID-19 on energy suppliers, the effects have reached all parts of the energy value chain. The latest research from Cornwall Insight’s ‘Third-party intermediaries in the business and industrial energy supply market report’ highlights the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the third-party...

  • Press Releases

    COVID-19 impacts: gas and power prices over the summer months

    As Great Britain (GB) is starting to move through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been some indications that the energy market could be passing its trough. Tim Dixon, Wholesale Team Lead at Cornwall Insight, looks into how GB gas & power prices may shape up over the...

  • Press Releases

    COVID-19 impacts: reduction in inertia levels

    Analysis by Cornwall Insight reveals that inertia* levels have been falling over time as the proportion of synchronous generation has declined. The below graph highlights the drop in inertia and shows 2020 levels are significantly lower. While we are not even halfway through the year the shape of the curve...

  • Press Releases

    COVID-19 impacts: Energy demand and emissions across Europe

    Research from Cornwall Insight has investigated the impact on the daily average electricity demand and carbon emissions across five European countries during the four weeks from 23 March – the commencement of lockdown in the UK. Overall, all five markets - Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have seen...

  • Press Releases

    20% drop in weekday Irish electricity demand due to COVID-19

    With a large proportion of specific sectors throughout Ireland having either closed or scaled back their operations due to COVID-19; a significant drop in Ireland’s electricity demand on weekdays has been observed. In fact, research from Cornwall Insight Ireland, comparing the first week in March with last week, shows that...

  • Press Releases

    Non-energy charges set to rise due to falling energy demand

    As a result of the government-imposed lockdown energy demand for power has fallen dramatically, declining by 0.10TWh against March 2019. Research from Cornwall Insight predicts that if this 0.10TWh decline is maintained across the originally announced three-week lockdown, the aggregate impact of this daily decline across this period would be...