electricity

  • Heat networks

    Heat and buildings strategy: Key points

    On 19 October, the government released the Heat and Buildings strategy outlining how the government will tackle the decarbonisation of the built environment to help meet the UK net zero ambition. Our experts have taken a quick look at the strategy and highlighted the key points. Heating The strategy makes...

  • Home supply and services

    Shaken, not stirred: The fate of the supply market

    This Energy market perspective was taken from our Energy Spectrum publication on 4 October 2021. To find out more about a free trial to Energy Spectrum, find out more here or contact Robert on r.buckley@cornwall-insight.com. As we enter the winter 2021-22 trading season, the energy supply market remains in intense...

  • 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...

  • Power and gas networks

    Electricity and gas tariffs on the rise in Ireland

    The majority of energy suppliers in the Republic of Ireland have enacted several price rises in one or both electricity and gas tariffs. Figures collated by Eurostat show in the latter half of 2020, Ireland already ranked fourth highest for electricity prices in the EU and seventh highest for gas...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Data centres predicted to become prosumers of electricity

    In combination with Cornwall Insight and Bit Power, Host in Ireland published its Biannual report of Ireland’s Data Hosting Industry. The report highlights the importance of sustainability in Ireland’s digital transformation. The report confirmed the number of operational data centres in Ireland increased by 25 per cent over the past...

  • Regulation and policy

    Electricity transmission charging reform – overtaken by changing priorities?

    Charging for the transmission network is never out of the development process for long. From major reviews, such as that initiated under Project Transmit in 2010, to significant reforms such as removing the triad benefit from distributed generation in 2018, and a host of smaller developments, change seems the only...

  • Regulation and policy

    Ofgem “hands-on” in RIIO-2 as net zero route unfolds

    During the next round of the RIIO price controls, Ofgem can be expected to take a more hands-on approach to outputs the networks are required to provide and the allowed revenues they can charge their users or consumers. This will have impacts for network development including the enabling of electric...

  • Regulation and policy

    New horizons: DCC plans to expand remit over next 5 years

    The government awarded the Data Communications Company (DCC) licence to Capita subsidiary Smart DCC Ltd in 2013. As an Ofgem-regulated monopoly, the DCC’s remit was to set up the smart metering communications infrastructure, linking up 53mn electricity and gas meters with the systems of energy suppliers, network companies and third...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    CRU implements COVID-19 supply suspension scheme

    On 1 May, the CRU set out the details of its decision to implement a temporary supply suspension scheme for eligible SME electricity and gas customers due to the impact of the pandemic. It said that the unique and extraordinary circumstances of the current situation require a modification to the current approach...

  • Regulation and policy

    Industry codes flex for COVID-19

    In response to the growing impacts of the pandemic, which has seen electricity demand drop dramatically and industry participants unable to go about many of their usual activities, a series of temporary changes have been introduced across industry codes to mitigate some of the most severe effects. They have all...

  • Low carbon generation

    The Pain: SEM prices get low

    It is easy to forget that this weekend is Easter where a large part of the country will have a 4-day weekend.  This year the demand levels are still trending down as restrictions due to COVID-19 become ever tighter. So what will this mean for the electricity generators? This week’s...

  • Home supply and services

    Making gains: Electricity switching

    The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities published its January 2020 Customer Switching Report for the Electricity and Gas Retail Markets on 12 March. In this edition of the blog, we compare electricity supplier’s net switching positions. We also look at what new suppliers are making gains in retail market share. Click here...

  • Low carbon generation

    Power demand in Lockdown – Initial COVID-19 impact on the power market

    The power and gas systems are mirror images of the wider economy, entering practically every aspect of work and leisure. They naturally face challenges as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 virus on the way we work, travel and live. Electricity demand has reported to have fallen in...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick Ireland | SEAI: Transport takes the largest share of energy in Ireland

    Energy-related CO2 emissions fell by 1.2% in 2018, according to the latest publication of Energy in Ireland, an annual report by the SEAI which presents the key trends in energy production and consumption. Published on 12 December 2019, the report shows how Ireland's energy system is evolving in response to...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Editor’s Pick | NAO on networks: good service, but costs too high

    The National Audit Office (NAO) has concluded that electricity networks have provided a good service, but the costs for consumers have been too high. In a report, published on 30 January, the NAO examined how effectively Ofgem has used price controls. The NAO found that consumers in GB experience fewer power...

  • Low carbon generation

    Tomorrow evening could see electricity demand peak for this winter

    The latest forecasts from National Grid for electricity demand indicate that tomorrow’s (21st January 2020) evening peak will see the highest half-hour demand so far this winter, with approximately 49GW for the period commencing 17:30. As such, this is therefore likely to be one of the Triad periods used to...

  • Home supply and services

    Ring of fire: Cost of energy falling

    In this week’s blog, we discuss reductions in wholesale prices from Bord Gáis' recent report, the Energy Index, released on the 14 January. The Index explores market developments and price movements in oil, gas, coal and electricity. Despite reductions in wholesale prices, which make up a substantial proportion of retail bills, energy...

  • Regulation and policy

    Are IDNOs margins about to be squeezed?

    Earlier this month, voting closed on a potential rule change that could have important consequences for the network charges faced by electricity Licenced Distribution Network Operators (LDNOs), including independent network operators (IDNOs). DCUSA proposal DCP266 The Calculation and Application of IDNO Discounts was raised by British Gas in March 2016...

  • Home supply and services

    NI electricity prices are rising – All you knead to know

    Last week two of the largest electricity suppliers in Northern Ireland, Electric Ireland and SSE Airtricity, announced they are raising electricity prices for domestic customers by 8% and 6.9% respectively from 01 October 2019. These increases come days after the announcement from Northern Ireland’s largest supplier, Power NI, that they...

  • Home supply and services

    Rise and fall – regulated price changes afoot

    Despite a high number of suppliers per capita, the largest supplier in the Northern Irish electricity market retains a high market share and a price control. In this week's blog, discuss the recently announced price rise for Power NI, and compare this to the reductions announced in the price cap...

  • Announcement

    BBC Radio 4 Interview: Energy tariff differences across Scotland

    Robert Buckley, our Head of Retail and Development, headed over to BBC Radio 4’s studios in London to talk about our latest research, that highlights the energy price divide between the north and south of Scotland. The research showed a stark difference to what customers are paying for their energy...

  • Home supply and services

    A delicate truth: Comparing electricity prices in Europe

    This week, the Joint Committee on Climate Action (JCCA) recommended a legally binding renewable electricity target by 2030, with State-built grid connections to accommodate this. Implementation of such initiatives into policy has, in other countries, added to the final electricity bill for domestic consumers. In this week’s blog, we discuss the...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    EVs meet the electricity market: clear road or bumps ahead?

    Cornwall Insight partnered with international law firm Gowling WLG to host a joint half-day seminar on 13 November 2018 to inform the developing debate on electric vehicle (EV) and electricity market synergies. Over 50 attendees heard from a diverse range of experts on how transport electrification at scale can be...

  • Announcement

    Cornwall Insight Response to MMO

    Ofgem has just put out its decision on the Market Making Obligation. The headline is that the regulator will not suspend this year the initiative that helps smaller parties access electricity wholesale products, but is likely to do so once the SSE/ Npower merger and the acquisition of Scottish Power’s...

  • Home supply and services

    Index of Domestic Energy Supply Costs | March 2018

    Government policy costs drive up the Index of Domestic Electricity Supply Costs in April Policy costs exerted a 52 point increase on the Cornwall Insight Index of Domestic Electricity Supply Costs in April as the charges for subsidising renewable electricity, paying for the Smart DCC’s smart metering infrastructure, and social...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    I -SEM go-live date delayed until 1 October

    The SEM Committee (SEMC) announced today (17 April) that the go-live date for the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM) has been pushed back until 1 October 2018. I-SEM is the new wholesale electricity market arrangement for Ireland and Northern Ireland, designed to integrate the all-island electricity market with European electricity...

  • Home supply and services

    Index of Domestic Energy Supply Costs | February 2018

    The Cornwall Insight Index of Domestic Energy Supply Costs is updated monthly, tracking the costs that electricity and gas suppliers face. It is baselined to a value of 1,000 points in January 2012 and is calculated using Ofgem’s typical domestic consumption values (TDCVs) for medium users. In February 2018 the...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Electricity Markets in Transition | A Cornwall Insight and Gowling WLG White Paper

    Cornwall Insight and Gowling WLG have co-authored a thought leadership paper on Electricity Markets in Transition. The focus is on key technology innovations either currently at play, or which can be reasonably be foreseen and what this means for innovators, market participants, and the regulatory and policy setting. The paper,...

  • Home supply and services

    Index of Domestic Energy Supply Costs | December 2017

    The Cornwall Index of Domestic Energy Supply Costs is updated monthly, tracking the costs that electricity and gas suppliers face. It is baselined to a value of 1,000 points in January 2012 and is calculated using Ofgem’s typical domestic consumption values (TDCVs) for medium users. In December 2017 the electricity...