Saturday, January 25, 2014

Question of Money: Npower sparks bill ordeal

GB writes: I am an 84-year-old ex-RAF disabled war pensioner trying to get an electricity bill from Npower. I pay quarterly by direct debit but have not received a bill, nor paid any money, since last March. My online account continually shows that my ...

Formula One Technology Used to Make Scottish Power Grids More Resilient

The same source details that, presently, Fair Isle uses a combination of wind turbines and diesel generators to have its power demand met. The flywheel technology will work by smoothing the power coming from wind farms, and inject stored energy into the ...

Gazprom Team Russia heading for AC35?

The Russian gas giant has numerous sports sponsorship properties, including the UEFA Champions League and owns or has interests in football clubs ranging from its own Zenit St Petersburg to Red Star Belgrade to Chelsea. Curiously it also has an increasing ...

In the News: What to do when climate change gets in the way of business – drink less Coke?

It took a decade of drought in India to make Coca-Cola leaders directly associate climate change with a threat to the bottom-line. Over at Nike, floods in Thailand caused them to shut down four factories in 2008. According to a recent article in ...

Can the promises of an Israeli gas bonanza come true?

Eastern Mediterranean countries, including Israel, may be "fooling their people with false promises of an offshore gas bonanza," The Economist writes in its latest issue. The influential British financial magazine quotes oil analysts as saying that "even ...

B.C.’s multibillion-dollar path to an energy powerhouse

Rejean Tetrault is happy to be warming up in “the doghouse.” It's minus 25 C, but the operations manager for Shell Canada Ltd. is shielded inside a steel shed on a barren stretch of northeastern British Columbia. Other Shell employees and contractors ...

Friday, January 24, 2014

Collection: Energy Entrepeneurs Fund

By HM Government

This is a competitive funding scheme to support the development and demonstration of state of the art technologies, products and processes in the areas of energy efficiency, power generation and heat and electricity storage.



The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund seeks the best ideas, irrespective of source, across these energy technology areas from the public and private sector. The scheme particularly aims to assist small- and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups, and those companies that are selected will receive additional funding for incubation support.

Green Group Grows Emphasis on Clean Energy

A major environmental group known for its work with oil and natural gas companies is redoubling its efforts to encourage more renewable energy over all fossil fuels, including natural gas. Last summer, the Environmental Defense Fund launched its ...

Nat Gas ETFs Surge as Futures Top $5 for First Time Since 2010

The U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG) jumped 7.2% Friday. The ETF is up 10.3% so far this year. NYMEX natural gas futures also gained 7.2% Friday, trading around $5.07 per million British thermal units. Demand for natural gas for heating fuel has been ...

Natural Gas Tops $5/mmBtu for First Time Since August 2010

NEW YORK--Natural-gas prices hit $5 a million British thermal units for the first time since August 2010 on expectations that continued cold weather would keep demand high for the heating fuel. Natural gas for February delivery recently traded ...

Natural gas price spikes, topping $5 for 1st time since 2010

NYMEX natural gas futures for February delivery skyrocketed nearly 10 percent to $5.182 per million British Thermal Units, the highest settlement price since June 2010. The price continued to gain in after-hours electronic trading. Natural gas futures have ...

Natural gas breaks $5 mark on winter demand

Natural gas prices moved past $5 per million British thermal units on Friday — a level not seen since 2010 — as a winter chill drove demand for the fuel. The price of natural gas for future delivery has not closed above $5 per million British thermal ...

Statement to Parliament: 28th offshore round of oil and gas licensing

By HM Government

I am pleased to inform the House that I am today inviting applications for petroleum licences for unlicensed seaward blocks, in the 28th new round of offshore petroleum licensing.



The UK oil and gas sector plays a vital role in the UK economy, supporting around 350,000 jobs and with record capital expenditure in 2013 of around £14 billion, and in meeting our energy needs. Indigenous oil and gas production supplies the equivalent of about half of the UK's primary energy demand. It is vital that we continue to do all we can to maximise economic recovery of indigenous hydrocarbon reserves. The licensing of new areas forms an essential part of our long term economic plan by enabling the exploration necessary to ensure we fully realise our remaining reserves which could be as much as another 20 billion barrels. This will boost growth, energy security, and jobs.



DECC's plan to offer licences for offshore oil and gas exploration and production through further licensing rounds was the subject of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) completed in 2011 and the Environmental Report can be viewed via GOV.UK



The SEA includes commissioned reports on various components of the natural environment and effects of previous activities.



Following consultation, DECC considered all responses and a post consultation report for the latest SEA was published. The report can be viewed on GOV.UK



In deciding to proceed with a 28th offshore licensing round, DECC has had regard to the conclusions and recommendations of the Environmental Report and consultation feedback. As a result, blocks in the deepest waters of the South West approaches are currently not being offered as part of the 28th round because of inadequacy of data including potentially vulnerable components of the marine environment.



A number of blocks excluded from earlier licensing rounds on the basis of recommendations of previous SEAs are currently not being offered as part of the 28th round of offshore petroleum licensing. This includes the blocks in or overlapping with the boundaries of the Moray Firth and Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation.



In addition some blocks are currently withheld from this round of offshore petroleum licensing at the request of The Crown Estate as they overlie the Cleveland potash mine, and some at the request of the Ministry of Defence due to their use for intense military testing and training.



Licensing of the blocks not currently included in this round may be revisited in the future as more information on those blocks becomes available.



In addition, a number of blocks may be licensed but with conditions attached restricting or prohibiting certain marine activities. It should be noted that the Offshore Petroleum Production and Pipe-lines (Assessment of Environmental Effects) Regulations 1999 (as amended) and the Offshore Petroleum Activities (Conservation of Habitats) Regulations 2001 (as amended) variously require that all major activities undertaken in connection with UK offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production are subject to environmental assessment before consent can be given for these activities.



Before any licence awards are made, DECC will assess whether the grant of licences applied for is likely to have a significant effect on the management of any protected conservation sites. Where such effects cannot be excluded in respect of any proposed award, a further detailed assessment will be needed to determine whether there are any adverse effects on the integrity of these protected conservation sites. This is required under Council Directive 92/43/EEC on “the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora”, and the UK implementing regulations.



Applications in the Round will need to be submitted by 25th April 2014.

Press release: Recovery boost for North Sea oil and gas through the 28th licensing round

By HM Government

The economy is set to receive a further boost as the Government opens the 28th licensing round. Companies can now apply for new licences to drill for offshore oil and gas in the North Sea. Increasing recovery of UK oil and gas will enhance energy security, support thousands of jobs and provide billions in increased tax revenues.
The UK oil and gas sector already supports around 350,000 jobs, and last year attracted a record £14 billion of capital expenditure as well as supplying around half of the UK's primary energy demand.



Energy Minister Michael Fallon said:
“There continues to be extremely high level of interest in North Sea oil and gas, which is unsurprising when there could be as many as 20 billion barrels of oil still buried deep within the seabed. This new round of drilling for offshore oil and gas will help boost growth, energy security, and jobs in the UK.”



This latest licensing round supports the efforts of Government and industry's joint Oil and Gas Industrial Strategy, which is working to secure future decades of investment and production in the North Sea.



The previous 27th Licensing saw a record number of licences awarded, including 21 new entrants, and the level of interest demonstrates the continuing attractiveness of the UK's oil and gas resources. There are now over 50 companies at work in the North Sea.



Last year 36 offshore projects, with an associated capex of over £9 billion, were approved, which provide tax revenues of £6.5 billion on production and a further £5 billion through the wider supply-chain in corporate and payroll taxes.



Notes to editors



DECC's plan to offer licences for offshore oil and gas exploration and production through further licensing was the subject of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) completed in 2011 and the Environmental Report can be viewed on GOV.UK



Applications will need to be submitted by 25th April 2014.



Regional specific detail



Employment is spread across the UK comprising:




  • Scotland – 45 per cent




  • South East England – 21 per cent




  • North West England – 6 per cent




  • West Midlands – 5 per cent



There are distinct clusters of high employment within the industry around the UK, with the Aberdeenshire area accounting for around 39% of the total employment. The other regions with sizable employment levels are East of England 5%, North West England 6%, and London and the South East 21%.



The sector offers highly skilled and qualified opportunities for young people and also for those looking to change career from other industries. Current forecasts for the next 5 years show there will be a requirement for an additional 15,000 employees.



The Oil and Gas Industrial strategy that was published last year includes an action to identify and address any skills gap so that the industry has the right expertise and adequate skills for the future both as a major producing region and as an international services centre.

BC premier leads effort to capture South Korea gas market

SEOUL — On the heels of the announcement that British Columbia's shale gas reserves are double previous levels, Premier Christy Clark hosted a natural gas forum here Nov. 29 to promote energy sales, infrastructure construction partnerships ...

Britain’s richest homes use the most energy

A new study carried out by energy supplier npower, has revealed that some of the most exclusive homes in the UK are also those which waste the most energy. In stark contrast, those living in colder climates in Scotland, including the Outer Hebrides and ...

Natural gas tops $5, poised for 15% weekly gain

Futures prices were up more than 15 ... week. March crude oil (NMN:CLH4) fell 63 cents, or 0.7%, to $96.69 a barrel on Nymex. On Thursday, Nymex oil added 0.6% to close at a more than three-week high of $97.32 following U.S petroleum supply data.

EDF Expert Shares 4 Ways to Increase Profitability and Sustainability in 2014

Recently, EDF expert Elizabeth Sturcken wrote a post featured on Retailing Today about 4 ways to increase profitability in 2014. She highlights that “as the holiday dust clears and we settle into a new year, it's only fitting that retailers ...

Press Release: M+W Group: M+W U.S. and EDF Renewable Energy commence construction on their second 6 MW project in Massachusetts

M+W U.S., a subsidiary of the global engineering and construction company M+W Group, Gehrlicher Solar America and EDF Renewable Energy (EDF) have announced the commencement of construction of their second, 6 MW project in the State of Massachusetts.

M+W Group: M+W U.S. and EDF Renewable Energy commence construction on their second 6 MW project in Massachusetts

WATERVLIET, N.Y., Jan. 24, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- M+W U.S., a subsidiary of the global engineering and construction company M+W Group, Gehrlicher Solar America and EDF Renewable Energy (EDF) have announced the commencement of construction of ...

Exclusive: World buyers line up to buy U.S. natural gas

Up to a dozen long-term deals, each worth billions of dollars, have been penned behind closed doors with companies in China, Japan, Taiwan, Spain, France and Chile as global demand spikes, according to company, industry and trade sources.

Gladstone pays high price for its new industry

While the projects may have their own gas worries that cold eat into their margins, there is available gas in Queensland. The Arrow LNG project owned by Shell and PetroChina has abandoned its plans to build a separate LNG project and is focused on joining ...

North Sea open to new drilling, British government says

"There continues to be an extremely high level of interest in North Sea oil and gas ... for offshore oil and gas will help boost growth, energy security and jobs in the U.K." More than 30 projects in the region brought in $10.7 billion in ...

Smart Meters Really Are Saving People Money – British Gas

New research from British Gas reveals that despite initial skepticism, the UK public is beginning to warm up to smart energy meters. In a survey of its smart meter customers, the company found that more than half (54 percent) are now saving money thanks to ...

SSE threat to pull out could kill sea wind bonanza

THOUSANDS of potential jobs and billions of pounds earmarked for Scotland's offshore wind-energy industry are in the balance after one of the industry's biggest players announced a review of its whole strategy. SSE's veiled threat to pull out of its ...

A third of smart meter customers saving up to £75 a year, British Gas says

Most of the remaining people who had saved, 25%, could not put an exact figure on the savings, while a small proportion had saved more – 4% saved £75 to £100 and 7% saved over £100. Smart meters are billed by government and industry as a ...

UK GAS-Prompt at one-week high on cold, lower imports

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - British prompt gas prices rose on Friday following a downward revision in temperature forecasts and lower imports from Belgium and the Netherlands. Day-ahead gas traded at a one-week high of 66.10 pence per therm, up 1.60 pence ...

Does SSE PLC Pass My Triple Yield Test?

Like most private investors, I drip-feed money from my earnings into my investment account each month. To stay fully invested, I need to make regular purchases, regardless of the market's latest gyrations. However, the FTSE's gains mean that the wider ...

'SSE barons ripping off customers' as shareholders enjoy 3 per cent rise

ENERGY giant SSE has revealed it expects profits to soar to GBP1.5 billion this year and that it will increase payouts to shareholders, further inflaming a row among politicians and consumer groups over the impact of bills on households.Just two ...

EDF 2025 Dated and Future DLC Detailed

Had the Japanese version a week after it came out in Japan and its alot of fun but i want to fully understand the game so i definitely preordered this months ago. I hope there is a stack cause there hasn't been one since Saints Row 4 but i wouldn't hold my ...

SSE Rating Reiterated by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (SSE)

SSE (LON:SSE)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reiterated by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a note issued to investors on Friday, ARN reports. SSE (LON:SSE) opened at 1323.15 on Friday. SSE has a one year low of GBX 1297.00 and a ...

Npower to pay £3.5 million to benefit vulnerable consumers following our investigation

By Ofgem Npower has agreed to pay a £3.5 million package to help vulnerable consumers following our investigation which found it had breached marketing licence conditions.Our investigation centred on the sales processes and information used by npower...

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Npower's blaming of 'drafty' houses for high bills prompts criticism

"If we can increase the efficiency of the U.K.'s old and drafty housing ... can see that after 2014 network costs per household are expected to remain broadly flat in real terms. It is unclear how Npower can state with any authority otherwise."

Big Gap Surfaces in Davos

†This year, international NGOs proposed 15 nominees for the two shame awards, ranging from Glencore Xstrata and BASF as representatives of the extractive industry to pesticide producers and the U.S. garment company Gap. The latter was eventually ...

Too optimistic?

Delek Drilling and Avner Oil, two Israeli firms involved in exploration, say that Aphrodite, Cyprus's only proven gasfield, has reserves of just 4.1 trillion cubic feet—barely enough to meet long-term local demand. Oil companies, including Italy's ...

Natural Gas Poised for Biggest Weekly Advance Since 2012

Natural gas rose for a fourth day ... forecast to sweep east of the Mississippi River through the end of January, said MDA Weather Services in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The low in New York on Jan. 27 may be 6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 14 Celsius ...

EDF’s 100 year bond sparks rush to find next issuer

The astonishing success of Electricité de France's 100 year sterling bond issue last Friday has sent investment bankers scurrying to find other issuers willing to explore this potential new funding market, writes Jon Hay...

Corporate report: Department of Energy and Climate Change mid-year report 2013 - 2014

By HM Government

The Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC) mid-year report provides an update on progress made against the coalition priorities in the first 6 months of the 2013 to 2014 financial year.

SSE accused of ‘rip off’ over £1.5bn profit

ENERGY giant SSE has revealed it expects profits to soar to £1.5 billion this year and that it will increase payouts to shareholders, further inflaming a row among politicians and consumer groups over the impact of bills on households. Just two months ...

Leaders: SSE | Alex Salmond

ENERGY giant SSE's customers will feel understandably embittered by news from the Perth-based company that it is on course to make record profits of £1.5 billion in the year to the end of March. Coming just two months after announcing an 8.2 per cent ...

Clean Air and Sustainability Are Important Topics for Transportation Researchers

Air pollution and sustainability may not have been hot topics for transportation professionals in the past, but they were widely discussed during the 93rd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), a conference that brings ...

SSE must practice what it preaches

While politically-charged, the tone of SSE's trading statement on Thursday was, as analysts noted, “conciliatory”. The company has shown more political savvy than some of its rivals in its response to Ed Miliband's price-freeze proposal ...

EDF - Environmental Defense Fund - asks what your concern is

You signed up with EDF because you consider the environment a top concern—but what is most important to you? We want to know, so that we can be sure to keep you updated on your top priority—whether it's climate action, wildlife preservation, or ...

Must-know: Why natural gas prices rebounded 7% last week

Why higher oil and gas prices are helping energy company valuations (Part 2 of 4) (Continued from Part 1) Last week, natural gas prices recovered by 7% from previous week drop The front month contract for natural gas closed at $4.33 per MMBtu ...

Energy giant SSE set for impressive £2.5bn earnings haul after hitting customers with price increases

Britain's second-biggest supplier is set to reveal profits jumped nearly 9% in the year to March In the money: Alistair Phillips-Davies of SSE Energy provider SSE is poised to make a £1.5billion profit after landing customers with inflation-busting ...

SSE treads carefully

They were both going to build factories in the east of Scotland - probably Leith for one, maybe Dundee for the other. Between them, they were on track to bring 1,750 jobs. It's hard to see how or why they would go for both factories now.

Gazprom charters its fifth LNG carrier

Gazprom accounts for nearly 5% in the global LNG production, supplying LNG to Japan, South Korea, China, India, Taiwan, the UK, the USA, Kuwait, the UAE, and Mexico.

French Regulator Orders EDF to Make Additional Atomic Safeguards

Electricite de France SA has until the end of June to detail some of its plans to bolster safety at its 19 nuclear plants, the French regulator said today. Measures to prevent or limit damage to reactor cores from extreme weather such as ...

SSE on course for £1.5bn profit but calls for taxpayer cost burden

SSE reignited the simmering row over high energy prices when it said yesterday that it was on course for a substantial increase in profits to more than £1.5bn and re-issued a call for more of its social and environmental burdens to be ...

SSE customers switch after price rises

January 23, 2014 9:20 am Price rises push SSE customers to switch energy suppliers By Andy Sharman You have viewed your allowance of free articles. If you wish to view more, click the button below. © The Financial Times Ltd 2014 FT and 'Financial Times ...

FOI release: People previously employed in the oil and gas industry

By HM Government

Request for information on people currently working at DECC, who joined during the last 3 years, previously employed in the oil and gas industry.

Statistics: Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and Renewable Heat Premium Payments (RHPP): quarterly statistics - December 2013

By HM Government

This quarterly publication provides a summary of the deployment of renewable heat technologies under the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) householder voucher schemes.

Statistics: RHI and RHPP deployment data: December 2013

By HM Government

The monthly statistics for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) programme present the number of applications and accredited installations on the scheme so far. These figures are broken down by technology type and region and application status. The publication also includes tables on the total capacity and heat generated.



The monthly statistics for the Renewable Heat Premium Payments (RHPP) scheme display the number of vouchers issued and redeemed for the scheme so far. This is broken into technology type and region. It also includes a table of the total installed capacity by technology type.

Gazprom, Gap top Davos 'hall of shame', say activists

Campaigners at the World Economic Forum Thursday handed clothing giant Gap (Frankfurt: GAP.F - news) and Russian oil major Gazprom (MCX: GAZP.ME - news) their annual Public Eye shame awards for what they said were lax factory safety standards and Arctic ...

Energy giant SSE on course to increase profits to £1.5billion... two months after announcing 8% rise in bills for consumers

Energy giant SSE today revealed it was on course to pump up profits to £1.54billion this year and increase payouts to shareholders - two months after announcing a sharp hike in tariffs. The announcement is likely to spark fresh anger following ...

SSE on target for £1.54bn profit just months after announcing hike in customer tariffs

This was despite the number of electricity and gas customer accounts in Britain and Ireland falling from 9.47 million to 9.22 million, while average consumption of electricity in Britain fell by 4.3 per cent and gas by 9.5 per cent - when comparing the ...

UPDATE 3-Russia's Gazprom sees firmer FY 2013 core earnings

MOSCOW, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Gazprom OAO, the world's top gas producer, on Thursday raised its estimate of core earnings for the year just ended but cautioned that exports to Europe, the source of half of its revenue, could fall slightly in 2014.

Natural Gas Climbs as Forecasts Turn Colder

Weather forecasts are calling for colder temperatures than previously expected in the next six to 10 days, as "another highly anomalous arctic air intrusion" is expected to hit the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., according to Andover ...

British Columbia Getting Ready for LNG Workforce

Boasting a direct sea route across the Pacific Ocean to lucrative Asian markets, British Columbia could become a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) export hub within the next decade. In fact, seven liquefaction projects representing tens of billions of ...

Gazprom net income falls 10%

Gazprom reported a 10.8 per cent drop in net income for the third quarter of 2013, reversing a first-half profit increase, due to growing operating costs and a drop in finance income that offset higher revenues from gas sales. The move came just two months ...

Npower issues second correction of energy cost figures

Npower has slashed its estimate of the cost of Electricity Market Reform to businesses, in its second climb-down this week. Exclusive: leakage rose in 2012-13 SSE expects to cut investment as policy uncertainty persists Elderly council tenants overcharged ...

SSE Reviews Offshore Wind Investments After U.K. Decision

SSE Plc (SSE), the U.K.'s second-biggest energy supplier, will review its offshore wind developments after two of its ventures missed out on funding. The utility said it will complete the “wide-ranging” study before the end of the ...

SSE 'on course' for £1.5bn profit

Energy supplier SSE has announced it is on course to make more than £1.5bn in profit this year, despite losing 250,000 gas and electricity customers. SSE said the number of household accounts in Great Britain and Ireland fell from 9.47 million ...

SSE: the redundancy of analysis

Bets on political outcomes are some of the riskiest wagers. So it is understandable that shares in SSE, where price rises have hit customer numbers, have fallen almost 5 per cent in a year. The looming question is whether politicians will rejig regulation ...

UPDATE 1- UK's SSE couples price cap promise with investment warning

LONDON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - British utility SSE said it planned to cap energy prices for about a year from this March, going beyond a previous promise to pass on government price reductions with a commitment to control bills not so far made by ...

Controversy over Shell/Gazprom £4 million gifts to Cambridge University

Graphic from the remarkable Guardian newspaper article: Unloveable Shell, the goddess of oil (Click on image to enlarge): Sub-headline: For a century, Shell has explored the Earth to make our lives more comfortable, But in its wake, says Andrew Rowell ...

British swimmers aiming high in Belgium

A strong British Gas GBR Swimming team will head to Antwerp this weekend for the Flanders Speedo Cup. The team of 46 will compete against some of the top swimmers in Europe as they continue the preparation phase of the year in readiness for a season that ...

Gazprom profits plunge 10.5% due to poor sales to Ukraine

Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom (MCX: GAZP.ME - news) reported on Thursday a 10.5-percent plunge in third-quarter profits but gains over the first nine months of 2013 thanks to booming European sales. The company, the world's biggest natural gas firm ...

SSE set for huge profit jump after hiking energy bills

Energy giant SSE is on track to make a profit of £1.54 billion this year two months after it announced a sharp hike in prices. The news is likely to spark fresh anger following Labour calls for a cap on household gas and electricity bills as incomes ...

SSE set for profit jump to $1.5bn after hiking energy bills

Energy giant SSE is on track to make a profit of £1.54 billion this year, hiking payout to shareholders, two months after it announced a sharp hike in prices. The news is likely to spark fresh anger following Labour calls for a cap on household gas and ...

SSE Energy Giant Set To Make £1.5bn Profit After 8.2% Price Hike

It has argued it needs to make money to fund such projects ... of environmental and social policies from the energy bill to the taxpayer". SSE said a shake-up at the top of the company hierarchy will see its management board replaced by a slimmed-down ...

SSE share price: Company sees profits rising despite drop in customer numbers

iNVEZZ.com, Thursday, January 23: SSE Plc (LON:SSE) today said that it was on track to deliver increases in its full-year dividend and adjusted earnings per share. The energy supplier however saw its customer numbers decline by 250,000 in the nine months ...

SSE plc Announces Fall In Total Retail Accounts

The shares of SSE (LSE: SSE (LSE: SSE.L - news) ) (NASDAQOTH: SSEZY.US) closed yesterday at 1,317p. Today, the FTSE 100 member confirmed that during the period between April-December the number of electricity and gas accounts throughout Britain and ...

SSE to cap energy prices until 2015

The company also said on Thursday it would carry out a review ... in an effort to cut soaring energy bills in the run-up to a 2015 election.

SSE profits to rise to £1.5bn on higher energy bills

Energy giant SSE has ... The supplier was the first to raise household prices this winter, increasing them by 8.2pc from mid-November after claiming it was “sorry” to do so but had no choice because of rising costs. It is also last to ...

SSE set for £1.54bn energy profits

Energy giant SSE said it was on course to pump up profits to £1.54 billion this year and increase payouts ... green policies from energy bills was "an important step in the right direction". But he said more needed to be done "to shift the full cost ...

Price rises push SSE customers to switch energy suppliers

SSE has paid the price for being the first of Britain's big six energy companies to raise prices as customers fled to rival suppliers. The Perth-based group, which operates the Scottish Hydro and Southern Electric brands, said it ended the year with 9.2m ...

Ukraine sets back Gazprom profits by 10.5%

Ukraine had planned to slash its purchases from Russia to about ... being delayed again," Moscow's VTB Capital investment bank said in a research note. Russian news reports said Moscow now hoped to clinch a final agreement during a planned visit by ...

SSE upbeat despite fall in customer numbers

Energy supplier SSE today said it lost 250,000 customers in the nine months to December, but it remained on course to grow its profits and dividends. The Perth-based group had 9.47 million retail customers across the UK and Ireland at the end of last month ...

SSE To Raise FY Dividend By 3% After Solid Performance

Battle-Scarred Army Truck Vail's Midwestern Starter Ski Slopes Hearty Band of Volunteers Makes Hummingbirds Count Subscriber Content Read Preview Organic Food Fight

SSE celebrates £1.5bn rise in profits – nobody else does

Well, it's nice that somebody is getting something out of cripplingly high energy bills. SSE, who apologetically claimed they had ‘no choice' but to raise energy prices by 8.2% have announced a shameful profit of £1.54bn, and you can bet they're ...

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

SSE to lift fiscal-year dividend by 3%

LONDON--Gas and electricity supplier SSE PLC (SSE.LN) Thursday reported a solid performance so far in the year ending March 31 and said it expects to increase its dividend for the year by 3% on the previous year on adjusted earnings per share ...

Homeland Security chief says border security is a priority

The new secretary of homeland security stressed alertness along the U.S.-Mexico border, but during his first official visit to Southern Arizona he did not address recent cartel-related violence in Sonora. “We have to remain vigilant in the face of ...

Energy bill increases blamed on 'draughty' homes

Npower chief executive says improving energy efficiency in homes will help reduce bills. Npower has claimed bills in the UK are high because the country's "old and draughty" houses waste so much gas and electricity. Customers in the UK are having to pay ...

Natural Gas Locomotives May Prove Cheaper, Cleaner

The boom has created such abundance that prices dropped to an average of $3.73 per million British thermal units last year — less than one-third of their 2008 peak. Over the past couple of years, cheap gas has inspired many utilities to turn ...

Earth Defense Force 2025 Release Date Announced For PS3, Xbox 360

For those unfamiliar with the series, Earth Defense Force is basically the campy monster ... Keep in mind that, while the first bit of DLC will be available day and date with the game's launch, that's probably only because the localization process was ...

Npower chief accused of dodging the watchdogs

Margaret Hodge, the chairwoman of Parliament's public spending watchdog, has condemned the chief executive of RWE npower for failing ... Instead, he sent his more junior head of policy and public affairs, John McElroy, even though Mr Massara had found ...

SCCI concerned over EDF spending

Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dr Sarfraz Bashir expressed reservations over the spending of billions of rupees collected under Export Development Fund every year. Talking to reporters on Wednesday, he was of the view that the amount ...

Transparency data: Departmental spend over £500: December 2013

By HM Government

A monthly, updated list of all financial transactions spending over £500 made by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Transparency data: Government procurement card spend over £500: December 2013

By HM Government

A monthly list of spending over £500 made on the Government Procurement Card by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Speech: Towards Green Deal 2.0

By HM Government

Thank you to the UK Green Building Council for hosting today's event.



I am delighted to be here this morning.



I want to begin by saying; I very much welcome the report published today by the UK Green Building Council.



Constructive feedback and engagement from industry are key to helping make the Green Deal a success.



It is almost one year to the day since I formally launched the Green Deal so it is a good time to pause and reflect on progress.



There are 3 key points I would particularly like to stress in my speech today:




  • Firstly, as I look back on the Green Deal's first year, despite the critics, the programme has seen an encouraging start.




  • Secondly, I want to update you on the progress we are making to implement improvements to the programme having listened to feedback




  • Thirdly, we need to go further, much further and work hand in hand with industry to drive this programme forward



So to begin with, I want to set a little bit of context.



Since day one of coming into Government we have been committed to helping people to heat and light their homes more efficiently and more affordably.



We know that hardworking families are being hit by the rising cost of gas and electricity.



And we know that this is not helped by Britain having some of the oldest, leakiest and most inefficient building stock in Europe.



Consequently, the Coalition has promoted energy efficiency across the board and given it a priority that no previous Government has attempted.



You don't need me to tell you the importance of energy efficiency to our society.



Not only can it save individuals and businesses money on their bills, but it has many wider benefits too.



It can drive investment in our economy, helping UK industry to compete in the global race for green skills and growth. It can strengthen our security of supply and it can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.



This Government aims to improve the relationship between demand and supply, developing an energy efficiency market where consumers are aware of the beneficial options available to them and where companies deliver profit making energy efficiency services as a matter of course.



Central to this vision is of course the Green Deal.



The Green Deal is a world-first and long-term initiative designed to upgrade the energy efficiency of Britain's homes.



The most ambitious home improvement Programme since the Second World War.



But it is exactly that, a home improvement programme, not just a programme to shift finance plans.



It has created a new, trustworthy market to empower bill payers to choose which energy-saving improvements are needed to make their homes warm more energy efficient and allow people to take control of their energy bills.



A market of clearly branded, trusted measures, trusted installers, trusted assessors and trusted companies.



At the very heart of the new Green Deal market is the strong consumer confidence in the Green Deal brand of certification.



The Green Deal is radical. It is opening up new choices and simultaneously new products and services.



As I said in my introduction it has been an encouraging first year for the Green Deal.



It has not exactly developed in the way we anticipated with a very slow start from the Big 6, but terrific growth from SMEs.



Together with the ECO, the Green Deal has improved over 400,000 homes in their first eleven months.



And crucially it is the number of measures installed, not the number of Green Deal finance plans that I want to focus on.



Today we announced new figures that show over a 129,000 assessments have been completed until the end of November and research published last week shows that 81% of those households have installed, are in the process or intend to install at least one measure.



Of those who have had measures installed, 87% are satisfied with the quality of the measures installed.



We have an exciting and sustainable supply chain with:




  • Over 125 authorised Green Deal providers.




  • Over 2,900 advisors registered to carry out Green Deal assessments.




  • And over 2,300 organisations now officially Green Deal approved to carry out installation.



So as I say, the foundations are in, there are good signals of growth but now we really need to inject more momentum.



And to do that, there are new incentives to drive up demand but also we are making a series of improvements to the Green Deal itself.



This brings me on to my second point.



We have been listening very carefully to feedback from industry.



We have listened to consumers and wider stakeholders recognising the need to balance ambition, against people's immediate concerns of consumers who fund any subsidy on their bills through their taxes.



In December we announced a £540M three year energy efficiency package for home buyers, landlords and public sector buildings as well as proposals to streamline the Green Deal



£450M funding for rebates for home buyers and to help private landlords improve their properties' energy efficiency.



To support supply chain jobs and really drive take up now, we have:




  • Quadrupled funds available to local authorities this year to £80m to promote Green Deal on a street by street basis, incentivising the delivery of hard to treat cavity and solid wall insulation. A critically important boost to my vision and ambitions community backed street by street roll out which has had a terrific response in local authorities.




  • Extended the current Green Deal cash back scheme to June and reviewed the values including uplifting solid wall insulation to £4,000.




  • Worked with energy companies to promote a stronger mix of ECO and Green Deal finance.



We have also established a Green Deal Working Group, led by Sir Ian Cheshire, Chief Executive of Kingfisher to further simplify the Green Deal process to make it easier for both consumers to access and SMEs to install measures.



Over the coming weeks we will be announcing:




  • Further improvements to the Green Deal – such as enabling consumers to complete a Green Deal finance plan in one day – and adjustments to Green Deal finance.




  • Details on the new homeowner's energy efficiency rebate.




  • Further Green Deal incentives to drive the market.




  • A substantial government led marketing campaign, including messages to catalyse action on RHI launch.



We have already been in close contact with many of you here today and I would encourage you to continue to feed-in your views.



This is the year when the Green Deal goes up a gear



But this brings me to my third point, that this is a joint endeavour between Government and industry.



We have worked hard together to get this far.



And my key message today is that we need to stick together and to partner effectively to make sure we keep up the momentum.



To succeed we will need to leverage your expertise, your reach with customers, your communications capacity, and your experience of what works and what doesn't.



Helping us, help you, win business, get working on improving people's homes, get their boilers replaced, their walls insulated and their windows double-glazed.



So I don't want to raise unrealistic expectations but over, 129,000 Green Deal Assessments in 11 months, leading to over 80% taking action with over 87% satisfaction rating.



This is a great base to build on, to scale up and mobilise, and in 2014, we will.

Government response: Response to the European Commission 2030 White Paper on climate change

By HM Government

In response to the European Commission 2030 White Paper on climate change, Edward Davey, Secretary of State Energy and Climate Change said:



“Today's proposals are a step in the right direction towards an ambitious emissions reduction target for Europe. They provide the flexibility to tackle climate change in the most cost-effective way, so that British consumers aren't paying over the odds to go green. This package backs the green growth agenda I've been working for with other European colleagues.



“A 40% GHG target for Europe is a good start which the UK fought hard for, and will lead to massive investment in low carbon energy, including many more renewables.



“Yet Britain has been clear that Europe must be ready to adopt a 50% target if the rest of the world is prepared to sign an ambitious global climate deal in 2015.



“It's good news that the Commission has listened to the UK argument that countries must be allowed to decarbonise in the cheapest way possible. However, the UK remains concerned about any renewables target especially as the debate within Parliament and the British green movement has moved on to technology neutral options like a decarbonisation target as the most cost effective and practical way of fighting climate change.



“The reform package for Europe's Carbon market is another important and welcome step in the right direction. We had proposed more comprehensive reforms but these proposals have the potential to revive the EU ETS and deliver more emissions reductions at least cost.



“The recognition that shale gas has an important role to play in cutting carbon as we move away from coal is also welcome. The UK pushed hard for proposals on shale gas to be robust but proportionate and I am pleased that the Commission has recognised that existing directives already cover the environmental issues shale gas raises. In the UK, we already have robust regulation in place and we must be careful to avoid delaying this emerging industry by years of debate over regulation that simply duplicates.

U.K. Research Network to Receive Fiber Upgrade after Extending Contract with SSE Telecoms

Janet, a UK-based academic research network, announced on Monday that it has extended its contract with SSE Telecoms for another ... It is designed to have a flexible architecture to meet the increasing demand for capacity and the changing needs of its ...

Npower chief hopes to 'restore trust' amid claims of 'misleading' report

Energy giant Npower claimed it is attempting to "break some of the myths" that he says "don't stand up to the facts" today with the supplier's second "Energy Explained" report. Npower announced a 10 per cent average bill increase in the latest ...

Natural gas at record highs

In New York, natural gas prices for immediate delivery soared Wednesday to a high of $135 per million British Thermal Unit, according to the Kilduff Report, an energy market publication. "I don't recall natural gas ever trading that high," said ...

Natural gas at record highs during cold snap

It's very cold out there. Unfortunately for some consumers, the price of natural gas and propane is rising due to stronger demand. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Prices for natural gas and propane hit record highs this week as temperatures plummet in many ...

Natural gas at $5 is ‘not impossible’: Citi Research

Natural-gas futures jumped on Wednesday, set for their highest close since June 2011, and prices may still have quite a rally ahead. February natural gas /quotes/zigman/2307990/realtime NGG14 was last at $4.68 per million British thermal units ...

Gazprom to hold new talks with EU on antitrust probe

"The next round of these discussions will be tomorrow and I don't want to prejudge the outcome of course," he said. Asked if they were close to a solution, he said: "We are always close to solutions." A spokesman for the European Commission ...

E.ON proposes changes at Stoke, Sandbach, Thornhill and Castleford CCGT sites

By VictoriaBlake

E.ON has today (WED) announced that it plans to close its Stoke CCGT facility therefore removing 56MWe of UK generating capacity due to the lack of viable commercial options for the plant. In addition the company has announced that operations structures at Sandbach, Castleford and Thornhill CCGT facilities will also be altered to further reduce costs reflecting the new realities of running generation CCGT sites in the current economic climate. These facilities can provide up to 162MWe to the grid when required.



E.ON is working closely with employees and contractors across the four sites to discuss potential options during and beyond the restructuring process.



Commenting on the announcement Richard Pennells, E.ON's UK Country Director Steam and CCGT, said:


“Our absolute priorities are working to support our colleagues and contractors through this change.



“Over the last five years E.ON has invested over £6bn in the UK's energy infrastructure but there is no doubt that the operational environment remains very challenging, particularly for CCGT power stations which in many areas are continuing to fight for survival in the current market, providing increasing uncertainty around future generating capacity planning.”



Ends



For more information contact:


Victoria Blake (02476 181 304)

SSE Downgraded by RBC Capital to Underperform (SSE)

SSE (LON:SSE) was downgraded by equities researchers at RBC Capital to an “underperform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, AnalystRatings.Net reports. They currently have a GBX 1,220 ($20.03) target price on the stock. RBC Capital's ...

Natural gas prices above $100? Better tweak the system

A freezing start to 2014 changed all that. After prices in the poorly supplied U.S. Northeast spiked to new highs in the first week of January, ICE raised the limit for trades from $99 to $199 per million British thermal units on Jan. 6 ...

Government response: Npower energy bills analysis

By HM Government

Npower's analysis of the impact of energy bills is misleading on so many levels.



Government estimates that the impact of our social and environmental programmes will in fact lower energy bills compared to what they would be in the absence of our policies, by as much as £166 in 2020.



A number of the policies listed by Npower don't have any impact on household energy bills, including the Renewable Heat Incentive, Climate Change Levy and the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

Npower's charm offensive backfires

With public trust in energy companies taking something of a battering, they are launching a charm offensive. But npower's latest attempt to explain the facts about energy appeared to be foundering this morning, as it took criticism from the energy ...

Why fracking for shale gas won’t bring Britons cheap energy bills

Debate over the development of shale gas in the UK and its potential benefits has intensified in recent weeks as the prime minister visited a fracking site in Lincolnshire to make announcements over how… David Elmes owns shares in oil & gas companies he ...

EDF in talks with South Korean company over maintenance of UK nuclear sites

The duration of the possible contract is more than 17 years, Reuters quoted local media as saying. A spokesman at Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co, the parent company of DPS, said: "the deal is under discussion but nothing has been finalised."

Npower criticised over 'misleading' report on power costs

An attempt by npower to rebuild trust in the energy industry has backfired after a report it produced on power costs was described by both the government and the regulator Ofgem as misleading and in some cases wrong. The gas and electricity ...

UPDATE 1-Gazprom targets May for China gas deal, angles for pre-payments

MOSCOW/LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Gazprom on Wednesday proposed signing a major China gas export deal in May, as industry sources indicated that the Russian gas giant may offer a lower price in return for billions of dollars in upfront payments.

Beyond partnerships: The fourth stage of environmentalism

Fred Krupp foretold the situation in 1986. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, no less, he argued it was time to move to a "third stage" of environmentalism. The first stage, he explained, focused on conservation and dated back to Teddy ...

Gazprom eyes tradeoff between price, prepayment in China talks

MOSCOW/LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Russian gas giant Gazprom may offer a lower price for its gas in talks with China in exchange for billions of dollars in upfront payments, industry sources said as Gazprom bosses landed in Beijing for a round of ...

Npower blasted for 'misleading' report

Energy giant Npower has been blasted for “incorrect and misleading” figures in a report on rising energy prices. In the supplier's second "Energy Explained" report Npower chief executive Paul Massara said the actual unit prices of gas and electricity ...

Analysis: Gazprom says flexible pricing behind record exports to EU

relies on greater linkage to spot prices in its long-term contracts compared with Gazprom's contract prices. In Norway, the amount of natural gas transported to receiving terminals in Germany, Belgium, France and the UK fell 4.9bcm to 102.5bcm in 2013 ...

Npower publishes ‘misleading’ figures on energy costs

Given this level of certainty we can see that after 2014 network costs per household are expected to remain broadly flat in real terms. It is unclear how Npower can state with any authority otherwise.” The Department of Energy and Climate ...

Miliband energy price freeze pledge is hitting investment – RWE npower boss

Ed Miliband's pledge to freeze energy ... which set 60% of the price." The npower chief executive agreed that too much energy is used as a luxury as he cited his teenage daughters who leave on lights, iPods and televisions at home. "I do think we need ...

Npower chief blames 'old and draughty' houses for rising energy bills

Npower boss has claimed that energy bills in the UK are higher because the country's "old and draughty" houses waste gas and electricity. Chief executive Paul Massara said the actual unit prices of gas and electricity in the UK are among the lowest in ...

Ofgem: npower's cost data is 'incorrect and misleading'

Energy regulator Ofgem has accused npower of producing a "misleading" report about the cost of producing gas and electricity. The firm had argued that rising costs of transporting energy meant they could do little to control the prices charged ...

Npower boss aiming to dispel myths to restore trust

The chief executive of npower has said he wants to dispel myths about the energy industry in a bid to restore trust in the under-fire sector. Mr Massara said the actual unit price of energy in the UK was one of the lowest in Europe, but claimed ...

Npower Slammed By Ofgem Over Billing Claims

The energy watchdog and the Government have accused gas and electricity supplier npower of "misleading" consumers over the cost structure of household bills. Npower released a 14-page document which sought to "create a better understanding of the facts ...

1995 Pontiac Bonneville SSE

Options Include: Heated Mirrors, Intermittent Wipers, Power Windows, Rear Spoiler, A/C, Adjustable Steering Wheel, AM/FM Stereo, Cassette, Leather Wrapped Steering Wheel, Pass-Through Rear Seat, Power Driver Seat, Power Steering

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Revealed: £600k npower chief slammed by hard-up families after blaming THEM for sky-high bills

THE £600,000-a-year boss of energy giants npower was condemned by hard-up families last night after saying they were to blame for sky-high bills. Chief executive Paul Massara, whose company's average 10.4 per cent winter price hike was the highest of ...

Green policies to drive £200 rise in energy bills this decade, supplier claims

Energy bills will rise by more than £200 over the rest of this decade, driven by costs of government green policies, unless consumers use less gas and electricity, supplier npower has warned. A typical dual fuel bill will increase from £1,123 ...

Npower blames 'old draughty homes' (From Times Series)

Energy giant Npower has claimed bills in the UK are high because the country's "old and draughty" houses waste so much gas and electricity. Npower chief executive Paul Massara said the actual unit prices of gas and electricity in the UK are among the ...

Regulator accuses npower of 'misleading' costs report

Energy regulator Ofgem has accused npower of producing a "misleading" report about the cost of producing gas and electricity. The firm had argued that rising network costs limited their control over household bills. We welcome npower's effort to ...

High bills are your fault: Energy boss tells families power is only expensive because 'British houses waste so much energy'

Gas and electricity bills are high only because households waste so much power, an energy boss claimed yesterday. Saying he wanted to dispel myths and restore trust, Paul Massara of Npower insisted suppliers were responsible for only 20 per cent ...

Natural Gas Rises a 2nd Day as Snow Pummels Eastern U.S.

Natural gas rose for a second day ... Hometown Forecast Services Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire. The forecast wind chill reading for 7 a.m. New York time is minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service.

‘High bills? Your home is too draughty,’ says boss of energy firm npower

Paul Massara, chief executive of ­German-owned npower, claimed British houses are “old and draughty” while the unit price of gas and electricity in the UK is among the lowest in Europe. His comments came as energy chiefs were slammed by MPs for their ...

S.Korea Doosan in talks with EDF for $2.8 bln maintenance contract

A spokesman at Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd, or parent company of DPS, said: "the deal is under discussion but nothing has been finalised." Asia's fourth-largest economy has been under pressure to curb its use of nuclear power ...

Npower blames 'old draughty homes' (From Warrington Guardian)

Energy giant Npower has claimed bills in the UK are high because the country's "old and draughty" houses waste so much gas and electricity. Npower chief executive Paul Massara said the actual unit prices of gas and electricity in the UK are among the ...

Ofgem accuses Npower of 'misleading' report

The energy regulator Ofgem has accused electricity and gas supplier Npower of publishing a "misleading" report. Npower, one of the UK's big six suppliers, said the idea of the publication was to "shine a light" on company costs. In the report ...

Ofgem disputes Npower claim on energy price rises

Delayed new nuclear may be unnecessary by 2020 EDF sells majority stake in Fallago Rig windfarm National Grid workers ban overtime Scotland to block fracking on environmental grounds Ed Davey backs renewables as offshore wind investment announced In its ...

Npower fatcat blames PUBLIC for huge energy bills

The 48-year-old ... s 26 million homes waste money by “allowing expensive heat to escape through walls and roofs”. It produced a map showing how different parts of the country ranked for leaking energy. But it revealed the rich were the most wasteful ...

Npower blames 'old draughty homes' (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Npower chief executive Paul Massara said the actual unit prices of gas and electricity in the UK are among the lowest in Europe - but bills are high "because British houses waste ... But regulator Ofgem disputed this, saying that it sets the network ...

Energy firm SSE to recruit 100 new apprentices

Perth-based utility company SSE yesterday launched a recruitment drive for 100 new apprentices. The energy company employs more than 20,000 workers in total and has taken on at least 100 new trainess every year since 2007. The firm said it was looking for ...

FOI release: Emails and correspondence related to the setting up of meetings with Centrica and SSE

By HM Government

Request for information on emails and correspondence related to the setting up of meetings with DECC Special Advisers Centrica and SSE on 25 and 26 September 2013.

Transparency data: Special Advisers' gifts and hospitality received: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC Special Advisers' gifts and hospitality and meetings with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives.

Transparency data: Ministers' overseas travel: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC ministers' overseas travel.

Transparency data: Michael Fallon's meetings with external organisations: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC Ministers' meetings that involved outside interested parties.

Transparency data: Michael Fallon's gifts given and received over £140: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC ministers' gifts and hospitality.

Transparency data: Greg Barker's meetings with external organisations: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC Ministers' meetings that involved outside interested parties.

Transparency data: Greg Barker's gifts given and received over £140: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC ministers' gifts and hospitality.

FOI release: Edward Davey's meetings with external organisations: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC Ministers' meetings that involved outside interested parties.

Transparency data: Edward Davey's gifts given and received over £140: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC ministers' gifts and hospitality.

Transparency data: Baroness Verma's meetings with external organisations: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC Ministers' meetings that involved outside interested parties.

Transparency data: Baroness Verma's gifts given and received over £140: July to September 2013

By HM Government

Quarterly lists of DECC ministers' gifts and hospitality.

Freight Collaboration Key Trend of Past Year

The just released 2014 State of Green Business report examined the top sustainable business trends of the past year. Right at the top of the list was collaboration. EDF agrees. We are seeing an uptake in the willingness of companies to work ...

Recent Articles: Earth Defense Force 2025

The bugs return to Earth next month as D3 Publisher has announced that Earth Defense Force 2025 will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 18. Are you ready? In addition to all the futuristic soldier versus giant bug action of the ...

Storm Sends Natural Gas Prices for New York City, Mid-Atlantic States Soaring

NEW YORK--The price of natural gas delivered to New York City and the ... while the temperature in New York City on Jan. 28 could fall to 7 degrees Fahrenheit, the lowest for that day in roughly 70 years. Nearly half of U.S. households rely ...

EDF touts now-open Pittsburgh sustainable shale center

Antero Resources and Gulfport Energy appear to be the big winners in Ohio's first-ever quarterly production reports from 245 horizontal wells in Ohio's Utica shale. The Utica shale is emerging as a gas-rich, not an oil-rich, play with sweet spots in ...

Storm Sends Natural Gas Prices Higher

The price of natural gas delivered to New York City and the mid-Atlantic states soared to a record high on Tuesday, as a snowstorm brought freezing temperatures to the Northeast U.S., and traders worried about a potential drop in supplies of the ...

Scor to Buy Publisher of Books From Freud to EDF CEO Proglio

Scor SE agreed to become majority owner of Presses Universitaires de France, the 93-year-old publisher of thousands of academics books, including the French edition of Sigmund Freud. “We consider that Presses Universitaires de France is a part ...

Transparency data: DECC senior staff information: 30 September 2013

By HM Government

Reports prior to 31 March 2013 are available from the National Archive.

Transparency data: DECC junior staff information: 30 September 2013

By HM Government

Previous returns are available from the National Archive.

Transparency data: DECC senior staff information: 31 March 2013

By HM Government

Returns prior to March 2012 are available from the National Archive.

Transparency data: DECC junior staff information: 31 March 2013

By HM Government

Reports prior to 31 March 2013 are available from the National Archive.

SSE Downgraded to “Underperform” at RBC Capital (SSE)

RBC Capital currently has GBX 1,220 ($20.03) price objective on the stock. RBC Capital has also updated their ratings on a number of other stocks in the last week. The firm raised its price target on shares of Magna International from $93.00 to $101.00.

What LEED Did for Buildings, This Could do for Shale Gas Production

Through its certifications, the LEED™ program has had an enormous influence in making sustainably built homes and offices a growing part of the market. At the same time, developers who build to LEED™ standards find they get higher rents ...

Japan’s Insatiable Appetite for Natural Gas Is Key to Energy Stocks’ Future

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) increased its purchases of liquid natural gas (LNG) by 7% in January ... Kitmat is a facility for the export of LNG on Canada's Pacific Coast. Best of all, Kitmat, unlike the facilities in Mozambique ...

Statistics: Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation (ECO): monthly statistics (January 2014)

By HM Government

This release presents the latest statistics on the Green Deal (GD) for the domestic sector (including information on GD Assessments, Plans, Cashback and the GD supply chain). It also includes information on ECO brokerage and the latest statistics on measures installed under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).



The statistics presented in this release and tables include numbers recorded in each of the given months and the total to date. This is directly taken from a variety of sources including the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and Occupancy Assessment (OA) central register. These statistics are provisional and are subject to future revisions.

Shale gas: Britain’s saviour?

Natural gas isn't a renewable energy source, but it's far cleaner than coal. If we were able to unlock the huge reserves trapped in shale formations under large parts of this country, our energy costs and emissions would both fall significantly.

Liquefied natural gas carrier vessel added to Gazprom fleet

The ship is classified according to the Russian Maritime ... in the global LNG production supplying LNG to ten countries worldwide: Japan, Korea, China, India, Taiwan, the UK, the USA, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico. The Company's tanker ...

Step in the right direction: new employer-provided low-cost housing taxation

Due to increased pressure on employers from employees and workers' unions regarding remuneration, employers are unlikely to implement any transaction that would affect employees' earnings negatively. Thus, arguably, the existing tax implications for ...

Natural Gas Futures Rise As Cold Snap, Winter Storm Seen Boosting Demand

Natural gas for February delivery rose 7.4 cents, or 1.7%, to $4.401 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 6.7%, or 27.3 cents, last week and posted their largest weekly dollar gain in roughly 14 months ...

Loch Ness Wind Farm To Proceed

Scottish electric utility SSE announced on Friday that the Scottish Government had granted consent for the Bhlaraidh wind farm, to be located north-west of Invermoriston, itself on the western shore of Loch Ness. The planned wind farm will have ...

Norway's Ormen Lange gas plant to have fewer shutdowns -Shell

The plant at Nyhamna on Norway's northwest coast has experienced several unexpected shutdowns in recent years due to problems with the country's national grid and even brief outages can cause big swings in British gas prices. But the power supply has been ...

Warmth scheme reaches major milestone

Since the scheme was founded in 2000, more than 81,500 vulnerable residents in England and Wales have been referred to npower Health Through Warmth for aid with heating and insulation. More than £65million has been levered to help fund the work required ...

SSE takes no action over M&S Energy loophole

SSE can continue exploiting an Ofgem loophole after opting not to follow in the footsteps of British Gas by offering all its customers the same cheapest tariff. The energy giant SSE has a partnership with M&S that allows it to avoid an Ofgem directive that ...

Natural Gas Futures Decline for a Second Day in New York

Natural gas declined for a second day in New York ... That's down from its December forecast of 1.61 trillion. Prices may rise as high as $4.50 per million British thermal units, according to the bank. To contact the reporter on this story ...

The best energy companies you've never heard of

An annual survey by consumer campaigners Which? revealed the best and worst energy companies for customer satisfaction, but the results may be unfamiliar to the vast majority of British energy customers. The top five energy companies for ...

SSE subsidiary awarded £8.3m Ofgem funding

UK-based subsidiary of SSE, South Electric Power Distribution (SEPD), has been awarded £8.3m in funding from Ofgem's Low Carbon Network Fund for its innovative Solent Achieving Value from Efficiency (SAVE) project. It's Solent-based project which was ...

Snowden could use a trial to showcase spy claims

Should Edward Snowden ever return to the U.S., he would face criminal charges for leaking information about National Security Agency surveillance programs. But legal experts say a trial could expose more classified information as his lawyers try to build a ...

Gazprom OAO (EDR) : Veliky Novogorod to become largest gas carrier in Gazprom’s fleet

The vessel was named Velikiy Novgorod. It will be the fifth in Gazprom's tanker fleet. Taking part in the ceremony were Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Sergey Frank, Director General of Sovkomflot. Velikiy ...

Monday, January 20, 2014

Shale gas to take a decade to take off, UK industry

The British energy industry has said that it expects shale gas to take a decade to become a significant part of the country's domestic energy mix. A new survey by law firm Pinsent Masons showed that 16 out of the 100 firms included in the survey believe ...

EDF Plans Maintenance Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Unit

DELHI--January 21, 2014--Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--France state utility Electricite de France S A (EDF) (EPA: EDF) (Paris) has planned a maintenance shutdown at the fourth reactor unit of its Gravelines Nuclear Power

Britain’s shale gas boom yet to get fracking

A British shale gas boom is a far more distant prospect than ministers have suggested, with at most one or two wells likely to be fracked this year, according to industry experts. Michael Fallon, the energy minister, last week unveiled new incentives for ...

“Shoot Down Everything!”: An EDF 2025 Interview

With the release of Earth Defense Force 2025 just a few weeks away, we thought it would be a good time to interview some of the awesome people at Sandlot about the series, EDF 2017 on Vita. For people who don't know, could you give a general ...

Third of Scots 'confused' about who to call in power cut

More than a third of Scots are confused about who to contact first in the event of a power cut, according to research published by Scottish Power. A total of 36% said they would contact the company which sends them their electricity bill ...

FOI release: UK’s 2013 Submission of EU ETS free allocations

By HM Government

Response to request for copies of the UK's 22 October 2013 and 27 November 2013 submissions of EU ETS free allocations to the European Commission

Gazproms Largest Gas Carrier Named

The vessel was named Velikiy Novgorod. It will be the fifth in Gazprom's tanker fleet. Taking part in the ceremony were Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Sergey Frank, Director General of Sovсomflot. Velikiy ...

SSE to increase charges by 7 %

SSE said levies to pay for low-carbon generation and energy efficiency had risen sharply but UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey hit back saying these were ... MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis said there were still deals allowing households to lock ...

FOI release: FID Enabling applications for Investment Contracts

By HM Government

Response to request for information on applications for an Investment Contract in Phase 2 of FID Enabling

Crazy In Love couple Beyonce & Jay-Z will perform at the Grammy Awards on Sunday

Not only does Jay-Z cameo on Beyoncé's new single Drunk In Love, she sang on his Grammy-nominated song Part II (On The Run ... will join the Halo hitmaker on stage, and that Sasha Fierce will join Jigga for Direct TV's Super Bowl concert ...

Correspondence: DECC grant for participation in SACSESS EU project

By HM Government

Nuclear power plays a key role in limiting the EU's emissions of greenhouse gases and makes an important contribution to improving its independence, security and diversity of energy supply. SACSESS is an EU collaborative project under the FP7 framework with 26 partners. It aims at optimising chemical separation processes that would be required for future closed nuclear cycles by focusing on all the safety issues related to the industrial implementation of a chemical process involving actinides.



DECC are providing National Nuclear Laboratory Ltd with a grant to enable them to undertake aspects of the programme relevant to UK nuclear expansion scenarios of 40 – 75GW that could involve a transition to Generation IV systems. In these high level scenarios spent fuel will need to be recycled both to manage the inventory and to provide the fuels for the Generation IV reactors.

Shale gas 'boom' is a long way off, claim experts

A British shale gas boom is a far more distant prospect than ministers have suggested, with at most one or two wells likely to be fracked this year, according to industry experts. Michael Fallon, the energy minister, last week unveiled new ...

Shale gas setback as ministers' hopes of 20-40 wells over two years 'unlikely' to be met

A British shale gas boom is a far more distant prospect than ministers have suggested, with at most one or two wells likely to be fracked this year, according to industry experts. Michael Fallon, the energy minister, last week unveiled new ...

'British shale gas production won’t cut energy prices'

The British government's Energy Secretary Ed Davey says Britain's exploitation of shale gas reserves using fracking will not bring down consumer prices. However the threat of competitiveness that UK and Europe could face from the US bringing online their ...

British Gas launches connected services brand Hive

British Gas is to launch a brand called Hive around a family of products and services offering homeowners the chance to control the energy efficiency of their homes via their smartphones. The brand launches next month with a an app called “Hive Active ...

Solar Beats Gas Unlocking Middle East’s Heavy Oil, Report Says

Solar energy is cheaper than natural gas in powering enhanced oil recovery projects in the Middle East that tap heavy, viscous forms of crude, a developer of the technology said. Solar power for so-called EOR projects costs about $5 to $7 per ...

Best and worst energy firms for customer satisfaction

Good Energy and Ecotricity, independent small suppliers, each scored 82pc for shared first ... The company blamed the switch to a new billing system. The analysis is complied with data from the Citizens Advice service, the energy ombudsman ...

SSE Stock Rating Lowered by RBC Capital (SSE)

SSE (LON:SSE) was downgraded by stock analysts at RBC Capital to an “underperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, American Banking News.com reports. They currently have a GBX 1,220 ($20.03) price target on the stock. RBC Capital's price ...

More Brits signing up for British Gas 'smart' heating app as Google enters the field

Nina Bhatia, managing director of British Gas' Connected Homes division, said the interest of these tech giants was a good thing. She said: “More competitors in this space will do better for consumers. The advantage we have is we are in UK homes.

Thousands sign up for British Gas 'smart' heating as Google enters the sector

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site. You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it's full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your ...

Middle class families are turning to crime by getting specialist gangs to tamper with their gas and electricity supplies because of soaring energy bills

On a smaller level, individual householders are using bicycle inner tubes to divert their supply around the official meter, meaning they pay for just a fraction of what they use. People can learn how to divert their energy supplies from numerous ...

Npower flags big business fears over Electricity Market Reform costs

The energy supplier published the figure on Monday, along with the results of a roundtable with energy buyers from high street retail chains, manufacturers and other major energy users. Participants expressed concerns the government's overhaul of the ...

UK energy firms see their reputations plunge to a new low

British Gas scored 39%, below SSE and Scottish Power on 41%, EDF Energy (44%) and E.On (45%). British Gas and Npower both fell below the industry average of 41%. Good Energy held the top spot for the third year running, sharing it with Ecotricity ...

Npower voted worst for customer satisfaction - again

Npower scored the worst, with a customer satisfaction score of just 31%, followed by British Gas (39%), SSE (41%), Scottish Power (41%), EDF Energy (44%) and Eon (45%). British Gas and Npower were both below the average score of 41%, which has dropped from ...

Low satisfaction for energy buyers

A new low in customer satisfaction with gas and electricity suppliers has revealed "the failings of a broken energy market", according to consumer group Which? A new low in customer satisfaction with gas and electricity suppliers has revealed "the failings ...

SSE PLC Could Be Worth 1,530p

Indeed, SSE currently trades on a historic price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.2, which doesn't sound too high on an absolute basis. However, when compared to the FTSE 100, it becomes clear that SSE could be good value on a relative basis ...

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Janet to extend UK leading research and education network

SSE Telecoms has extended its relationship with Janet, the UK research and education network. As part of a five-year contract, with an option to extend for a further five years, SSE Telecoms will deliver network services that replace Janet's current ...

Natural Gas Drops a Second Day on Milder U.S. Weather Forecasts

Natural gas dropped for a second day in New York on speculation that unusually mild weather in the U.S. will reduce demand for heating fuel. Futures for February delivery fell as much as 2.8 percent to $4.203 per million British thermal units in ...

Customer satisfaction with energy firms falls to new low

British Gas and Npower both fall below the industry average of ... we will maintain the same staff-to-customer ratio as we grow, because excellent customer service remains our key focus.” Last week, figures from Consumer Futures showed Npower ...

SSE secures approval for Bhlaraidh wind farm

We hope to continue the strong community relationships formed historically in Glenmoriston as a result of our hydro power generation, and through the wind farm proposal in more recent years. "SSE is recognised as a responsible developer and will be working ...

EDF Energies Nouvelles now has over one gigawatt in wind energy projects in Texas

Located in Oldham county in northern Texas, Spinning Spur 3 project was originally developed by Cielo Wind Power LP. The 194 MW project is due to be commissioned by year-end 2015. The clean electricity generated from the Spinning Spur 3 Wind Project will ...

REVEALED: Labour threat to meddle in energy market wipes £7bn off company shares

British Gas owner Centrica and SSE have seen their market value fall by a fifth since September, when Ed Miliband promised to freeze prices if he wins the next election. Shares slumped within days of the pledge, and have fallen steadily since. News of the ...

Natural gas futures - weekly outlook: January 20 - 24

Investing.com - U.S. natural gas futures declined on Friday, as investors locked in gains from the previous session's strong rally which took prices to the highest closing level of the year. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures for ...

Emails Reveal UK Helped Shale Gas Industry Manage Fracking Opposition

Shale gas executives and government officials collaborated in private to manage the British public's hostility to fracking, emails released under freedom of information rules reveal ... "Sorry to raise your blood pressure on this subject ...