Exclusive: Joint venture with Centrica is aimed ultimately at reducing carbon intensity at the site
Hydrogen will be injected into an emergency gas-fired power station for the first time in a pilot backed by the owner of British Gas.
Centrica has invested in an industry joint venture which will trial using hydrogen at an existing “peaking plant” at its Brigg station in Lincolnshire, the Guardian can reveal.
Continue reading...Prime minister accused of ‘another screeching U-turn’ having previously rejected calls to impose levy
Renewable power companies will have their revenues capped in England and Wales, after the government bowed to pressure to clamp down on runaway profits.
The announcement late on Tuesday night provoked immediate accusations that Downing Street had performed “another screeching U-turn” – having previously rejected calls to impose a windfall tax on power giants.
Continue reading...Unnecessary policies and overpayments for services are draining the accounts of vulnerable customers
Elderly and vulnerable customers are being routinely overcharged by utility and insurance firms in a hidden scandal highlighted today by one of the country’s senior financial services executives. Unfair practices are putting them at risk of being unable to afford food and heating, he warns.
Michael Donald, a former director of Visa UK, said he was staggered to discover hundreds of pounds of overcharging when he carefully checked the direct debits on his 79-year-old mother’s accounts.
Continue reading...Environment Agency figures indicate people could be swimming in human waste this summer without warning
Sewage monitors at some popular seaside destinations in England and Wales are faulty or not installed, Environment Agency data has revealed, meaning people could be swimming in human waste this summer without realising.
Seaside holidays this year have been marred by water companies pumping raw sewage into the ocean, with popular beaches in areas including Sussex and Devon having to close.
Continue reading...Water company executives received on average £100,000 in bonuses, despite most firms missing targets
The annual bonuses paid to water company executives rose by 20% in 2021, despite most of the firms failing to meet sewage pollution targets.
Figures show on average executives received £100,000 in one-off payments on top of their salaries, during a period in which foul water was being pumped for 2.7m hours into England’s rivers and swimming spots.
Continue reading...Power blackouts after wholesale prices soar as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Soaring international energy prices have brought power blackouts to Europe as Kosovo said it could no longer afford to import electricity, adding to fears that tensions with Russia will plunge the continent into crisis this winter.
Consumers in the Balkan state have been told they will be allowed six hours of power at a time, punctuated by two-hour breaks, according to a spokesperson for its energy distribution company, KEDS.
Continue reading...Multimillion-pound payouts should be shelved until investment put in to help country recover from drought
Water company bosses should be stripped of their multimillion pound bonuses until they fix leaks and build reservoirs, politicians and campaigners have said as the country is gripped by drought.
The current drought, in which parts of England are the driest they have been since records began after five consecutive months of below average rainfall, have led to homes running out of water, rivers turning dry and farmers facing crop failures, causing many to be outraged at the companies that have failed to invest in reservoirs, fix leaks and stop sewage pollution from their pipes.
Continue reading...Anger is growing over the huge sums handed to shareholders and executives
Britain’s biggest water companies have come under the spotlight as the nation swelters during what could become the worst drought in 500 years, with hosepipe bans introduced across much of England in an attempt to fend off shortages.
Anger is growing over the huge sums handed to their shareholders and executives, given the companies’ record on tackling leaks and pollution and their failure to build more reservoirs. Politicians and campaigners are now calling for water company bosses to have their bonuses banned until they tackle these issues.
Continue reading...Ban begins from 26 August and follows similar moves by four other water firms in England and Wales
Yorkshire Water has become the fifth water company in England and Wales to announce a hosepipe ban owing to the hot and dry conditions.
The company, which has more than 5 million customers, said the restrictions would come into effect from 26 August.
Continue reading...Campaigner Feargal Sharkey says profiteering from firms that dump raw sewage into rivers an ‘obscenity’
The Environment Agency’s pension fund owns stakes in a string of British water firms – despite the watchdog calling for industry bosses to be jailed over shocking pollution levels, the Guardian can reveal.
An analysis of the Environment Agency Pension Fund’s investments shows it holds shares or bonds worth £28m in six of the largest water companies.
Continue reading...Water levels in southern Norway so low domestic consumers may be prioritised over international customers
British consumers could face even higher bills and potential energy shortages this winter after Norway threatened to ration electricity exports.
The UK receives hydroelectric power from Norway through a subsea interconnector cable running beneath the North Sea.
Continue reading...Regulator expands investigation after suggestions water firm was not complying with legal obligations
The regulator Ofwat has expanded its investigation into the dumping of raw sewage to include South West Water after finding “shocking” failures in the way the majority of water companies run their waste treatment works.
Ofwat said on Tuesday it had extended its inquiry after heightened concerns about South West Water’s environmental performance and suggestions it was not complying with its legal obligations.
Continue reading...Centrica says Equinor will deliver enough gas for next three years to heat 4.5m extra homes
The British Gas owner, Centrica, has signed a major supply deal with the Norwegian state oil company, Equinor, as ministers scramble to secure domestic energy supplies.
Equinor has agreed to deliver an additional 1bn cubic metres of gas supplies to the company for each of the next three years, enough to heat an additional 4.5m UK homes.
Continue reading...Centrica boss also defends Amber Rudd’s appointment to its board as a non-executive
The British Gas owner, Centrica, has warned that Rishi Sunak’s windfall tax will “damage investor confidence” as Britain attempts to build up green energy supplies.
The Centrica chairman, Scott Wheway, and its chief executive, Chris O’Shea, hit out at the chancellor’s 25% levy on oil and gas operators’ excess profits, which will be used to pay for measures to reduce soaring energy bills.
Continue reading...Michael Lewis calls for substanstial government intervention to help people deal with costs
Consumers will have to cope with extraordinarily high fuel bills for at least another 18 months, the boss of Britain’s biggest energy supplier has said.
Michael Lewis, the chief executive of E.ON UK, called for “very substantial” government intervention to help people with escalating fuel bills, one of the biggest factors in the cost-of-living crisis.
Continue reading...Experts site Scottish example, with turbines along roads and rail lines, as a way to make better use of ‘cheap, clean’ energy source
Onshore windfarms need not blight the most beautiful parts of England because there is plenty of room for them next to rail lines and on brownfield land, leading scientists have said.
The government decided to keep the curbs on onshore wind, introduced by David Cameron, in the recent energy strategy. This means that it will be difficult to expand onshore wind in England.
Continue reading...Electricity System Operator, the division that keeps the lights on in Great Britain, will form part of a new public body
The job of keeping the UK’s electricity and gas flowing will be returned to public control by 2024, under government plans for the effective nationalisation of a division of National Grid.
A new public body, the “Future System Operator”, will have responsibility for planning and managing energy distribution, with a focus on the challenges posed by decarbonisation.
Continue reading...Water firms commit to improving sewage discharge practices after government pressure
Severn Trent and Anglian Water say they will accelerate efforts to protect rivers after the government and regulators called on the sector to do more.
Last month, the environment minister Rebecca Pow called on water companies to significantly improve their practices in England and Wales to support the local environment.
Continue reading...Energy meter numbers were used instead of amount payable in 74 Storm Arwen compensation cheques
An energy company has thanked “honest” customers who did not try to cash compensation cheques for trillions of pounds sent out in error.
Compensation is being paid to tens of thousands of people who were left without power when severe “once in a generation” winds swept across the UK in November last year during Storm Arwen.
Continue reading...Electricity from coal plants has risen by 9% this year to fuel economic recovery from Covid, says watchdog
Coal power is on track to hit a new global record this year after an economic rebound that could drive worldwide coal demand to an all-time high in 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.
The amount of electricity generated from coal power plants has soared by 9% this year after a surge in fossil fuel demand to fuel the recovery from Covid lockdowns, a report by the watchdog says.
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