Posted on: 24/09/2024
This week's energy news headlines: The Government pledges to take on opponents of vital new renewable projects; New rules are proposed to protect businesses from rogue energy brokers ; The UK plans to launch a global clean power alliance to accelerate the transition. Our industry round-up includes the latest updates from Government departments and energy regulators.
Ofgem has launched a consultation on introducing the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) Levy Offset as part of work to mitigate the impact of supplier failures on consumers.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has published the outcome of its call for evidence on enabling industrial electrification.
The Government has published factsheets around the Great British Energy Bill.
OVO Electricity Ltd, OVO (S) Gas Ltd, and OVO Gas Ltd have agreed to pay a total of £2.37m in compensation and redress payments after Ofgem identified a number of failings in how the supplier handled customer complaints.
Ofgem has published its decision to approve Balancing and Settlement Code Modification P455 which introduces a new methodology for meter data collection and aggregation for domestic and small business consumers that are located on microgrids.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has vowed to take on the “blockers” to accelerate expansion of renewable energy.
In a speech to Energy UK’s annual conference Miliband stressed the importance of strengthening energy security.
“The faster we go, the more secure we become. Every wind turbine we put up, every solar panel we install, every piece of grid we construct helps protect families from future energy shocks,” he said.
But he added that the converse of that is that every wind turbine or solar farm which is blocked or every piece of grid which isn’t built makes the country less secure and more exposed.
“My message is we will take on the blockers, the delayers, the obstructionists, because the clean energy sprint is the economic justice, energy security and national security fight of our time.”
New rules are being proposed to better protect businesses from rogue energy brokers.
Energy brokers and price comparison websites will be among those set to be held to account by a new regulatory regime.
The Government said the proposals are a response to “unacceptable” instances of consumers and businesses being scammed by unregulated rogue brokers and other Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs) in the energy retail market.
It stressed that many TPIs provide valuable services to consumers, helping them to shop around for the best deals and secure energy contracts which are best tailored to their needs.
The proposals would make it mandatory for TPIs to provide transparent information on their fees and clarity over the terms of their contracts to ensure consumers can make informed decisions on whether to sign on the dotted line. Universal standards of practice to prevent mis-selling and improve dispute resolution mechanisms would also be introduced to safeguard consumer rights.
The Government has announced plans to form a new Global Clean Power Alliance.
It said it wanted to leverage its ambition to be the first major economy to deliver clean power by 2030 to accelerate the clean energy transition.
In a speech by Foreign Secretary David Lammy on the climate emergency, he said while some countries are moving ahead in the transition, many are getting left behind.
“Without clean power, it will be impossible to decarbonise vast sectors of the economy, such as transport. We therefore need to accelerate the rollout of renewables across the globe in a way that this Government is doing at home,” he said.
Lammy said the alliance will need to focus on scaling up global investment.
“Emerging market and developing economies outside China account for just fifteen per cent of global clean energy investment,” he pointed out.
“And almost 700 million people have no access to electricity at all.”
A group of major UK businesses is calling on the Government to accelerate reforms to the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) scheme.
Together with the Climate Group, businesses including BT Group and Unilever said reforms would unlock more investment in renewable generation capacity, increase energy security and to bring down costs to support the decarbonisation of the UK grid.
Rich Marsh, Sustainability Director at BT Group, said: “The recent volatility in the REGO market underscores the urgent need for reform to ensure greater transparency and certainty for businesses who want to accelerate the transition to net zero.
“We recognise the role that businesses must play in this process, and we urge the Government to work with industry to create a more predictable and effective system that supports long-term investments in renewable energy and decarbonises the UK grid.”
More businesses are to have access to the Energy Ombudsman to resolve disputes with suppliers.
Following a consultation, the definition of a microbusiness able to use the dispute resolution service will now cover firms with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover of up to £6.5m or a balance sheet total of £5m, or an annual electricity consumption of not more than 200,000 kWh or an annual gas consumption of not more than 500,000 kWh.
The Government estimates the estimate that extending access to redress to small businesses will include approximately 4% more of the UK business population, totalling an additional 200,000 businesses alongside microbusinesses, meaning that 99% of business will be able to seek redress.
It said it will review the change 12-18 months after implementation to assess the effectiveness of the thresholds and consider further expansion of access if necessary.
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