Interesting links, articles, news and blog posts sent out to members on 23/01/23.
News: Crackdown on energy firms over rise in prepayment meters – BBC News Online
21 January 2023, Faarea Masud. Energy suppliers should stop forcing vulnerable households on to prepayment meters, the government has said:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64364195
News: Germany says it is no longer reliant on Russian energy – BBC News Online
19 January 2023. Germany no longer depends on Russian imports for its energy supply, the country’s finance minister has told the BBC:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64312400
News: Energy bills: calls for ‘social tariff’ when UK government support ends – Guardian Online
17 January 2023, Alex Lawson. Charities and non-profit bodies urge Jeremy Hunt to introduce discount tariff from April 2024:
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/jan/17/uk-energy-bills-social-tariff-government-jeremy-hunt
News: Put all of National Grid under state control, net zero campaigners urge – Guardian Online
15 January 2023, Phillip Inman. Investors paid almost £9bn in dividends and share buyback schemes over last five years, report has revealed:
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/15/put-all-of-national-grid-under-state-control-net-zero-campaigners-urge
Independent report: Review of Net Zero – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
13 January 2023. An independent review of the government’s approach to delivering its net zero target, to ensure that it is pro-business and pro-growth:
Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-net-zero
News: British Gas owner Centrica predicts eightfold profit hike after energy price surge – City AM
12 January 2023, Nicholas Earl. British Gas owner Centrica has predicted a near eightfold increase in its full-year profits, powered by soaring energy prices last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
News: ExxonMobil: Oil giant predicted climate change in 1970s – scientists – BBC News Online
12 January 2023, Georgina Rannard. One of the world’s largest oil companies accurately forecast how climate change would cause global temperature to rise as long ago as the 1970s, researchers claim:
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64241994
News: Millions are going without heating or hot water because they can’t afford to top up their meter – The Big Issue
12 January 2023, Isabella McRae. In 2022, Citizens Advice saw more people unable to top up their prepayment meter than in the whole of the last 10 years combined:
Link: https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/millions-ran-out-credit-prepayment-meter/
News: Ban forced prepayment meters says Citizens Advice as 160,000 Brits struggling to pay energy bills face compulsory switch – City AM
12 January 2023, Nicholas Earl. Forced prepayment meter installations by energy companies should be banned until new protections for vulnerable households are introduced, Citizens Advice has argued:
News: The role of smart meters in energy security – Cornwall Insight
10 January 2023, Nick Gabriel. Smart meters have the potential to play a critical role in energy security, providing near real-time information through a visual in-home display, empowering consumers to change how much energy they use and when they use it:
Link: https://www.cornwall-insight.com/the-role-of-smart-meters-in-energy-security/
Press release: Reforms outlined for Britain’s capacity market to secure a clean energy future – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Graham Stuart MP
9 January 2023. UK government outlines important proposals to reform Great Britain’s Capacity Market, ensuring it is fit for a net zero future while ensuring the security of our electricity supply:
News: SMF, Citizens Advice and Public First: Working together to protect customers from high energy bills: Open consultation on the future of energy bill policy – Social Market Foundation
January 2023. Project launched by sharing poll findings that show that voters are willing to pay more in tax to fund direct support for low-income households facing soaring energy bills:
Link: https://www.smf.co.uk/future-of-energy-bills/
News: Energy giant ExxonMobil sues EU to block energy windfall tax – BBC News Online
29 December 2023, George Wright. US energy giant ExxonMobil is suing the European Union (EU) in a bid to stop its new windfall tax on oil firms: