David Blackman

Wylfa needed for UK to hit nuclear targets, MPs warn

It is "difficult to see" how the UK government can deliver its nuclear power ambitions without a plant at Wylfa in north Wales, MPs have warned. The House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee urges UK ministers to prioritise the construction of a new nuclear scale plant on Ynys Mon.

REMA creating low carbon investment ‘hiatus’

ESO failing to tackle grid connection woes

The electricity system operator (ESO) is failing to tackle transmission queue management problems, an influential group of MPs has claimed. The cross-party group said it welcomed National Grid ESO’s five point plan to tackle transmission queue management issues, published in February, but said the measures have “not proved successful to date”. They warn that failing to improve grid connections puts the UK’s target of a fossil-fuel free grid by 2035 at risk.

MPs vote for energy scrutiny committee chair

Scottish National MP Angus MacNeil has been elected as chair of the House of Commons new Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. The committee has been established to scrutinise the work of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), which was set up earlier this year.

Shapps: Levy likely to be introduced to fund social tariff

Grant Shapps has hinted that any social tariff for low-income households is likely to be paid for via a levy. Giving evidence to the House of Lords environment and climate change committee, the energy secretary revealed that he and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are likely to consult on the introduction of a social tariff this autumn. Shapps was also pressed to give more clarity on the government’s timetable for a decision on the future of home heating.

Scrap heat pump and solar planning rules, urges thinktank

Planning rules on the installation of rooftop solar panels and heat pumps should be scrapped, a new report by an influential right-wing thinktank has urged. The Policy Exchange’s report, Re-engineering regulation: an A-Z of reform, outlines 26 case studies of regulation with "unintended, perverse consequences".

Eon and SSE join CBI utility exodus

No clear plan for tackling sewage in Wales

Peers back tougher home energy efficiency targets

The House of Lords has backed tough new energy efficiency targets, including that all homes to meet the EPC (energy performance certificate) Band C standard by 2035. Peers voted by 227 votes to 197 to back a Labour amendment setting out the tightening up of minimum energy efficiency standards

Business support scheme cost £12.5bn less than estimated

The government’s winter energy support scheme for business has cost just a third of the amount the Treasury estimated last autumn, new official statistics show. Suppliers received £5.9bn from the Energy Bills Relief Scheme (EBRS), some £12.5bn less than the £18.4bn forecasted cost.