David Blackman

Drive to encourage new suppliers created ‘illusion of competition’

Scottish Power blasts BEIS for focus on switching as energy crisis brewed

The government’s focus last summer on encouraging opt ‘in’ and ‘out’ switching when the energy price crisis was brewing indicates a regulatory failing "years in the making", according to Scottish Power. The retailer also said the spate of insolvencies in 2021 had been "entirely predictable" due to the entry into the market of so many companies with "ill-thought-out loss leading strategies" and poor financial resilience.

Security plan: Kwarteng rebuffs energy efficiency critics

Rebate voucher plan sparks fraud and theft warning

Gas blending excluded from initial hydrogen subsidies

Treasury blocked insulation cash boost, minister admits

Ofgem told to fund grid upgrades ahead of need

Kwarteng approves 50MW solar farm in Lincolnshire

Future System Operator duties will prevent electricity ‘bias’

The statutory duties of the Future System Operator (FSO) will contain "clear whole systems expectations" to mitigate the risk of a "bias" towards electricity, the government and Ofgem have said in their joint response to a consultation on its functions and powers. The new body will absorb both National Grid Electricity System Operator and parts of the system operator for gas.

Extended carbon price ‘may spark motorist opposition’

Extending carbon pricing for road transport while fuel duty remains in place could spark a consumer backlash, a new report by the Energy Systems Catapult has warned. The study also concludes heat pumps are not yet an "economically viable" proposition for consumers, in terms of either upfront or running costs.