Electricity retail

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Centrica postpones ‘fire and rehire’ proposals

GMB Union has called on Centrica to permanently take the option to “fire and rehire” employees off the table after the British Gas owner postponed its proposals until January 2021. In return trade unions have agreed not to ballot for industrial action in October- while Centrica seeks to find a negotiated agreement.

5 years ago

Groundhog Day for the energy sector

Just days after Ofgem revealed the supplier owed £8.7 million in renewables obligations (RO) and feed-in-tariff payments, Tonik Energy was no more - by far the largest supplier to exit the market in 2020. But, the tale of a business failure days after the RO bills are announced is becoming a familiar one. Utility Week examines how it all went wrong - and who will pick up the pieces.

5 years ago

New EV service launched to support roaming between charging networks

5 years ago

Rise in wholesale costs sees challengers increase tariffs

Pure Planet has announced a price increase due to the rise in wholesale costs as countries around the world emerge from the first phase of the coronavirus lockdown. Pure Planet co-founder Chris Alliot said in addition to the rise in wholesale prices, non-commodity costs, which make up a large part of energy bills, have also been going up.

5 years ago

Centrica to ‘leap-frog competition’ with British Gas Evolve

5 years ago

Tonik Energy becomes third supplier of 2020 to cease trading

5 years ago

Smart meter deal to solve procurement issues for challengers

Landis+Gyr has renewed its partnership with Calvin Capital in a deal it says will reduce the challenges faced by smaller energy suppliers in procuring smart meters. Under the new deal Landis+Gyr will provide SMETS2 smart meters to challenger energy brands which use Calvin Capital as their meter asset provider (MAP).

5 years ago

EDF MD: Why I was wrong about the pandemic

Six months into the pandemic and EDF Energy has had plenty of time to understand its impact on both its business and consumers. Managing director Philippe Commaret catches up with Utility Week and explains how his fears about the impact on the smart meter rollout have dissipated, how energy consumption patterns bode well for home workers and how a new service is helping customers with a smart meter better understand their usage.

5 years ago

Proposal to allow independent aggregators to trade flexibility in wholesale markets

5 years ago

Seven suppliers owe £34m in missed RO and FIT payments

Seven energy suppliers owe the regulator £34 million in Renewables Obligation (RO) and Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme payments. Figures released by Ofgem show Robin Hood Energy owes in excess of £12 million, while Tonik Energy has failed to pay £8.6 million.

5 years ago

Taskforce recommends fixed balancing charges on suppliers

5 years ago

Ofgem’s regulatory shift: What can energy firms learn from financial services?

5 years ago

Verastar acquires Axis for Business energy customers

Multi-utility provider Verastar has acquired the energy customers of Hull-based Axis for Business for an undisclosed sum. The company, which provides energy, water and telecoms services to small business customers, will serve the former Axis customers through Kinex, one of its four brands.

5 years ago

Paypoint ‘abused dominant position’

Ofgem has alleged a company which provides over the counter services to prepayment energy customers breached competition rules, causing detriment to suppliers. The regulator says that between 2009 and 2018 exclusivity clauses in Paypoint contracts meant retailers were left with limited ability to use rival services.

5 years ago

Total acquires on-street charging network in London

5 years ago

So Energy tops star ratings as challengers continue to dominate

So Energy has once again topped the Citizens Advice star ratings table, having been ranked first for six of the previous 11 quarters. These latest customer service ratings show the legacy suppliers continuing to lag behind their smaller rivals. British Gas X, Centrica's digital-only offering which was granted a supply licence earlier this year, debuted in the rankings at 35.

5 years ago

Ofgem forecasts a 20% increase in cost of administering RO

Ofgem has revealed it expects the costs of administering the renewables obligation (RO) for the 2020-21 year to be £6.6 million – a 20 per cent increase compared to the previous year. The administration charges are used to cover a number of costs under the scheme.

5 years ago

Trio appointed to manage new Retail Energy Code

5 years ago

Octopus expands into US with acquisition of Silicon Valley startup

Octopus Energy has entered the US market with the acquisition of Evolve Energy, a Texas and Silicon Valley-based startup. The company aims for its Kraken platform to have a presence in all 50 states, targeting 25 million accounts on the platform by 2027.

5 years ago

Energy switching fell to two-year low in Q2

The number of customers switching their gas or electricity supply in the second quarter of 2020 fell to the lowest level for more than two years, the latest statistics from Ofgem have shown.

5 years ago