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Tony Cocker, who led Eon and sits on the board at SSE, has announced he will step down as chair of Affinity Water from January 2021 citing personal reasons for the decision.
5 years ago
Ofgem has unveiled a series of measures designed to protect millions of microbusiness customers from “unscrupulous” energy brokers, as well as enabling smoother switching. The announcement follows Ofgem’s review of the microbusiness energy market which it started last year.
SSE has appointed John Manzoni to succeed Richard Gillingwater as chair of its board, the energy company has announced. Manzoni, formerly chief executive of the civil service and permanent secretary to the cabinet office, will take on the role from 1 April 2021.
Good Energy founder and chief executive Juliet Davenport has joined the board of the Crown Estate. Robin Budenberg, chairman of the Crown Estate, said Davenport’s knowledge of the renewable energy sector will be “invaluable”.
Centrica’s deal to sell Direct Energy “undervalues” the North American business, a City analyst has told Utility Week. The British Gas owner has recently revealed it has struck a deal with US-based NRG Energy to sell its North American retailer for $3.625 billion (£2.85 billion).
As the CMA gathers submissions and evidence for redetermining the business plans of Anglian, Bristol, Northumbrian and Yorkshire Water, Ofwat has firmly defended its position and the final determinations it handed to the companies in December.
The challenges raised by the pandemic have accelerated Centrica through its digital transformation strategy and prompted mass-adoption of new technologies which the company would otherwise have struggled to achieve in half a decade according to James Boswell, director global end user computing at the energy giant.
Centrica has agreed to sell its North American subsidiary Direct Energy as part of a move to focus on the company’s core UK and Ireland activities. In its first half results for 2020, the company said Covid-19, coupled with low commodity prices, has had a “significant impact” on financial performance.
E (Gas and Electricity) incorrectly blocked 361 prepayment customers who had received discretionary credit from switching to another supplier, resulting in a compliance case with Ofgem. The energy regulator has since closed the case after E took action.
Ovo has signed a deal to allow its Kaluza platform to be adopted by the energy retail arm of Italian oil giant Eni, starting in France. The Kaluza platform currently powers Ovo Energy’s retail systems in the UK and was designed to integrate smart home devices.
Last month, the EIC (formerly the Energy Innovation Centre) swapped one industry heavyweight for another – with former Ofgem chair David Gray replacing ex-Eon chief executive Tony Cocker at the helm of the board. Utility Week spoke to both of them about the role of innovation in the sector, embracing the “right to fail” and their respective takes on how the RIIO2 determinations will affect investment in new solutions.
Our next #AskUsAnything webinar will discuss what working life will look like post-pandemic as well as asking how the pandemic will affect the sector’s challenge of filling an estimated 277,000 vacancies over the next decade.
Date: 07/08/2020 11:00 am
Ofwat has modified the licences of water companies in England and Wales, with the exception of Wessex Water, to limit the amount of money shareholders can be paid if a water company is in financial difficulty. The regulator expressed disappointment that Wessex had not consented to the change and said it would "consider how to proceed".