Finance and investment

Npower losses balloon as customers continue to depart

Npower has reported a sharp decline in earnings during 2019 after customers continued to leave the supplier in droves. Meanwhile, Eon has announced plans to create a new energy company called Eonnext that will combine the residential and SME customers of both companies.

Gnergy customers move to Bulb

Ofgem has selected Bulb to absorb 9,000 domestic customers and a small number of non-domestic customers held by the Hampshire-based company, which ceased trading last week.

Total buys stake in floating wind project off Welsh coast

Ofwat tells CMA firms can’t ask customers to pay for ‘previous shortcomings’

Pennon agrees £4.2bn Viridor sale

Macquarie signs first smart meter deal with challenger

Macquarie’s Specialised and Asset Finance business has signed a deal with So Energy to install second-generation (SMETS2) smart meter devices. It is the first such deal Macquarie has signed with a challenger energy supplier and the first time it is offering installation and management of meters, through its partnership with Morrison Data Services.

Flow battery firm RedT merges with US peer

Gulf-owners Bayford acquires challenger brand

The Bayford Group, an investment company which owns Gulf Gas and Power, has acquired challenger brand E (Gas and Electricity), which has more than 300,000 customers and employs around 150 people.

Vattenfall made decision to ‘go big or go home’

Vattenfall ultimately did not gain the scale required to make its venture into the UK energy retail market worthwhile, industry experts have told Utility Week. The state-owned Swedish renewables giant sold more than 190,000 customers to EDF this week.

EDF buys iSupply Energy customers from Vattenfall

Equitix buys smart meter portfolio for £291m

Investment management company Equitix has purchased around 187,000 smart meters for £291 million from Smart Metering Systems. The portfolio belonging to Crail Meters Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of SMS, had an average asset life of around 4.7 years and generated around £18.4 million of annual revenue last year.

Wessex and Bristol downgraded following final determinations

The Great Correction?

The bloodbath on the stock market this week saw shares in the likes of Centrica, BP and Shell plummet, while the water companies and National Grid remained resilient. Analyst Nigel Hawkins discusses the varying fortunes of the listed utilities as they navigate a volatile market.

Intelligent debt recovery

Mark Sussex, head of international, illion Digital Tech Solutions, discusses how smaller suppliers can differentiate themselves through the way they handle customers experiencing payment difficulties. Sussex argues that harnessing technology to assess affordability is key.

Budget promises £800m for CCS but ‘fails to close climate policy gap’

The government has pledged the construction of at least one gas-fired carbon capture and storage power station by 2030 and announced a new grant scheme for low-carbon heating. But, in his first Budget new chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak has disappointed environmentalists by freezing the carbon price. Utility Week assesses the main takeaways for the sector and gauges reaction.