Policy

Lobbying at the heart of looming Capacity Market crisis

Dr Matthew Lockwood gives his view on the role lobbying by big energy firms played in the breakdown of the system. He argues that new ways of making energy policy are essential if the UK is serious about reaching its net-zero goal.

Committee calls for review of emergency load-shedding

Political Agenda: Fusion grabs headlines but new homes standard could be a game-changer

The eye-catching claim of fusion power by 2040 may have caught the attention at the Conservative Party Conference but it was the more prosaic announcement about energy efficiency that really matters, argues David Blackman.

Debating the New Deal for Utilities

Energy regulation should focus on the environment rather than bills

Making Digital Simple For Everyone

Regulator will not write ‘blank cheques’ for decarbonisation

Launching the annual State of the Market report, Ofgem chairman Martin Cave warned that standards must not be lowered for proposals even if they are progressing the decarbonisation agenda. He stressed that offloading the costs of net-zero onto vulnerable customers could undermine public support in tackling climate change.

A debate for our time

While a reconvened Westminster traded insults last week, a more constructive exchange was under way just across Parliament Square.

NIC’s nuclear advice ‘outdated’ in net-zero era

Kwarteng promises to investigate energy costs

The energy minister has pledged to examine the balance between the electricity costs being paid by industry and householders. Kwasi Kwarteng also said that he had commissioned work about potential pathways to reaching the net-zero target.

Energy efficiency standards for new homes to be raised in 2020

Energy networks elaborate on transformation plans

Brexit ‘could prompt reversal of solar panel VAT hike’

Utility bosses bemoan lack of transparency around Apprenticeship Levy

A snap poll among nearly 200 delegates at the National Skills Academy for Power annual conference found that more than half were unaware of how much of the Apprenticeship Levy had been returned to the Treasury.

New pension fund rules ‘show capitalism is best method to deliver net-zero’

The pensions minister has pointed to new rules forcing pension funds to take account of climate change in investment decisions as an example of capitalism driving forward green solutions. Labour’s plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2030, meanwhile, have been branded ‘”total tosh” by Andrea Leadsom.