coronavirus

Pennon eyeing UK-wide acquisitions after Viridor sale

The sale of Viridor is expected to leave Pennon with a £2.5 billion war chest and the company has said it has been tracking acquisition potentials. Analysts have suggested the company could look towards a "transformative" deal to keep it in the FTSE 100.

‘Overwhelming’ need for coherent skills strategy

Energy & Utility Skills has called for a joined-up skills strategy across the whole of the UK to help people who have lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus lockdown get back into work. The organisation was responding to a pledge by Boris Johnson to take an “activist and interventionist” approach to dealing with the fallout of the pandemic, guaranteeing apprenticeships all young people.

Ofgem opposes adjustments to gas consumption estimates

Networks look to restart work as lockdown eases

Energy suppliers resume smart meter rollout

Network charge deferrals must not give ‘unfair advantage’ to ailing suppliers

Networks to defer up to £350m of supplier charges

Ofgem rejects temporary relief from gas distribution charges

Water companies urge public to limit usage

The trade body for the water industry has urged householders to be mindful of their usage at peak times as demand reached its highest ever point amid the continued lockdown and sunny weather. According to data from Water UK, people are currently using an average of 20 per cent more water, with some areas seeing up to a 40 per cent increase.

Water firms see demand rise by up to a third during lockdown

The driest May for more than a century coupled with the lockdown has seen a dramatic spike in water usage, with one company reporting a 33 per cent increase on an average month and another comparing the effect to serving an extra 400,000 customers.

PV installations dip but UK’s largest solar farm gets green light

Last month’s solar installations reached their lowest number since the government began collecting monthly statistics in 2014. However, the sector was buoyed by news that the country’s largest solar park ever has been granted planning permission.

New COP26 dates confirmed

The COP26 climate conference in Glasgow will take place one year after originally intended – from 1 to 12 November – it has been confirmed.

Covid will make PCC targets ‘exceptionally hard’

SES Water talks Utility Week through data on water use during lockdown, with traditional spikes flattening at home and demand collapsing in the non-domestic market. The Surrey-based company has also seen clear differences in usage between different socio-economic groups. Water strategy manager Alison Murphy explains what this all means for consumption targets.

VIDEO: How UKPN has prepared its offices for return to work

UK proposes further delay to COP26

The UK has said that it wants to push back the date of the COP26 UN climate change summit until November next year.