Tackling the Trilemma

Heat pump stats alleviate cold weather performance fears

CfD budget ‘sends the wrong investment signals’

EDF and Drax rule out using back-up coal plants next winter

Ofgem considers rolling over gas price controls

Central heating use plummets as public seeks alternatives

Grid connection amnesty suffers from low uptake

Uptake of the National Grid’s connection ‘amnesty’ has been lower than expected, the company’s transmission chief has admitted. The deadline for customers to submit expressions for the amnesty has already been extended to the end of April but at the moment firms have shown little interest in giving up their connection offers.

Weeks left to spend remaining £95m boiler upgrade funding

Almost two-thirds of the £150 million boiler upgrade scheme (BUS) funding risks being lost at the end of this month. The remaining amount far outweighs the £43.6 million of BUS vouchers redeemed since the scheme was established in April last year. Any money left in the fund will be returned to government at the end of the month.

ESO puts back-up coal plants to work for first time this winter

Hydrogen village trials won’t go ahead without public support

Hydrogen village trials will only go ahead in areas where there is strong public support for them, the government has confirmed. The announcement comes following local protests against plans for a hydrogen village trail in Whitby in Ellesmere Port.

Increasing EPG would be a ‘catastrophe’

Calls for levy exemptions to be extended to domestic bills

The government has been urged to extend the policy costs exemptions proposed for energy-intensive businesses to bring domestic bills down. It comes after the recently-formed Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced new measures to drastically reduce energy costs for 300 heavy industry firms. Committee on Fuel Poverty chair Caroline Flint was among those giving their reaction to Utility Week, saying support for industry cannot be at the expense of households.

Planning reforms to fast track water and energy schemes

Delivering nationally significant energy, water and wastewater infrastructure projects will be accelerated under planning reforms unveiled by the government. Reforms cover changes to the development consent order (DCO) application process, environmental assessments and updating National Policy Statements.

Policy costs to be stripped from heavy industry energy bills

Heat pump target to stay despite industry warning

Government is sticking to its heat pump installation target, despite warnings from industry that doing so could undermine efforts to decarbonise the UK’s heating network. A new report by the Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) warns that focussing on a set target of heat pumps could in fact prove counterproductive in efforts to decarbonise the UK’s heating network.

Hydrogen ‘mixed messages’ undermine boiler scheme

Government "mixed messaging" and "misinformation" about hydrogen’s future role in home heating is unhelpful because the fuel is "not a serious option in the short to medium-term", peers have warned. A Lords committee concludes that the uptake for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has been undermined by government messaging on hydrogen.