In a press release issued today, Ofgem – the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, has announced its plans to speed up energy industry reforms – the regulators proposals are expected to cut through red tape, speed up the reform process as well as enable consumer representatives to have a more active role.

Ofgem has published its final proposals as a result of the Code Governance Review as a way to introduce a variety of changes to the industry codes – the set of rules which govern the gas and electricity industry in Great Britain, and will:

1) Make the existing arrangements much more transparent and accessible, increasing the scope for smaller players and consumer groups to participate;
2) Speed up as well as simplify code reform processes so that large scale and complex changes can be made more quickly; and
3) Reduce the regulator’s role in code modifications that have little or no customer impact, allowing the industry more self-governance in line with better regulation principles.

Stuart Cook, Ofgem’s Senior Partner for Transmission and Licensing, stated:

“Ofgem’s Code Governance Review has confirmed the need to modernise the UK’s energy industry codes to help speed up the essential reforms necessary to effectively maintain security of supply and smooth the transition to a low carbon energy sector”

Source and Further information available at ofgem.gov.uk

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The “Big Six” energy companies have been undercut by new boy Ovo, reports thisismoney.co.uk. Ovo has undercut the top six energy suppliers which include British Gas and E.ON and become the cheapest supplier of gas and electricity.

Ovo has cut bills by 7% and now has the cheapest standard tariff gas and electricity. If an average family were to switch to Ovo they could save £355 a year. The New Energy Fixed Tariff from Ovo could mean that a family pays £855 a year for gas and electricity.

However, if you want to look online for a new tariff another new energy supplier, First:Utility still offers the cheapest online deal.

The news emphasises the importance of shopping around and switching your energy supplier in order to get the best deals and online deals are still the way to go.

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Source: thisismoney.co.uk

The Welsh Assembly Government is backing a call for a public inquiry into how to deal with the waste from a planned Anglesey nuclear power station. Horizon Nuclear Power has announced plans to build a new nuclear power station at Wylfa, and although these plans have been welcomed by local politicians including AM Ieuan Wyn Jones and MP Albert Owen, they have been condemned by environmentalists.

In general, the assembly cabinet has been, and is likely to remain opposed to nuclear power however, a spokesperson for the assembly government remarked that it will be engaging in the project to ensure that there are considerable local and regional benefits from the power station’s construction and operation processes.

The decision regarding Wylfa is a matter for the UK government and the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) planning process, but according to the Welsh assembly spokesperson:

“We have a way to go in justifying to the public what must be done in dealing with future nuclear waste… We therefore support the call for a public inquiry on dealing with the waste arising from new nuclear build on the grounds of concern over the safety and security of its management”

However, the Welsh Assembly Government believes that if it continues to exploit the potential for renewable energy it will reduce the need for other, more hazardous, forms of low carbon energy and will consequently prevent the need for new nuclear power stations in Wales.

See Utility Exchange Business Energy News for related news articles.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk

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The utility company E.ON is set to start delivering light to councils and businesses in addition to supplying electricity, reports Business Green. The move to supplying light is aimed at reducing energy use across the country.

As part of its Sustainable Energy unit, E.ON operates an outdoor and street lighting division as it tries to put itself on the map as a provider of both energy efficient lighting and lighting maintenance services.

The managing director of the Sustainable Energy division said they aim to “light a street, for example, for five years and take full responsibility for that”. It means they aim to sell light rather than the energy or the bulbs involved in creating the light.

E.ON suggest that by providing a business with a long term contract for lighting it would reduce the costs of adopting energy efficient lighting such as LEDs. High costs have meant many have avoided the move to energy efficient lighting.

E.ON recently installed Marlin LED lights in village in Staffordshire which it says will reduce energy use by 70% and emissions by 12 tonnes over the lifespan of the lights – expected to be around 25 years.

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Source: Business Green.com