Utility Exchange
The Christmas holidays are fast approaching us here at Utility Exchange so in order for us to go and eat lots of turkey, pull crackers and wear silly hats round the dinner table, we would like to take this opportunity to advise you that our news section will shut down today and re-open on January 4, 2010! But, do not panic, we will keep our beady little eyes open and our ears to the ground ensuring that we do not ... More
Funding for Eco-Friendly Street Lights
Energy saving street lamps, which have been developed by a Yorkshire company, could soon be helping the UK reduce carbon emissions thanks to the support from angel investors Ewin Woodward Development – EWD. As a member of the Yorkshire Association of Business Angels, EWD is providing a £300,000 funding package to start up business Carbon Reduction Technology - CRT. CRT has developed the e-lamp, which is an innovative LED street lighting system that actually uses up to 75% less electricity ... More
Scottish Wind Firm Wins £42m Investment
Subocean Group, an Aberdeen company which builds offshore wind farms has managed to secure an investment of £42m enabling to almost double in size, reports Business Cost Consultants. The investment is a sign that the company could be on the verge of major expansion. The investment will help the company to win work to lay seabed cables between turbines offshore and the shore. Subocean Group now plans to increase the sixe of the company in the next two years. It pans ... More
Business Skills
As announced by the department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) trials of a scheme that is designed to improve access to information regarding training courses, as well as show learners the exact amount of Government funding that is available to them are so far proving to be a success states a report out today. An assessment of the pilot scheme has indicated that skills accounts have a number of benefits, including encouraging people to take up and complete courses – ... More
Farming for cheaper energy bills
According to a report on energyhelpline.com more farmers could be convinced to switch their energy practices as they become eligible for loans of up to £20,000 - designed to help them make their operations more energy-efficient. Details of the loans - which will be made available by environmental body the Carbon Trust from February - are that they will be unsecured and interest-free - in a bid to encourage more farmers to apply for them. Amounts of between £3,000 and £20,000 will ... More
CBI Says £15m A Day Wasted Due To Energy Inefficiency
The Confederation of Business and Industry (CBI) has said that million of pounds are being wasted each year because of inefficient offices, leaky boilers or draughty homes, reports The Daily Telegraph. The CBI said that as a result of old factories and inefficient houses, tonnes of carbon dioxide are escaping into the atmosphere but that this could be saved by people being more energy efficient. The CBI issued the warning to the government that more needs to be done to help and ... More
Barnet Residents Now Without Gas AND Electricity
Utility Exchange reported on Monday that residents of Barnet in north London were without gas after a burst water pipe meant water got into gas pipes. BBC News Online reports that many homes are still without both gas and electricity after the heaters people were given to heat their home overloaded supplies. (see: http://www.utility-exchange.co.uk/2009/12/burst-water-pipe-cuts-off-gas-in-barnet/) Three days after they lost their gas supply around 750 homes are still without gas and according to EDF Energy, around 180 customers have been without ... More
Scottish Power Accept Price Review
Following our earlier report that Scottish and Southern Energy – SSE, have decided to accept Ofgem the UK’s Gas and Electricity market regulator’s proposed energy price controls; http://www.utility-exchange.co.uk/2009/12/scottish-southern-energy-accept-ofgem-price-plans/ ScottishPower, following careful consideration has also confirmed that the energy supplier will be accepting Ofgem’s proposals regarding the electricity distribution price control for the five year period beginning 1 April 2010 - covering the SP Distribution and SP Manweb network areas. However, as reported in an issued press release, ScottishPower shall maintain their concerns that ... More
Shell and Hess Swap Shop
Multinational energy company Shell, in a move to consolidate its exploration and production portfolio in the North Sea and West Africa, has agreed to acquire Hess Corporation’s entire upstream portfolio in Gabon together with its interest in the Clair field - which lies in British waters west of the Shetland Islands. And in return, Hess, a global integrated energy company, will acquire Shell’s interest in two Norwegian offshore fields, Valhall and Hod. These transactions form a strategic trade which means ... More
BlackBerry Network Suffers Outage
BlackBerry users in the U.S. are suffering from a second network outage in a week reports The Daily Telegraph. BlackBerry users have been unable to send or receive emails. The outage isn’t just affecting the U.S though it’s also affecting users in South America. The makers of the BlackBerry, Research in Motion, said some customers were experiencing “delays in message delivery” and teams were working on how to resolve the problem. The problem is affecting a number of different networks including AT&T, ... More