Utility Bills Are Consumers Biggest Worry

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Kathryn

The British Retail Consortium say that a third of consumers say utility bills are their biggest worry and are concerned that they have no spare cash to pay for basics.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said British consumers felt they had no spare cash for luxuries or savings and were concerned they didn’t have money to pay their debts. The BRC said consumers are worried about spending because of rising utility bills, the economy and high petrol prices.

As a result of consumer concerns around 70% have changed the way they shop, many of them turning to cheaper brands or stores.

Despite the gloom over higher utility bills and petrol prices the research found that a fifth of people are optimistic about their job prospects (up from 16% in the first quarter) while a third are optimistic about their personal finances – up from 29% in the last quarter.

The director-general of the BRC, Stephen Robertson, said “Even after paying out for essentials, households that do have spare cash are choosing to pay off debts and build up savings rather than spend on the high street”.

British Gas & Bio Group Generate Heat From Food Waste In Stockport

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Emma

British Gas has joined with Bio Group to develop a new power plant in Stockport which will generate heat for homes using waste food from local restaurants.

The new power plant has been built at a cost of £5 million and is a joint venture between British Gas and Bio Group, a renewable energy developer. Waste food from restaurants, takeaways, hotels and offices in the area will be used to provide heat for homes.

Instead of being sent to a landfill site, food waste will be used to produce biomethane gas and should be able to generate enough power for 1,400 homes once it goes live next April.

The chief executive of Bio Group, Steve Sharratt, said “This facility has been designed using our ground-breaking technology as the next stage of a national roll-out of anaerobic digestion plants”.

He added “It will make a real make a real difference to the future use of renewable gas across Greater Manchester”.

Biomethane is created by heating food which is broken down by bacteria. The gas is then processed before being piped into the national gas network. The waste left after this process can then be used as a fertiliser on farmland.

The project will benefit from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). This scheme means producers are paid a premium for the gas they supply to the national gas grid which can then be used to develop further renewable energy projects.

The managing director of British Gas New Markets low carbon project development division, Gearóid Lane, said “The project shows how recycling waste that would otherwise go to landfill is not only good for the environment, but can also play a vital role in meeting people’s everyday energy needs. It provides evidence that the RHI is starting to bring on the investment that will help release the potential in renewable gas”.

70,000 UK Farmers To Invest In Sources Of Renewable Energy

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Ollie

Research by Barclays reveals that an estimated 70,000 UK farmers are predicted to invest in renewable energy schemes in the hope that they can generate not just electricity but an income of around £25,000 a year.

Barclays questioned 300 dairy farmers in the UK during August and as a result estimated that 70,000 farmers would invest in sources of renewable energy with the hope that their investment will generate an income of around £25,000 a year.

The results of the survey have been published to come out at the same time as a £100 million renewable energy fund is being launched. This £100m scheme is designed to help fund renewable energy schemes and help them to become reality.

Speaking from accountants, Saffery Champness, Shirley Mathieson said “The loan fund can be accessed for solar, hydro and wind projects throughout the UK and for many landowners and farmers an investment in generating renewable energy now makes good business sense”.

She added “The majority of those investing in renewables expect a pay-back period of 10 years or less, after which they will have many years of lower energy costs, generation tariff and income through selling energy back to the grid. Renewable energy production offers landowners and farmers an opportunity to expand their businesses and add to their traditional role of producing food and managing the countryside”.

At a time when business electricity prices are rising investing in sources of renewable energy generation could not only help to increase a farmer’s annual income but could also help to reduce business energy costs.

However, there’s still some uncertainty regarding Feed-In Tariffs and the rates offered in the future. Some commercial schemes are already under threat after the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) announced cuts in FiTs of between 40% and 70% for solar installations.

Shirley Mathieson therefore added that “further investment may depend on the outcome” of the DECC’s announcement on FiT’s.

A further stumbling block for renewable energy projects is planning permission and the length of time it can take to get approval. If planning permission takes a while then costs are likely to increase and it may then not prove economical to go ahead with the installation.

Treasury Benefits From Higher Energy Bills

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Kathryn

Energy bills have been rising over the last few months and the higher bills will result in a windfall of £200m for the Government as a result of the extra VAT.

Utility Exchange has reported over recent months on rising domestic and business electricity prices and gas prices. This week the Energy Secretary, Chris Huhne, announced plans to push down energy prices but the fact that the Treasury is benefitting from these higher prices has angered some consumer groups. They say the Government is benefitting at the expense of consumers.

Gas and electricity bills have risen by an average of £224 over the last 12 months and as a result the Government’s annual VAT receipts from domestic energy are set to increase to £1.5 billion – an increase of £197 million.

Campaigners are calling on the Chancellor, George Osborne, to reduce the VAT on energy bills from 5% to 4% for domestic energy customers. This, they say, would help to reduce energy bills. This change wouldn’t make a huge difference but it would mean an immediate saving of around £13 a year on a typical energy bill.

This week, as Utility Exchange reported, Chris Huhne announced plans to “get tough” on the Big Six energy companies and said he wanted to enable consumers to be able to buy energy in bulk so that they could benefit from cheaper prices. However, the fact that the Government is benefitting from rising energy prices calls into question how keen the Government really is to cut energy bills.

There’s also a call for the Government to help businesses cope with rising business gas prices and electricity prices. Many small businesses in particular are struggling to cope with rising prices and want the Government to take action.

E.ON Announces 500 Job Cuts

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Emma

Only weeks after increasing gas and electricity prices the energy giant, E.ON, is cutting 500 jobs.

E.ON, one of the largest energy companies in the country, is to cut 500 jobs only weeks after putting up gas prices by 18% and electricity prices by 11%. The company blames the job losses on the sale of its distribution network, Central Networks, earlier in the year.

Utility Exchange reported back in March that E.ON had sold part of its distribution business to PPL Corporation. E.ON said the job losses were as a result of the sale of Central Networks and a need to keep costs down in order to benefit customers. However, experts suggest that E.ON has moved a lot of work back to its headquarters in Düsseldorf.

The chief executive of E.ON in the UK, Paul Golby, said “We had to undertake a deep and rigorous review of how much money we spend in order to ensure we keep costs as low as possible for our customers, become a more agile organisation and build a sustainable business in the UK”.

He added “While I’m very aware that this will be a difficult time for our colleagues, it is our aim to keep uncertainty to a minimum and to achieve these redundancies by voluntary means”.

The job losses will be concentrated at E.ON’s Coventry and Nottingham offices as the company tries to cut out duplication of jobs. Most of the jobs to go will be in human resources, communications and the legal services department and the company hopes most of these will be through voluntary redundancy.

The national officer at the union Unison, Mike Jeram, said “This is a devastating blow. We will work with the company to get the best deal for our members”.

The national secretary of the Prospect union, Emily Boase, said “While the loss of any jobs is regrettable, we welcome the commitment from chief executive Paul Golby to work closely with the unions and seek to achieve these redundancies through voluntary means wherever possible”.

The news of job losses comes only weeks after the company announced an increase in gas and electricity prices. All of the Big Six energy companies have now increased prices and it’s not just domestic prices which have gone up. Business electricity prices and gas prices have also risen over recent months.