SSE hopes the new simplified energy tariffs will meet the needs of most of its customers. There will be just four core products including two variable and two fixed tariffs.

SSE supplies energy through Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro, SWALEC, Atlantic and SSE. The company says the new simpler approach will be used whenever a customer speaks to an advisor.

Ofgem has been consulting on how to improve the energy market and several energy companies are already making changes. British Gas and EDF have already cut down on the number of products they offer.

In December Ofgem published proposals for simpler energy tariffs, as reported by Utility Exchange. It’s not just the domestic market that Ofgem wants to improve. Utility Exchange also reported that Ofgem was set to make it easier for small businesses to compare business electricity prices and gas rates and switch to a new supplier.

SSE customers will now only have to answer five questions in order to find the cheapest SSE product. They will simply need to give their postcode; the type of meter they have; say how much energy they use; give their preferred payment method and how they want to manage their account. The second largest energy supplier in the UK added that the same approach and product range will be available online, face to face or over the telephone.

SSE has removed the “no standing charge” option from all of its products. New customers will be placed on a tariff made up of a standing charge and a single unit price for all units consumed. However, SSE customers who are on a “no standing charge” option and want to stay on it will see no changes.

Once consumers have chosen their favoured deal, they will then be able to choose free “optional add-ons” such as Argos points, an energy monitor or they may even choose to support a charity such as the British Heart Foundation.

Existing customers will remain on their chosen tariff unless they want to switch to an alternative but the company hopes that in time all customers will move to one of its new core products.

Generation and Supply Director at SSE, Alistair Phillips-Davies, said “Buying energy has become too complex. Energy customers want choice, but most customers have a straightforward set of requirements and when they look at the products offered by an energy supplier, it should be easy for them to find out which is the best deal for them”.

He added, “In October, SSE committed to end the complexity that surrounds tariffs and significantly reduce the number of tariffs it offers. That is exactly what we are doing and I believe this is the most significant change SSE has ever made to its product range”.

He concluded “Simplicity doesn’t have to mean a lack of choice, as long as the choice is presented in a simple way, and the changes we have made today prove that”.

A local council in Somerset is challenging EDF over the cost of the planning application for the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

The challenge comes only a few days after the UK and France agreed to co-operate in the building of new nuclear power plants in Britain with the collaboration worth over £500m. The deal will also see over 1,500 jobs created as a result of the investment in engineering contracts and the nuclear supply chain.

It’s argued that to ensure the country’s energy security when older nuclear and coal fired power stations are shut down, we need to build new nuclear power stations in the UK. There are concerns that without these, sources of renewable energy will not be able to supply the energy required to ensure business electricity prices and gas prices remain at a reasonable level.

However, Sedgemoor District Council has accused EDF Energy of using bullying tactics to push through new nuclear power station plans. Sedgemoor District Council’s chief executive, Kerry Rickards said that EDF Energy had put the council in a difficult position.

The problem is that the council faces a legal bill of around £2m for employing specialist lawyers to study the planning application. The council doesn’t want to use local council taxpayers’ money and says that because the project is of national importance it would be improper. The leader of the council, Duncan McGinty “It is entirely improper that we use extremely scarce public money to fund the development process relating to a privately owned commercial asset of a company, there are still key issues to be resolved at a local level before this development can take place”.

He added, “The legitimate rights and concerns of the local community are far from settled at this stage. The planning process is currently stalled while we wait for the developer, French company EDF, to agree vital funding for the necessary scrutiny of the development process”.

However, in its defence EDF said it had already provided over £13m to the three local councils involved in the decision making process, to allow them to look at the proposals for the new nuclear plant.

A spokesperson for EDF Energy said “This has ensured that council budgets have not been affected by the Hinkley Point C project. We are voluntarily committing to continue to fund the reasonable costs incurred by the local authorities during the IPC process”.

There are concerns that oil prices could rise as a result of Iran’s decision to stop selling crude oil to British and French firms in response to EU sanctions. An Iranian spokesman said on the oil ministry website that Iran would “sell our oil to new customers”.

The decision by the Iranians comes after the European Union agreed to stop importing oil from Iran from the beginning of July. The EU is trying to pressurise the Iranian Government to stop enriching uranium because they are concerned it could be used to make nuclear warheads.

As a result of the decision to stop selling crude to French and British companies Brent crude for April delivery rose for a time to $121.15 a barrel before dropping back to $120 a barrel a rise of 1%. However, prices are at an eight month high.

However, neither the UK nor France will be very much affected by the ban. The UK hasn’t imported oil from Iran for 6 months while last year France bought only 3% of its oil from Iran. Consequently there’s likely to be little effect on UK energy security which will also mean the move should not impact on business gas prices or electricity prices. However, it depends whether the ban affects wholesale gas prices, in which case business gas prices could go up.

Members of the EU most dependent on Iranian oil include Greece, Spain and Italy and it was thought they would have enough time to find alternative supplies before the ban came in at the beginning of July.

Iran claims that cuts in exports will not hurt it despite the fact that the EU as a whole currently buys around 20% of Iran’s oil.

Meanwhile China has reproached Iran for stopping sales of oil to France and Britain and has again called for more talks over the Iranian decision to enrich uranium.

Over 5.5 million people are in fuel poverty with many, it is argued, having to choose between heating and eating. However, the Big Six energy suppliers increased their profit margins by 733% in only three months last year.

It’s for this reason that The Independent has decided to support a campaign to force energy companies to share their profits with those in need.

Utility Exchange reported last year when the Big Six energy companies increased their electricity and gas prices in the autumn. We also reported that E.ON’s boss, Paul Golby, said he welcomed a competition inquiry.

As many as 3,000 deaths each winter are the result of fuel poverty with research by Age UK finding that two million elderly people are so cold in their homes that they go to bed when they are not tired in order to keep the energy bills down. Research also showed that over two-fifths of people turned their heating down even when they were cold.

Back in 2006 average household energy bills were around £600. Since then they have increased by 50% to around £1,200 a year. As a result more and more people are falling into fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is taken as when energy costs account for at least a tenth of a household’s income.

It looks like energy bills are set to increase even further. Only last week wholesale energy prices were at a six year high and last October Ofgem reported that energy companies had increased profit margins from £15 per household to £125 – an increase of 733%.

The campaign being backed by The Independent is called End The Big Six Energy Fix. It’s got support from both MPs of different parties, charities, religious leaders, celebrities and campaigners. They are urging the Government to do something about the way energy companies behave and want a new tax on their profits.

The campaigners want a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies. The money raised would be used to make homes more energy efficient and help to reduce fuel poverty.

Leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas, said “It is completely outrageous that the Big Six are able to rake in eye-watering profits as people up and down the country are forced to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. These companies are delivering a crucial public service, and it is now the Government’s responsibility to hold them to account for failing to provide anything close to a fair deal for consumers. We need to see Ofgem taking a far stronger role in regulating this out-of-control industry”.

National Grid and ScottishPower have announced that Siemens and Prysmian have won the £1bn contract to build the first ever sub-sea electricity link which will take renewable electricity from Scotland to England.

The new national grid connection will carry 2,200 MW of renewable electricity from Hunterston in Ayrshire to the Wirral. Once completed it will be the longest connection of this capacity anywhere in the world.

The link will be 420km long and will enable Scotland to transport electricity from a number of different sources of renewable energy generation to areas of higher demand in England.

Executive Director at National Grid, Nick Winser, said “This link will have a vital role of play in meeting both the country’s energy needs and helping to address the problem of climate change. We are investing in an innovative solution using the most advanced technology. As a result, the benefits for consumers and electricity generators in being able to transport power in the most efficient way will be felt for years to come”.

The Chairman of ScottishPower, Ignacio Galán, said “The HVDC link is a major project in the context of a vital upgrading of the UK electricity grid over the coming years, with the electricity grid between Scotland and England already running close to maximum capacity. The additional capacity from this link will provide a significant boost to renewable energy projects that we are developing in Scotland in order to bring clean energy to consumers throughout the country and at the same time help meet carbon reduction targets”.

EDF Energy has announced a fall in energy sales and blames the mild winter for a fall in residential sales and increased competition in the business to business sector.

However, despite a fall in energy sales EDF Energy, one of the “Big Six” energy suppliers, said its profit on UK operations had increased by over 8%. EDF is the first of the “Big Six” to announce their financial results for 2011 and if EDF is anything to go by the “Big Six” are set to announce another year of big profits despite householders and businesses struggling with rising energy costs.

Utility Exchange has reported over the past months that business electricity prices and gas prices are rising as are domestic energy prices. It’s never been more important to compare business electricity and switch to a better energy deal.

The average annual fuel bill rose by £224 in 2011 and consumer groups will be looking with interest at the profit announcements from energy companies over the coming months.

Despite energy sales falling, profits for EDF Energy rose, with UK sales totalling €8,568 million. Its profit was helped by an increase in nuclear output. This added €314 million compared with 2010 when its Sizewell B reactor was offline for the majority of the year. According to the company UK nuclear output was the highest it’s been for the last six years.

All of the “Big Six” energy companies cut prices earlier this year and blamed the fall in wholesale energy prices and EDF Energy was no exception. Utility Exchange reported in January that EDF Energy was the first of them to cut gas prices. Its gas prices were cut by 5% after it increased them by 15.4% last November.

E.ON has launched a new offer for small business customers interested in saving energy. Customers signing up to its three-year Business Energy Plan will receive a free Asus Netbook and E.ON’s Business EnergyManager package which includes an energy monitor and software to enable businesses to track their electricity use.

In a statement, head of business sales at E.ON, Iain Walker, said “We know that businesses need all the help they can get with their energy bills right now. That’s why we’ve launched a package that not only offers competitive prices, but also the tools to help businesses get energy fit by really appreciating how and where they’re using energy in the workplace”.

The Business Energy Monitor enables you to monitor how your business uses energy throughout the day. It’s possible to see how usage changes not only each day but each hour and even each minute. The free software on offer allows users to download and analyse their business electricity usage and the free netbook is available so that you can view and analyse your data.

According to a recent survey of 1,100 SME’s, 87% of employees believe their colleagues have an irresponsible approach to energy efficiency. In fact, nine out of ten of those who replied said that how their company approached energy efficiency and how environmentally friendly they were affected their workplace happiness.

E.ON’s business customers can also download the E.ON app to help manage energy usage and their bills while on the move.

With rising business electricity prices it’s more important than ever for businesses to monitor their energy usage. Only last week Utility Exchange reported that British Gas Business is encouraging businesses to control how much electricity they use by installing smart meters.

The proposals were initially published in November last year as part of a consultation exercise. This consultation period will close on 15^th February.

Ofgem said it identified in March 2011 that competition across the energy market was being stifled in a number of ways including poor supplier behaviour, a lack of transparency and a lack of protection for businesses.

Back in November, Ofgem put forward their preferred model for dealing with the concerns raised by businesses. They also included other reforms such as simplifying consumer tariffs and preventing the continued hold Big Six energy companies have over the wholesale electricity market.

There are many more suppliers in the business energy market compared with the domestic energy market and contracts are generally fixed. Brokers help businesses to seek out the best deal. Ofgem says its proposals are designed to help business energy consumers get the best deal. It wants businesses to have a better journey through the energy contract lifecycle i.e. when they initially look for the best deal, when they enter into a contract and then switch to it.

Ofgem has proposed reforms in four main areas. Firstly, they want to expand protections to larger businesses (those with 50 employees or less). Secondly, they are considering enforcement action against suppliers who don’t play by the rules when a business tries to change supplier. The third proposal is action on third party intermediaries and finally Ofgem is proposing stronger and broader Standards of Conduct to give consumers greater confidence.

Ofgem says it has received support for its proposal to extend protections from micro businesses to small businesses. They also plan to review the rollover clause in the current licence condition. This is as a result of a number of consumer groups and others who have raised concerns about the fact that some small businesses may face higher energy costs because suppliers are currently allowed to rollover contracts. However, the regulator said that more work needed to be done on who the licence protects.

Ofgem said that in the business energy market switching supplier doesn’t work as well as it should. Frequently suppliers block transfers by raising objections and Ofgem has included in its Non-Domestic Proposals an open letter which explains how Ofgem expects energy suppliers to behave when a customer tries to transfer their business electricity or gas.

If you’d like to comment on the proposals, as previously stated, the consultation process concludes tomorrow. Therefore, if you’d like to comment visit the Ofgem website and follow the links to the Retail Market Review – protecting businesses.

Research has shown that 50% of people are using video calling to talk to their friends and families and 66% of customers believe that being able to see who they are speaking to at the end of the phone, namely a customer service agent, will help to resolve their queries much quicker.

British Gas will be the first energy company in the UK to trial online face to face customer service. Managing Director at British Gas Energy, Ian Peters, said “We know that household budgets are stretched and that customers want clear and simple help to make sure they are getting the best deal. We’re testing the use of video chat with our customers, offering them new ways to talk to us about the energy they are buying, their energy use and help with energy efficiency to keep bills down. We hope that our online face-to-face pilot will not only make our support and advice as transparent as possible, but will also allow us to add an even more personal touch to the service we offer our customers”.

The trial will last for 3 months. Customers with questions about their bill, tariff or complaints will be offered video chat. The initial trial will involve 20 customer service agents in British Gas offices in Leeds and Southampton.

Psychologist and former don at the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, Dr Peter Collett, welcomed the video chat trial. He said “Psychological studies have long shown the importance of communication through body language and seeing the whites of the eyes of the person you’re speaking to. Hand gestures and facial expressions are so important and build rapport, relationship and mutual understanding within the context of otherwise transactional conversations. It’s great that British Gas is leading the way to rebuild trust in the energy sector by using technology to explain things to customers in an innovative and transparent way”.

Customers using the British Gas website will be offered video chat. If they agree they will be sent an email with a link in it. Once the customer clicks on the link they will be able to see the customer service agent and the chat will begin. The customer can choose whether or not the energy expert will be able to see them. However, the customer will have to ensure they have a sound card and camera enabled on their computer so that they can both see and hear the agent.

The new energy secretary, Ed Davey, has opened the Walney scheme off the coast of Cumbria, currently the biggest offshore wind farm in the world with over 100 turbines. These turbines can generate enough electricity for 320,000 homes.

The Liberal Democrat MP Mr Davey said “Britain has a lot to be proud of in our growing offshore wind sector. Our island’s tremendous natural resource, our research base and a proud history of engineering make this the No 1 destination for investment in offshore wind. And Walney is the newest, biggest and fastest-built jewel in that crown, providing clean power for hundreds of thousands of households”.

Utility Exchange reported recently that a number of Conservative MPs had written to David Cameron calling for renewable energy subsidies to be cut. They claim onshore wind turbines are ruining the countryside.

However, Walney is an offshore wind farm and SSE and Dong Energy claim it breaks a number of records. For example, it’s been built cheaper and quicker than schemes which have gone before and it’s been supported by foreign pension funds.

The chief executive of Dong Energy, Anders Eldrup, said “It marks a new era in terms of financing, being the first project in the UK backed by institutional investors. Walney is a landmark in offshore wind and [in] Dong Energy’s strong drive to further industrialise offshore wind power and cut costs”.

Walney will only have the claim of being the largest offshore wind farm for a short time. When the London Array, off the coast of Kent, comes on-line, it will become the largest offshore wind farm in the world.

Walney is made up of Walney 1 and 2. It’s the second part of the scheme which SSE and Dong say was the quickest built. All the turbines and cables were installed in less than six months.