Wind energy subsidies will end next April June 18, 2015 The government has moved forward the end date for onshore wind energy subsidies, it revealed yesterday. The Department of Energy and Climate Change will close the renewables obligation to new onshore wind generating stations from 1 April 2016. The Conservatives had pledged to stop the subsidies in their manifesto ahead of the General Election, however [...]
UK to get more gas from a Russian firm as Centrica extends deals with Gazprom May 13, 2015 The UK's dependency on gas from Russian firms just increased, after Centrica signed a deal with state energy giant Gazprom – as well as Norwegian rival Statoil – to ramp up the amount of gas it buys from the companies. Centrica, which owns British Gas, said it had extended its contracts with Statoil and Gazprom [...]
Centrica expects choppy waters ahead as low oil and gas prices continue to weigh on peformance April 27, 2015 Centrica said this morning that the continued weight of low commodity prices meant it was unable to revise up the gloomy forecast it gave investors in February. The company's preliminary results, released on 19 February, revealed a full-year net loss of £1bn and left dividends slashed by 30 per cent. Also in that statement, the [...]
Centrica names new British Gas chief executive April 14, 2015 Centrica has named the new chief executive of its British Gas arm: former Aviva boss Mark Hodges will take over at the beginning of June. At a time when energy companies – particularly former state-owned ones – are at the centre of a political football game, few in the industry will envy Hodges' new role. [...]
British Gas owner Centrica warns political uncertainty could hit investment March 26, 2015 British Gas owner Centrica yesterday warned that the run-up to the 7 May election would have a knock-on effect on investment in the UK energy sector. “The UK market faces potential pressure in both the run-up to the UK General Election and in the policy decisions taken by the next government,” Centrica said in its [...]
Centrica share price dives as it cuts dividend by 30pc after £1bn net loss February 19, 2015 The figures Share in Centrica fell eight per cent after it was left reeling from the double hit of a warm year and falling oil prices. The company has been forced to write down the value of its oil and gas assets and has decided to cut its dividend by 30 per cent, while making [...]
HSBC needs to re-learn its ABCs, or better still, its KYCs February 18, 2015 PLAC, CRD-4, the FCA and the PRA: but for HSBC, the most important acronym in the banking lexicon right now is KYC (Know Your Customer). Since inheriting the reins of Europe’s largest bank four years ago, Stuart Gulliver has rarely been out of his firefighter’s overalls. On many of those occasions it was the bank’s [...]
Energy bills: Customers are missing out on up to £234 savings from big six energy suppliers February 18, 2015 The majority of people are missing out on big savings by not switching energy supplier. An investigation into the dominance of the big six energy firms – Centrica, EDF, NPower, SSE, E.On and RWE- has found customers are missing out on hundreds of pounds of savings. The interim findings from the Competition and Markets Authority [...]
Centrica prepares to slash jobs after profit plummets in 2014 February 15, 2015 Utility firm Centrica, owner of British Gas, is expected to announce profits dropped by a third in 2014 when it publishes its results on Thursday. The company is also likely to reduce projected spending for 2015, and is reportedly preparing to cut jobs. These results are the first set of numbers that have been delivered [...]
Centrica’s new chief executive Iain Conn could cut British Gas dividends by 15pc February 15, 2015 Centrica will release its full-year results for British Gas on Thursday, but there is little optimism among analysts. Not only has the falling price of oil weighed down the company's success – it is also going through a competition inquiry and faces a continuing crisis in the North Sea, where a large part of its [...]