Ed Miliband forced to look again at North Sea oil and gas June 19, 2025 The UK government is mulling over a change to the law to oil and gas projects in the North Sea in a drive to lower energy bills. Michael Shanks, a minister working under energy secretary Ed Miliband, will be visiting Scotland on Thursday with a decision set to be made on the government’s intervention on [...]
Firms stumped up extra £29bn for ‘astronomical’ energy costs June 19, 2025 British industry has had to fork out an additional £29bn to fund rising energy costs over the past four years, a fresh analysis has shown, adding further weight to calls for government bring down energy prices for British firms when it publishes its industrial strategy. According to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), firms’ [...]
Tesco shareholders eye returns as ‘awful April’ bill hikes set to hit profit June 8, 2025 Tesco shareholders will be watching closely for signs that it is managing to fend off competition as the supermarket price war heats up and “awful April” bill hikes eat into household income. The UK’s biggest supermarket chain will unveil its financial results for the first three months of its financial year on Thursday. Tesco recently [...]
Reeves mulls taxpayer-funded subsidy to cut manufacturers’ energy costs June 8, 2025 Rachel Reeves is looking at plans for a £1bn taxpayer-funded annual subsidy to bring down the energy costs for manufacturers after warnings the UK faced “rapid deindustrialisation” without intervention. The Chancellor is facing mounting pressure to lower energy costs for industry with fears high prices are holding back investment opportunities and stifling the country’s competitiveness. [...]
North Sea windfall tax causing ‘irreversible damage’ says oil giant May 27, 2025 The boss of Enquest has slammed the windfall tax on oil and gas firms as doing “irreversible damage” to the industry and “driving job losses across the sector”. Amjad Bseisu, Enquest’s chief executive, called for the North Sea tax to be scrapped in an operations update on Tuesday after claiming it makes the UK a [...]
Energy bills to fall as Ofgem cuts UK price cap by seven per cent May 23, 2025 UK households are set to see a modest drop in their energy bills this summer, after regulator Ofgem revealed a seven per cent cut to its quarterly price cap – the first reduction in a year. The announcement will bring the average annual bill for a typical household in the UK down from £1,849 to [...]
Zonal pricing would mean a postcode lottery for energy May 21, 2025 Anyone with a a serious interest in building, making or investing anything in Britain knows that creating a postcode lottery for energy prices will lead to uncertainty and higher prices for consumers, says Alistair Phillips-Davies Since Labour took office, a central question has emerged: can it reduce household energy bills by £300 and deliver the [...]
Inflation set to ramp up after ‘Awful April’ May 19, 2025 Inflation is expected to have risen above three per cent last month in data which will reflect the costly impacts of what has been dubbed ‘Awful April’ due to tax rises and bill hikes. A Bloomberg poll of economists has predicted inflation to come in at 3.3 per cent, a sharp spike from March when [...]
Centrica: Major gas facility to shut without government help May 18, 2025 The boss of Centrica – which owns British Gas – has warned the UK’s largest natural gas storage facility will be “decommissioned” unless the government steps in. Speaking on BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, company boss Chris O’Shea called for the government to underwrite the business’ investments in the Rough facility near the East Yorkshire [...]
Business Secretary can’t commit to lower energy costs in industrial strategy May 14, 2025 Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds was unable to confirm whether the government’s upcoming industrial strategy will include a roadmap to lower industrial energy costs and help for businesses wrestling with high prices. Reynolds faced questions from MPs on the Business and Trade committee yesterday over whether he could guarantee lower costs for industry. He told the [...]