Drill, baby, drill: Arctic set for £230bn oil and gas bonanza with JPMorgan, Barclays and Citi piling in September 23, 2021 Oil and gas companies are set to ramp up production in the Arctic by 20 per cent in the next five years, according to a new report shared with City A.M. this morning. The main Arctic expansionists – Gazprom, Total and ConocoPhillips – are backed by hundreds of billions of pounds from dozens of City [...]
Energy crisis: Ofgem and Kwasi Kwarteng resist pressure and agree price cap is not going anywhere September 21, 2021 Kwasi Kwarteng and Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley have confirmed they had taken a unified position over the price ceiling continuing. The energy regulator and the Business Secretary agreed the energy price cap must “remain in place” during crunch talks to find a solution to record gas costs. Kwarteng held a crisis meeting with the [...]
Perfect energy storm: Do the gas price hikes mean your bills will rise? September 20, 2021 Government ministers and energy companies are in crisis talks today, as the price of gas has soared in recent weeks, putting several energy suppliers out of business and forcing some factories to stop production altogether. The price of wholesale gas has surged by 250 per cent since the beginning of the year and added 70 [...]
UK energy provider Bulb seeks emergency fund injection September 19, 2021 The UK’s sixth largest energy company, Bulb, is racing to secure an emergency cash injection to avoid collapse as a record spike in energy prices uproots the sector. The energy startup, which supplies electricity and gas to 1.7m customers in the UK, is seeking advice from investment bank Lazard in an attempt to shore up [...]
Gas price surge forces industrial sites to close September 17, 2021 Two industrial sites that produce a combined 40 per cent of the UK’s fertiliser have been forced to halt operations due to recent record gas prices. The Times reported that CF Industries had shuttered its plants at Billingham in Teesside and Ince in Cheshire as a direct result of the price spikes. The closures came [...]
Power cable fire sends electricity prices higher again September 16, 2021 UK energy prices have continued to surge after a fire yesterday knocked out a crucial power cable that can supply electricity to 1.4m homes. Day-ahead power prices climbed 19 per cent on the back of the incident, with the “interconnector” not expected to be repaired until March. Gas prices closed in on £2 a therm, [...]
Kremlin: Launch Nord Stream 2 to balance gas prices September 15, 2021 The Kremlin today said that a rapid start-up of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline would help to correct sky-high gas prices across Europe amid a squeeze in supply. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Undoubtedly, the quickest launch of Nord Stream 2 would significantly balance out the pricing parameters of natural gas in Europe, including on the spot [...]
Lights out for two more energy firms amid record power prices September 15, 2021 Two more energy suppliers have gone bust, leaving 500,000 customers needing a new provider, amid record prices for electricity and gas. Both Utility Point and People’s Energy have ceased trading, Ofgem has announced, the sixth and seventh energy companies to do so this year. Bournemouth-based Utility Point provided power to 220,000 customers, while London’s People’s [...]
Energy sector hits out at automatic switching plans July 23, 2021 The energy industry has reacted with dismay to the government’s plans to tackle the so-called “loyalty tax” on energy customers. Under proposals laid out this morning, the government will trial automatic switching to move customers on expensive default energy tariffs to cheaper deals. From 2024, consumers on costly tariffs would be automatically switched to cheaper [...]
Ecotricity makes fourth takeover bid of Good Energy for £60m July 22, 2021 Ecotricity has made a new higher offer in its takeover pursuit of fellow green energy supplier Good Energy, after a series of rejected offers since June. The latest cash offer, announced this morning, is at 340 pence per share, valuing the Chippenham-based company at around £59.5m. It marks a rise on Ecotricity’s initial indicative offer [...]