Osborne sticks to £50 pledge on energy bills December 5, 2013 CUSTOMERS will save around £50 on their energy bills through green policy reforms, the government confirmed in yesterday’s Autumn Statement. Some green levies will be reduced or shifted into taxation and three new energy-saving schemes will be implemented as part of the policy overhaul. “The government cannot control the price of energy in the global [...]
Reactions to the chancellor’s statement December 5, 2013 THE BUSINESS GROUPDirector general of the CBIJohn Cridland The CBI had lobbied the government to cap business rates at two per cent and support business finance. “We have always advocated the dual approach of tackling the deficit and driving growth – the OBR forecasts confirm it is working. Let’s stick with what works. “The pressure [...]
Erratic and arbitrary UK renewable subsidies are likely to end in failure December 4, 2013 WITH Centrica threatening to pull the plug on a £2bn offshore wind farm if the government did not increase already exorbitant subsidies, ministers agreed to do just that. Yesterday, they announced they would slow the planned reduction in the guaranteed strike price for offshore wind by adding £5 to the subsidy – to £140 per [...]
Forecast points to £3bn in gifts from Osborne December 3, 2013 AS CHANCELLOR George Osborne’s Autumn Statement draws nearer, a new report today lays out what is expected from the Treasury. EY’s Item Club are the latest group to suggest Osborne’s giveaways will run to around £3bn, projecting that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will slash the UK’s borrowing forecast to £110bn. This would mean [...]
City A.M.’s bumper Autumn Statement preview December 3, 2013 As chancellor George Osborne gets set to unveil this year's Autumn statement on Thursday, we've pulled together all the expected announcements, and what others are hoping for. Ladbrokes have 11/5 odds on the speech to run for 45 to 50 minutes (it's scheduled to start at 11.15am). You'll get 6/4 odds on the speech running [...]
E.ON warns that rising wholesale prices lie out of its and the government’s control December 2, 2013 Energy company E.ON has said this morning that it won't be raising its prices over the next 18 months, provided wholesale prices and network costs don't go up. It stressed, however, that prices and costs "may rise", and pointed out that neither it nor the government can control them. In a statement today, [...]
How today’s price cuts stack up with winter energy rises December 2, 2013 A bevy of figures has been announced this morning as the energy firms respond to the government's pledge to cut green levies, in a bid to ease the impact of energy bill hikes. The move comes as part of a package of measures announced over the weekend. It also follows the coalition denial that it had [...]
EDF pledges price freeze for 2014 December 2, 2013 EDF Energy was the first energy firm to announce a price freeze yesterday, with fellow Big Six firms British Gas, SSE and Npower announcing cuts this morning. The pledges come in response to the government's commitment to waive the cost of some green levies, which are currently paid for through energy bills. EDF said it doesn't [...]
British Gas to cut average bill by £53 on back of government energy changes December 2, 2013 British Gas has confirmed that it'll cut its average dual fuel bill by £53 from 1 January. The energy supplier is reducing its household gas and electricity prices by an average of 3.2 per cent, equivalent to £41 off an average annual bill, and up to £53 with the £12 Warm Home Discount scheme rebate. [...]
Npower to freeze new prices until spring 2015 December 2, 2013 UK energy supplier Npower says it will freeze its prices until spring 2015, unless wholesale costs increase. Chief executive officer Paul Massara said: "We don’t plan to increase energy prices before Spring 2015, unless there are increases in wholesale energy costs or network charges." The company introduced a planned price rise of 10.4 per cent [...]