Archive for September, 2010

Boost for small wind energy businesses

30 September 2010

A small-scale wind energy developer has received £50million of private investment in an attempt to boost small wind energy projects across rural Scotland.

E-Gen, based in Berwickshire in the Borders, benefited from this private equity boost, which aims to establish hundreds of mini wind projects. The company makes “small” wind farms – from one to three turbines each farm – to supply domestic and business electricity. There are four sites currently going through the planning process and 25 more ready to be developed.

Private investors Rockfield Energy Investments will enable the firm to set up a new business, E-Gen Partners, to work in partnership with landowners and farmers to fund the development and construction of such projects.

The news was revealed on the eve of the Scottish Low Carbon Investment Conference in Edinburgh. The event attracts major financiers from around the world who are interested in green energy.

E-Gen has already created a digital mapping tool to find potential windfarm sites, where wind speeds, planning consent and grid connections are optimal. For landowners, the company will pay ground rent based on the number of turbines erected on their land.

Tom Forsyth, E-Gen’s chief executive, told The Scotsman: “We believe our business model can deliver big benefits to farmers and landowners across rural Scotland by adding value to their properties and boosting their incomes at no cost or risk to themselves.”

Of course, the news will also be welcomed by business electricity customers concerned about green energy generation.

Local renewable energy generation is seen by many as a way of keeping business electricity costs down in the future.

You can read the full story in The Scotsman

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British Gas plans could harm small business energy customers

28 September 2010

New proposals by energy giant British Gas to introduce pre-pay meters into small business premises have been slammed by the Federation of Small Businesses.

In an article in the Financial Mail, Stephen Alambritis of the FSB said that the need for pre-payments for business electricity and gas could adversely affect cash flow for small firms.

British Gas, which serves around 500,000 small and medium sized enterprises, claims that the meters could help firms with poor credit histories to get business energy more quickly and cheaply.

However, the concern is that, like with domestic pre-pay meters, a premium rate would be charged for business gas and electricity.

Currently British Gas is running trials, with pre-pay business energy meters expected to be rolled out over the next year.

According to the Financial Mail report, rivals including nPower and Scottish and Southern have no plans for similar meters.

While helping firms who have a poor credit history is a good thing, the idea of pre-pay meters and the potential costs this could involve set alarm bells ringing.

Are you considering installing a pre-pay meter for your business gas or electricity? Before taking this untested route, which could potentially end up costing a lot of money, it would be advisable to contact an independent energy advisor such as Energy Advice Line.

At EAL we can advice you on the best business electricity and gas contracts to suit your needs, taking into account issues such as poor credit history.

Advice is free and impartial, and can help you save money on your business energy contracts.

You can read the full story in This Is Money

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Business energy prices could rise with Shale Gas

24 September 2010

Putting all our eggs in the basket of shale gas could lead to business gas price rises, foreign affairs analysts Chatham House have warned. The think tank told BBC online that despite shale gas deposits being plentiful and being successfully exploited in the US, other countries may not be so successful thanks to economic, environmental and geological issues.

It has been hoped that shale gas could provide a major, worldwide energy source in the future. However, uncertainty over the practicalities of using shale outside the US is damaging investment in conventional gas wells, putting future supplies for domestic and business gas customers under threat, the think tank added.

“If the shale gas revolution in the US continues to flourish and is replicated elsewhere in the world, this inadequate level of investment will not matter,” the report’s author Paul Stevens told the BBC.

“However, if shale fails to deliver on current expectations, then in 10 years or so, gas supplies could face serious constraints.”

Problems identified with shale gas by Chatham House include the fact deposits are thinly spread, so wells are less efficient and dry out more quickly than conventional gas wells. This makes the mining of shale gas more expensive – a cost that is likely to be passed on to home and business gas customers.

The geology of shale deposits varies a lot from one place to the other and is complex. There are also environmental issues to be considered, for example the chemicals used to pump the gas can contaminate drinking water.

As with all new energy sources, access to pipelines to get the supply to customers is also an issue.

The current financial climate is also having an affect on investment in conventional gas sources – they are currently not economically viable.

As the winter fast approaches and we prepare to turn the heating on, business gas customers will be concerned about possible price increases, as well as guaranteed supply.

To compare business gas and business electricity prices, contact Energy Advice Line.

You can read the full story at the BBC.

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OfGem announces energy supply review

23 September 2010

In an announcement that will be watched closely by business electricity customers, enregy regulator OfGem has announced a comprehensive review into the costs to energy companies of supplying electricity to the National Grid.

The review was announced at OfGem’s conference in Glasgow and was welcomed by Alex Salmond, First Minister for Scotland. Scottish energy suppliers currently pay the most to supply electricity to the grid because subsidies are in place for power companies that build energy plants closer to homes and businesses, shortening the chain of supply. However, Mr Salmond says this discourages investment in greener energy projects such as off-shore windfarms North of the border.

OfGem is required to keep access to the grid as low cost as possible.

However, the implementation of the 2010 Energy Act means there are also green considerations to be accommodated. Supply for domestic and business electricity customers also has to be safeguarded.

Scotland has some of the richest resources for renewable energy generation, and Mr Salmond is keen to see a move away from a locational charging system to help these businesses.

The review, called Project TrasmiT, will deliver its initial findings in Spring 2011, and any changes will be decided on by Summer of that year.

Business electricity customers will support the response by Consumer Focus Scotland, whose spokeswoman Trisha McAuley told BBC Scotland: “This review is welcome but it will be critical that it has the consumer interest at its heart.”

Any changes will have a direct impact on domestic and business electricity consumers, and it remains to be seen whether any potential savings in supply charges will be passed on to customers.

You can read the full story at BBC Online

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Businesses running out of time to register for Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme

22 September 2010

Business energy customers have been warned that they are fast running out of time to register for the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRCEE Scheme). Deadline for registration to the business energy scheme is 30 September.

According to a report in Computer World UK, there are 10,442 companies still to sign up to the scheme, and now warnings are being issued that companies face potentially crippling financial penalties for missing the deadline. Delays in the administration process mean that applications could take longer than the nine remaining working days to be processed – potentially up to four weeks.

Companies that used 6,000 megawatt hours of business electricity or more through all of their meters during 2008 (equivalent to an electricity bill of about £500,000 per year) must register for the scheme, which will monitor their business energy consumption and purchasing allowance.

The scheme came into force on 1 April, but businesses have been slow to register, and it’s not just financial penalties that companies should worry about if they miss the deadline. According to Chris Smith, of infrastructure specialists on365, damage to a company’s reputation from being listed as non-compliant could be irreversible.

The registration process has two steps. First, companies need to submit details about their business electricity meters. This is then validated by the Environment Agency before businesses can go ahead and register. This is where the delays may come in.

Eligible organisations that fail to register by the deadline will be fined £5,000, plus an additional £500 per day for each subsequent working day they fail to register up to a maximum of 80 working days.

But a spokeswoman for the Environment Agency denied that the 30 September deadline would be used to penalise companies. She said this would not happen “as long as you have made your best effort to get registered, if there’s a genuine reason.”

This business energy story was brought to you by Energy Advice Line, offering free and independent advice on business electricity and gas contracts.

Read the full story in Computer World UK

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Number of micro businesses increasing as Government introduces measures to help small businesses become energy efficient

21 September 2010

Micro businesses, defined as companies with one or two employees, have increased dramatically in the past five years, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.

There are now nearly 400,000 one or two person businesses trading in the UK, compared with 140,000 in 2005. Such small-scale operations are weathering the recession better than larger companies with a lower rate of micro businesses going bust.

Credit information company Experian believes that these micro businesses could prove the key to economic growth by expanding into bigger businesses with more employees. Business consultancy is the most popular area for these tiny businesses, along with construction and computer consultancy.

Meanwhile, the Government has announced measures to help small businesses, including micro businesses, to cut their business electricity and gas costs by becoming more energy efficient.

The scheme will see companies given loans to replace old, energy guzzling equipment such as fridges, boilers and freezers. Money saved on business energy costs will be used to pay back the loans.

Under the working title The Green Deal for Business, the business energy saving scheme is similar to the Government plan to lend money to domestic energy customers to pay for the replacement of new boilers and installation of home insulation.

Kanat Emiroglu, managing director of British Gas Business (BGB), told The Daily Telegraph: “There should be something in the Queen’s Speech in November, in the Energy Bill.

“We are talking to the Government about its energy efficiency scheme for SMEs. They are very receptive about it.”

British Gas is keen to get the scheme up and running, and is confident that it can provide savings on the installation of modern, energy-efficient plant and machinery. The Government, meanwhile, is looking to banks RBS and Lloyds to help fund the scheme, forming part of their efforts to meet legally binding targets for lending to businesses.

Mr Emiroglu believes this scheme will be more successful than the Carbon Trust scheme of interest free loans to small businesses to improve their energy efficiency, which he believes has only touched a tiny percentage of Britain’s small businesses.

Read the full story about Micro Businesses in the The Daily Telegraph.

And the full report into the Government’s new business energy scheme here

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Chris Huhne ‘worried’ over investment in green energy

18 September 2010

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has admitted he is ‘worried’ about investments in wind farm technology, seen as essential to meeting domestic and business electricity needs in the near future.

Talking to the Daily Telegraph, he described the UK as having the “worst installed rate of renewable capacity of all the 23 member states.”

The minister went on to describe the UK’s tough wind targets as “challenging”, but insisted that action would be taken to improve the country’s standing on wind power within Europe.

However, the government is currently still reviewing how to deliver the renewable energy targets to meet the demands of domestic and business electricity customers.

Funding of £60million earmarked to improve port infrastructure for off shore windfarms is currently under scrutiny as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
But Mr Huhne is still committed to attracting Siemens and GE wind turbine factories with this money.

“Given the very substantial investment that is going to have to happen in offshore wind it makes an awful lot of sense that the investment should go ahead,” he said.
£200bn of investment is needed in the next ten years to update the UK’s energy infrastructure and provide more domestic and business energy from renewable sources.

Read the full story in The Daily Telegraph.

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nPower named top business energy supplier

17 September 2010

nPower have been named the Consumer Supplier of the Year for the service it provides to industrial and business energy customers at the inaugural Energy Event Awards in Birmingham.

The award recognises that nPower has excelled in providing business energy users with an outstanding service, product or innovation.

Part of the yearly Energy Event, the awards are designed to recognise and reward achievements in the energy industry. The award was presented to David Cockshott, director of industrial and commercial markets for nPower.

“It’s brilliant that npower has been recognised as The Consumer Supplier of the Year,” Mr Cockshott said. “We are particularly proud of the accolade because we were nominated by our own industrial and commercial business customers, and we’d like to thank them for their support.”

He added: “Offering our customers the best service is at the forefront of everything npower does and we strive to give businesses flexibility in how they buy their energy and to work in partnership with them to meet their energy needs.

Eamonn Brennan, organiser of the Energy Event, said: “The launch of the Energy Event Awards has exceeded our expectations as we had lots of entries of a very high standard. We set up the awards to celebrate achievements in the energy industry and npower is a prime example of this.”

The Energy Event took place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham and is one of Europe’s largest exhibitions and conferences that focuses solely on energy procurement, management and efficiency.

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Remember, remember your business energy contract renewal dates

16 September 2010

Have you got the date marked in your diary? I hope so. Your business electricity and gas contract renewal dates are among the most important to keep a note of to help you keep on top of your overheads.

It’s vitally important for SMEs to keep on top of business electricity and gas contract renewal dates; everyone has heard the horror stories of businesses being unaware of when their contracts are up for renewal and suddenly finding themselves rolled over into lengthy and expensive new contracts that see them paying far more for their business energy than they were on their previous deals.

The simple fact is you are highly unlikely to get the best business electricity or gas prices from your existing supplier; certainly not at their first offer.

Energy industry regulator Ofgem made some changes to regulations in January this year, which were designed to improve matters for SMEs. The onus was shifted on to energy companies to make sure that the terms and conditions of business energy contracts were clearly presented to customers.

However, the vast majority of small business owners don’t think the changes have gone far enough, many accusing the body of bowing to pressure from the big six energy suppliers to water down proposed changes to contract roll over.

It’s vital that SMEs remain vigilant and aware of their contract renewal dates. However, this is often easier said than done with lots of paperwork to keep on top of and other priorities filling business owners’ minds in the current economic climate.

That’s where using the services of an independent energy advisory service such as Energy Advice Line can prove very beneficial. You can register your business electricity and gas contract renewal dates with EAL and they will contact you at the appropriate time to give you the chance to renew or switch your contract.

EAL also offer brokerage services and work with the big six business energy suppliers, which means they can negotiate far better deals on business energy contracts than small enterprises going it alone

You can compare business energy prices online or on the telephone at no cost and with no obligation to take up any of the contract options you are presented with.

For advice on contract renewals and switching business electricity and gas supplier, contact Energy Advice Line today.

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CBI Warns on low carbon heating

15 September 2010

Business energy customers could face increased costs as a result of a proposed levy on natural gas for heating, the CBI warns.

Proposed support for heating from low-carbon sources could push up business gas costs if they go ahead. The Government is currently debating whether to implement their predecessors Renewable Heat Incentive plans, which would be one of the first renewable energy subsidies to focus on heating rather than electricity.

The CBI is in favour of cost-effective initiatives such as building insulation and the use of excess business energy to warm homes via district heating networks. However, technologies such as solar water heating would not be cost effective, while wood burners could increase pollution to unacceptable levels in urban areas.

Business gas users could be the ones to foot the bill, the CBI continued, with business gas costs rising by 20 per cent in 2020.

The RHI would be funded by a levy on fossil fuel suppliers, and it’s consumers who are likely to cover those costs.

“The cost of funding the RHI could fall disproportionately on industrial gas users,” said a CBI report.

Heating accounts for about half of the carbon emissions in the UK.

For advice on how to save money on business gas and electricity, contact Energy Advice Line.

Read the full story at Reuters

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