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Major power stations may have to reduce their output during the summer after National Grid predicted lower demand for electricity. The system operator expects an increase in generation from small-scale renewables connected to the distribution network will result in less power being needed from gas and coal-fired plants. National Grid has forecast peak transmission system demand of 33.7GW, down from 34.3GW last year. Minimum summer demand is expected to sit at 17GW, 600MW lower than in 2017. B...
17 04 2018
News article - 17 April 2018
Energy Minister Claire Perry has described price rises from British Gas-owner Centrica as “unjustified”. The UK’s largest energy supplier is increasing the cost of both gas and electricity by 5.5%, pushing up the cost of an average dual-fuel bill by £60 a year to £1,161. The price rise will affect 4.1 million customers and comes after last year’s 12.5% rise in electricity prices. Centrica blamed rising wholesale costs and government policies such as smart meters and support for renewable ener...
17 04 2018
News article - 17 April 2018
Carbon dioxide emissions rose last year for the first time since 2014, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The amount of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere climbed by 1.4%, despite a fall in emissions from the UK, United States, Japan and Mexico. The increase was driven by a 2.1% rise in demand for energy, more than twice the previous year’s rate. Coal, oil and gas met more than 70% of the increased demand, with renewables accounting for much of the re...
27 03 2018
News article - 27 March 2018
Clear guidance on the direction of UK Government policy is needed if gas is to continue to play its “crucial role for many decades to come”, according to a new report by National Grid. The grid operator highlighted gas’s role in making heating, industry and transport greener. But the report noted how the UK reliance on gas is at odds with ministers’ Clean Growth Strategy. Some 80% of homes in the UK currently use gas for heating, while gas was burned to generate 42% of the country’s electrici...
20 03 2018
News article - 20 March 2018
Businesses investing in coal, gas and oil risk wasting up to $1.6 trillion (£1.2tn) on capital expenditure if they don’t take the Paris Agreement into account, according to a new report. Analysis firm Carbon Tracker said that companies should not base their investment decisions on current government policies – which at present would lead to a 2.7C temperature rise – but instead should plan towards the Paris target, which pledges to keep climate change well below 2C and aims for 1.5C. The repor...
13 03 2018
News article - 13 March 2018