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What is the Network Charging Compensation Scheme, and what does it mean for EIIs?

Early this year, the government announced the British Industry Supercharger (BIS): a comprehensive set of measures aimed at encouraging competition between Britain and Europe's strategic Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs). In this blog, Amy Tyler, Industry Regulation Manager at SmartestEnergy, discusses the most recent updates following the government's latest consultation, which saw the launch of the Network Charging Compensation (NCC) Scheme.

The NCC Scheme is the final part of the BIS, a...

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Weekly market update - An overall uneventful week as temperatures continue to cool

Head of Sales Trading, Fanos Shiamishis, reports on energy market activity, covering the period 24th – 31st October 2023. On our end-of-day pricing tool, The Source, we published an in-week high of £124/MWh for the Summer-24 seasonal power price on 27th October. In this blog, Fanos shares the market news and updates from the last week. 

Early last week, UK power and gas in the near term opened relatively well supplied, offseting the increase in demand due to cooler temperatures into November....

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SmartestEnergy celebrates Black History Month

In celebration of Black History Month, Claudia McIntosh, Diversity & Inclusion Manager at SmartestEnergy, shares some inspirational figures in black history and how SmartestEnergy used Black History Month to educate and celebrate the contribution of black heritage and culture.

October marks Black History Month which was first celebrated in America in the 1920s. The first Black History Month in the UK was celebrated in 1987 and was arranged by Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, a journalist and pan-African ...

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Weekly market update - Geopolitical risks unsettle markets

Head of Sales Trading, Fanos Shiamishis, reports on energy market activity, covering the period 17th October – 23rd October 2023. On our end-of-day pricing tool, The Source, we published an in-week high of £119.77/MWh for the Summer-24 seasonal power price on 23rd October. In this blog, Fanos shares the market news and updates from the last week. 

Last Tuesday the UK gas system faced a 23mcm supply shortage, which led to increased reliance on LNG and storage withdrawals. European gas prices...

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Weekly Market Update - Continuing conflict in the Middle East and threats of LNG strikes raise power prices 

Head of Sales Trading, Fanos Shiamishis, reports on energy market activity, covering the period 10th - 17th October 2023. On our end-of-day pricing tool, The Source, we published an in-week high of £132.00/MWh for the Summer-24 seasonal power price on 10th October. In this blog, Fanos shares the market news and updates from the last week. 

Early last week, the energy complex rallied strongly as the conflict in the Middle East continued, Australian LNG workers strike risks renewed, and ongoing...

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Weekly Market Update - European gas supply hit a record high going into winter 2023-24

Head of Sales Trading, Fanos Shiamishis, reports on energy market activity, covering the period 3rd October – 9th October 2023. On our end-of-day pricing tool, The Source, we published an in-week high of £109.75/MWh for the Winter-25 seasonal power price on 9th October. In this blog, Fanos shares the market news and updates from the last week.

Last Tuesday started with a decline in gas prices, however, there were no fundamental drivers as the gas system opened the day marginally short....

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Prime Minister Unveils New Net Zero Plans: A closer look at key announcements

On September 20th, the Prime Minister revealed the government's updated plans on climate change to achieve the Net Zero target. Here's an overview of the key announcements:

Revised Timeline for Petrol and Diesel Vehicle Ban:

The Prime Minister disclosed a delay in the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans, pushing it from 2030 to 2035. Energy UK expressed a different viewpoint, advocating for an earlier date of 2032. as well as expressing their support for an ambitious Zero...

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Utilising flexibility with our Optional Demand Response trial service

At SmartestEnergy, we are committed to supporting the energy system and continuously exploring innovative ways to help our customers extract value from their energy consumption. In this blog, Bozhidar Bozhkov, Head of Product for Digital Trading and VPP, discusses the success of our 'Optional Demand Response' (ODR) trial service, which allowed our customers to build flexibility into their operations, enabling them to optimise their energy usage and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Last...

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International Equal Pay Day and the journey to Gender Pay Equality

Last week, on September 18th, we celebrated International Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of the gender pay gap and advocating for wage equality amongst all. It is both a reminder of the work yet to be done, and a celebration of the progress made so far. In this blog, Claudia McIntosh, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at SmartestEnergy shares what we have learnt from our latest Gender Pay Gap Report and highlights the steps we are taking to achieve equal pay. 

At...

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Weekly Market Update - Norwegian outages and further supply risks drive prices up

Head of Sales Trading, Fanos Shiamishis, reports on energy market activity, covering the period 19th September – 25th September 2023. On our end-of-day pricing tool, The Source, we published an in-week high of £128.00/MWh for the Winter-23 seasonal power price on 20th September. In this blog, Fanos shares the market news and updates from the last week.

Last Tuesday, supply opened stable to the previous day, with the expectation that Norwegian flows from Troll would resume. However, flows failed ...

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