28.07.10 Fuel poor hit hard by the cost of climate change policies
The Government's Fuel Poverty Advisory Group has suggested that people living in fuel poverty (a situation where to achieve an adequate standard of warmth, a household needs to spend more than 10% of its income on total fuel use), are among the hardest hit by the government's climate change policies. This accusation comes after the group discovered that energy bills have increased by 125% over the past six years, passing on costs accrued from government policies directly onto consumers.
Some 4.6 million households in the UK are now classified as being in fuel poverty. This is likely to increase since household bills are projected to rise by up to 50% by 2020, due to customers bearing the cost of government policies to invest in energy infrastructure and measures to reduce greenhouse gases.
The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group agrees that investment in energy infrastructure and measures to reduce greenhouse gases is essential. However, worries over the future of grants to reduce the number in fuel poverty, such as the Warm Front scheme which may be under threat, have led to increased worry for those in fuel poverty. In order to reduce these fears, the group has asked government ministers to set an immediate and unequivocal goal to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016.
This plea comes as an alternative to the government’s current proposal for a “green deal” to help boost the energy efficiency of homes by focusing on installation measures. The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group argues that schemes such as these do not work for those in fuel poverty as they currently under-heat their homes to keep their costs down.
23.07.10 Shares in Falkland Oil & Gas drop
Shares in Falkland Oil & Gas fell sharply recently after the company announced that it was giving up on one of its wells in the area surrounding the Falklands Islands. This was a major blow to the company which had expected to find oil in the region.
The well in question, Toroa, is situated just off the coast of the South Falklands. Drilling began at Toroa, in which the firm has a 49% stake, at the end of May 2010. Despite being very optimistic at the time, the firm has just announced that there are no hydrocarbons to be found there.
Forecasts had previously predicted that there could be up to three billion barrels of oil in the area. But this recent setback suggests that this was slightly optimistic. Still, Falkland Oil & Gas hopes that there is still oil to be found in the area, which is located 90 miles south of Stanley, the capital of the Falklands.
Shares plummeted 60% on the news, despite then recovering slightly and closing 53% down. Last month the shares had rocketed to 244p after the firm had announced that it had discovered a new field.
There are a number of UK companies currently looking for oil in the area in a move bitterly opposed by Argentina. The islands are known there as the Islas Malvinas, and the country claims the territory as its own.
Tim Bushell, the chief executive of the firm, said that whilst the results are disappointing, “it has to be remembered that this is the first well in a previously undrilled frontier basin", adding that they believe “these results have helped to reduce some of the key risks of the plays in the deepwater areas of our licences”.
25.06.10 BP shares plummet to 13-year low
The BP oil slick disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has already had an environmental cost that is difficult to measure. One thing that can be measured quite accurately, however, is the drop in the share prices for BP to a 13-year low.
The shares have been going steadily down for the last few weeks, but the most recent drop came on Monday 14th May, when the value decreased by 9% after Barack Obama compared the disaster to 9/11. He said that “in the same way our view of our vulnerabilities and foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11, this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment”.
Shares also fell by 4% when US senators were considering forcing BP to put $20 billion (£13.6 billion) into an escrow account in order to pay for all of the compensation that will be required.
So far BP has spent over $1.6 billion on the cleanup operation since the disaster, and the shares just keep on going down. Shares were recently down by as much as 43% from the day of the accident on April 20. In total, the company has seen a £56 billion fall in its market value.
However, after BP officially agreed to put the money into the account, the shares rallied on Thursday 17th June and rose 7%.
Standard Chartered has revealed that the bill for BP could now be over $40 billion in total. And things are not going to get any better for BP as the US administration has suggested that the company may lose leases for exploration and production as a punishment.
28.05.10 Centrica profits up after cold weather
Most of the country may have suffered from the bitterly cold weather to strike the UK in the first part of the year. But what was bad news for many was good news for the gas companies. Now Centrica, the owner of British Gas, has revealed that it saw a 7% rise in the use of gas during the first three months of the year compared to 2009.
This was not the only good news for the power giant as it also saw its electricity use rise by 2% compared to last year. And on top of that, British Gas revealed that its price cuts had been responsible for a large increase in its overall customer numbers. British Gas cut its bills by 7% in February, and now it says that this has led to 200,000 more residential customers.
For the first six months of last year, British Gas boasted a large operating profit of £299 million, which was up an enormous 80% from 2008. It is now suggesting that it could beat even these record profits when its figures are revealed.
All this of course will see increased pressure from consumer groups for British Gas to cut its bills further. Bills are still incredibly high for many, and it will do the company no favours to keep the prices high if they are going to make record profits.
If British Gas does reduce its bills then this will be good news for customers across the country, because the other major power companies generally follow its lead.
20.05.10 Hunt for Britain's oldest boiler
Not many of us would rejoice in the fact that we struggle each winter with an ancient boiler. However, as a result of a recent initiative from energy supplier, npower, this could be distinctly beneficial.
Earlier this year, the government launched a new scheme for scrapping old boilers, under which homeowners who were replacing their G-rated boilers could be rewarded with £400 towards a new energy efficient system.
Intrigued and inspired by their engineers uncovering some weird and wonderful ancient systems which would not have looked out of place on Antiques Roadshow, npower have launched a hunt for the oldest boiler in Britain. The lucky winner will receive £3,000 towards the cost and installation of a new A-rated energy-efficient system.
The competition does not close until 30 June but in the event of a draw the winner will be the first of the tied entries to have been received so it is advantageous to be quick off the mark. For full details of how to enter, send an email to kate.dawson@europe.mccann.com. The competition is open to home owners only and does not cover commercial properties.
Even after the official government scrappage scheme ended, npower pledged to continue giving customers an allowance towards a more modern system. For further details of npower’s own scrappage scheme see their website.
The energy supplier is set to delight not only owners of old boilers but also football fans with their new Wallace and Gromit advert “Hand of Dog”, supporting England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.
