Ellen Fraser, energy retail partner at Baringa Partners, sets out her main observations about the ongoing crisis in energy retail and discusses some of the changes that are needed to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
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In his latest piece for Utility Week Matthew Vickers, chief executive and chief ombudsman, Ombudsman Services, talks about how consumer trust is as important as the physical infrastructure needed to decarbonise and reach net zero. Vickers argues the sector needs to rethink the retail interface and build it around trust.
Opinion
John Murray, head of EVs at Delta-EE, discuses the importance of getting the right mix of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and highlights some of the approaches taken in other European countries.
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Lawrence Haar, senior lecturer in finance at the University of Brighton, argues that vertically integrated suppliers with their own generation have an inherent advantage over assetless retailers which has been exposed by the recent surge in energy prices.
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As part of Utility Week’s Energy Reset campaign, Laura Sandys discusses how the current energy crisis can provide a “smouldering platform” for a root-and-branch review of the retail market. Here, she presents some key areas for reform and examines what lessons can be learnt from other industries.
Opinion
Olivia Carpenter-Lomax and Craig Lucas from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) outline some of the conditions needed to enable sector-wide innovation amid challenges posed by gas and fuel disruption.
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Many energy producers operate under lease arrangements, but it could be said that modern leases create unnecessary barriers to clean energy production. If this is the case, what can be done to address the issue? Peter Dilks, of Shakespeare Martineau, gives his view.
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Sustainability First director Sharon Darcy sets out why the current turbulence in the energy retail sector should be used as a catalyst to create a fundamentally different market and regulatory framework that can deliver a cleaner, greener, and fairer energy system.
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Northumbrian Water's head of energy and decarbonisation shares details of how the company has worked with its partners as part of its journey to net zero and successes collaboration brought
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Hidden charges in power purchase agreements (PPAs), such as data collection and data aggregation costs, are leaving some generators out of pocket, despite the promise of a higher purchase price.
Opinion
As lifeline service providers, utilities must be resilient to a wide variety of threats, including so-called ‘black swan events’ – those for which there are no precedents. Jay Cadman, of IQGeo looks at how to create robust risk management strategies in the face of uncertainty.
Opinion
The collapse of Avro Energy, affecting 580,000 customers, presents a significant test for Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort mechanism. Experts tell David Blackman that it’s a "flip of a coin” as to whether the process will cope.
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