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Energy Reset

Utility Week's latest campaign sets out a vision for reforming the energy retail market.

Editor's picks

Counting the cost of the energy crisis
The government is under pressure to find ways to mitigate the pain for consumers of the next energy price cap rise. David Blackman looks at the options on the table and gauges expert reaction on which are likely to become a reality.
Analysis
Analysts trim price cap forecast
Analysts at Investec have lowered their forecast for the price cap for the next period beginning in April by almost £100 but said some form intervention is still needed to help those struggling with bills. The investment firm said wholesale gas and electricity prices have eased since it predicted last month that the price cap would rise to £2,000 for the summer period.
News
Government ‘in denial’ over extent of energy crisis  
Talks between the government and industry over the ongoing energy crisis are not moving fast enough, the bosses of two suppliers have told Utility Week, with Ecotricity chief executive Dale Vince accusing ministers of being “in denial” over the extent of the issue. Vince said they are “hoping presumably that the problem will ease or go away but it isn’t going to.”
News

Latest in Energy Reset

Non-switchers must be protected from SoLR costs
Energy customers who do not switch supplier should be protected from the costs of retailer failure, the head of the Fuel Bank Foundation has argued. Matthew Cole told Utility Week that customers who were denied the opportunity to benefit from switching should not be asked to pay for its failings.
News
Protecting customers as pressure on household finances mounts
With the UK facing an escalating cost of living crisis, flexibility is needed more than ever for those struggling to make their bill payments. Mastercard’s James Bushby shares highlights of the company’s research on the challenges for billers and the urgent need to modernise payments systems.
Opinion
Ofgem acts… but has the horse already bolted?
Following a raft of measures introduced by Ofgem to combat market volatility, Utility Week's Adam John takes a closer look at what next for the energy regulator. There is a sense of the stable door being shut after the horse has bolted, and many of the measures will not come into effect until the next price cap period. Elsewhere, BEIS recently announced a refresh of its energy retail strategy, prompting hopes of a change in attitudes towards the heavy focus on switching.
Opinion
Government pauses plans for energy autoswitching  
The government has announced it will pause development on its recent consultation on autoswitching as part of a “refresh” of its energy retail strategy. The energy secretary said lessons needed to be learnt from recent months and pledged an updated strategy “as soon as possible, once the market has stabilised”.
News
Temporary measures proposed to combat market volatility
Ofgem is considering requiring energy suppliers to make all new tariffs available to their existing customers as one of several possible short-term interventions to help them better manage the risks of buying energy. The regulator acknowledged that the options being consulted on would “dampen competition and reduce savings available to consumers” and said it is yet to be convinced that such measures are warranted.
News
Ofgem mulls radical shake-up of default tariffs  
The energy regulator has proposed introducing six-month default deals for customers, similar to fixed mortgages, as a possible adaptation to the price cap. In a call for input, published as part of the its plans to strengthen supplier resilience, Ofgem outlined three potential changes that could be made to the cap methodology.
News
Energy retailers to face financial stress tests
Energy suppliers are to be subject to financial stress testing from January as part of a raft of new measures being taken by the regulator in response to the fallout from high wholesale prices. It comes as the regulator’s chief executive Jonathan Brearley admitted previous measures brought in by the regulator were underdeveloped and “overtaken by the speed of change in energy markets”.
News
UK has been ‘complacent’ about gas supplies for ‘too long’
The current gas price crisis shows the government needs to rethink its approach to energy security, the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) has argued. The organisation said the UK’s pro-market just-in-time approach to procuring gas supplies is now coming “at a very high price”.
News
Don’t regulate away suppliers’ ability to compete
An unprecedented number of supplier failures has further highlighted concerns over poor hedging strategies and risky business practices. There is now a general consensus that rule changes are sorely needed. Yet there are fears the industry “might as well be nationalised” if mandated hedging becomes a requirement. From naming and shaming suppliers to introducing a risk index, Utility Week asks, what next for energy hedging?
Analysis
Weekend press round-up: ‘Biggest ever’ CfD round opens
In our latest round-up of national newspaper coverage, the fourth round of the government's Contracts for Difference opens; the aftermath of Storm Arwen offers opportunities to bury power cables, and Electron has raised capital to expand amidst the energy crisis
News
Ofgem ignored repeated warnings over Avro Energy
Concerns about Avro Energy were raised with Ofgem by Citizens Advice on 10 separate occasions in the three years before its collapse, the charity has revealed. In a damning new report, Citizens Advice accused Ofgem of making a “catalogue of errors” and failing to act against unfit energy suppliers for nearly a decade, leaving the market in a “precarious position” and consumers with a £2.6 billion bill.
News
EDF takes on Zog customers
EDF has become the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) for the third time in 2021, after taking on the customers of Zog Energy. Absorbing the 11,700 customers of Zog Energy means EDF has taken on almost 600,000 accounts through the SoLR process this year.
News
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