Budget cuts
As MPs left the House of Commons for their summer recess, energy secretary Amber Rudd found time to announce cuts to the subsidies available for both large scale solar and biomass. The move came as the government looks to regain some control of the Levy Control Framework spending, which has spiralled £1.5 billion over budget.
Despite this, Drax said it is still looking to convert its fourth unit to run on biomass and it remains in discussions with the government over securing a Contract for Difference.
Rudd also effectively put an end to the troubled Green Deal. After only 10,000 Green Deal plans being agreed since it was launched two and a half years ago, the energy secretary announced she was stopping the funding for the scheme.
Customer chaos
SSE had a tough week as its annual report highlighted it had lost 90,000 customers and that its profits will be hit as a result.
The major energy suppliers also have had a hard time from their customers, with the number of complaints they received almost doubling in the first quarter of the year compared to the previous year, according to a Citizens Advice survey.
Water sector focusses on the data
The issue of data quality rose to the surface once again this week in the water sector as companies continue their preparations for market opening in 2017. Experts told Utility Week that the early retail market will be hampered by poor data, with switches proving difficult to complete in a timely manner.
But data isn’t all bad news. Yorkshire Water’s data dive opened the doors to the public to look through its consumption data in the attempt to design a tool to help cut water usage. The result? The company is taking forward a number of apps. Read Utility Week’s account of the event here.