Today the Energy Secretary did as we reported earlier in the week, confirming a delay to the “enormous” smart meter programme which will see 53million smart meters installed in 30million homes.

As tipped by ELN on Wednesday, the Department of Energy and Climate Change is giving the Big Six energy firms an extra year to carry out the huge infrastructure task.

In a Written Ministerial Statement, Ed Davey said: “Reflecting the extended period to build and test the systems required by industry, the Government has decided to move the completion date for the mass roll-out from end 2019 to end 2020 – although I expect the vast majority of smart meters to be in place against the original 2019 deadline.”

From the end of this year, he added, when customers switch suppliers, if their first supplier gave them a smart meter, the new one will not be allowed to replace it with a ‘dumb’ meter. They must either rent the previous supplier’s meter or install their own new smart meter which will give “greater confidence to early movers”, said Mr Davey.

Angela Knight, Chief Executive of Energy UK hailed the delay as “prudent” given the scale of the programme. She said: “[It] is a complex task which must be fulfilled with great care to ensure consumers receive the best possible benefits. Allocating extra time to the programme will mean that it can be completed in a more efficient and cost-effective manner and to greater effect.”

Energy firms themselves agreed, with E.ON’s Director of New Business Don Leiper saying the announcement gives them the “commercial certainty” to make sure the mass rollout from 2016 to 2020 will be as “smooth as possible”. Elsewhere npower said getting it right for customers remains an “absolute priority”.

Experts said pushing back the rollout deadline was a “pragmatic” option but worried what it meant for consumers, especially as the Government hasn’t yet picked who will look after the data & communications – the so called DCC services – for smart meters.

Richard Postance, Advisory Services Leader for Power & Utilities at Ernst & Young said: “Pushing back the launch of the DCC by 12 months takes away much needed control and transparency over their energy consumption from an already hard pressed consumer base, as well as potential jobs for the UK.”

On the positive side he said the extra year would help consumers fully trust suppliers: “[It] will allow an industry with an already fragile relationship with its customers to avoid another pitfall by engaging and communicating properly and ensuring that all processes and systems are “ramp up ready.”

Energy supplier E.ON is scrapping back-dated bills longer than a year as part of some “major changes” to the way it deals with business customers which kick in this week.

The firm has 670,000 SME customers in the UK and says it will also put contract end dates on bills to let them know exactly when they must renew their contracts.

E.ON also wants “clearer communication” around automatic contract rollovers and may flag up opportunities to opt out while not “locking” customers into another fixed contract.

The supplier trumpeted the changes as it brought out research which suggested three quarters (73%) of Britain’s SMEs see business prospects hampered by complex tax system and over-regulation. The results of a survey of 750 small business decision makers found many want less red tape and simpler tax systems.

Anthony Ainsworth of E.ON said: “All businesses depend on energy to varying degrees, giving it a key role in stability and overall success. As an industry, we need to recognise that changes are necessary.

“We have made great strides in improving things for our business customers, including an overhaul of our back-billing period to one year, effective this week, which delivers on a promise we made last year to mitigate against the shock factor of unexpected bills.”

The supplier claims some rival energy providers can currently charge for up to six years’ backdated energy use, but around three quarters of the research respondents (76%) believe the process of back-billing for past consumption should be restricted to a maximum of one year.

New parents see their energy use grow in the first two months after having a baby, according to a poll of parents which shows two in three new parents find energy use increases with a baby’s arrival.

Nearly a fifth (18%) find their energy use went up considerably, with four in 10 (40%) tumble drying more often and a third (28%) putting on ‘significantly more’ washing loads.

Electronic gadget use goes up too apparently, with new parents watching on average three and a half more hours of TV and listening to three more hours of radio a day.

More than a quarter (27%) use up to three extra gadgets such as baby monitors and bottle sterilisers each week and the same proportion (26%) of new parents run up to three loads of washing a day.

That extra washing machine use alone could add an extra £30.1 to a family’s energy bill over their baby’s first 60 days, says energy supplier E.ON which commissioned the survey.

Beverley Maguire, energy efficiency expert at E.ON said: “New parents are faced with lots of additional costs, but one thing they may not consider is how baby’s arrival will affect their energy consumption.”

The supplier suggests tips like giving clothes a quick extra spin in the washing machine before drying so they dry quicker: it says cutting down one load a week could take around £30.60 off your electricity bill.

It also advises putting energy efficient LED night lights around the house for when you get up for the baby at night, or using a baby bath divider or small tub rather than the main bath to save energy and water.

The emblem of Leeds is a golden owl – which is perhaps why Leeds has seen the wisdom of energy efficiency as this week it announced several huge public buildings in the northern city are getting upgrades to make them more efficient.

Leeds City Council has agreed a £1.2 million deal with energy firm E.ON to improve nine buildings including the Civic Hall (pictured) and Town Hall, Leeds Art Gallery, the Central Library and a sports centre.

The revamp could result in energy use and carbon emissions being cut by a fifth, says E.ON.

Leeds City Council will front the cash with the guarantee that the proposed measures will pay for themselves in less than seven years.

Councillor Mark Dobson, Leeds City Council’s executive member for the environment said: “With a commitment to reduce emissions from council operations and across the city by 40% by 2020, we are investing in a number of public buildings to improve their energy performance and cost-efficiency.”

He said using an Energy Performance Contract means the council will get its energy savings within a fixed budget.

This is the second RE:FIT agreement between E.ON and Leeds City Council. Under a previous project, the energy firm assessed nine buildings including data centres, schools, leisure centres and a transport depot.

Richard Scott, Head of Energy Efficiency for E.ON’s Connecting Energies business said: “The real beauty of this project is we’re cutting energy costs and carbon emissions to meet the evolving needs and expectations of local people without the need for the authority to shoulder the operational costs itself.”

Almost one in three households in Britain are missing out on potential savings by not switching their energy tariffs.

A new survey of 2,000 people by energy firm E.ON also revealed although 53% of people know they have to switch suppliers to get the best deal, one in five said they find it too confusing.

More than four in ten believed they are missing out by staying loyal to their supplier and 82% of E.ON’s 28,000 customers felt energy firms should reward them for their loyalty.

The energy company is calling on households to review their tariffs, check they are on the best deal and benefit from the loyalty rewards as more than a third believed they are paying more for their energy because they have not reviewed their tariffs.

Anthony Ainsworth, Sales and Marketing Director at E.ON said: “The research findings show over a third of people say customer service is the key reason for why they stay loyal to their energy supplier… Our customers can benefit from a swap then stay and save approach by swapping tariffs and then staying to benefit from loyalty rewards.”

A recent Ofgem survey showed 59% of gas customers and 60% of electricity customers have never switched suppliers, equivalent to around 12.7 million households.

All 175 turbines at what is believed to be the world’s largest operating offshore wind farm are now generating clean electricity.

The 630MW London Array in the Thames Estuary has completed its first phase of the project, with the final turbine (pictured) online on Saturday, 6 April.

With all turbines now exporting power to the National Grid, the wind farm is expected to produce enough electricity to power nearly half a million homes in the UK and cut carbon emissions by more than 900,000 tonnes a year.

Project Director Richard Rigg said: “This is the final major milestone of the construction phase and the culmination of more than two years’ offshore construction work which began in March 2011 with the installation of the first foundation.”

RenewableUK welcomed the announcement and said the project is a “real achievement” for Britain. Chief Executive Maria McCaffery added: “It’s a monumental feat of green engineering… To hold on to the UK’s global lead in offshore wind, it’s vital that we maintain this momentum. We must ensure that the crucial legislation going through Parliament right now – the Energy Bill – sets a rock-solid framework to encourage investment in renewables.”

DONG Energy, E.ON and Masdar own 50%, 30% and 20% stakes in the project. The second phase is expected to consist of wind turbines with a total capacity of 240MW if approved.

It could keep on going for years but this coal plant has been forced to close. ELN reporter Vicky Ellis visits Kingsnorth on the east coast of England to find out why – and what hope there might be for the UK’s future energy supply.

It was a sad and even emotional day for many workers at the Kingsnorth coal plant in Kent which officially closed today.

After forty years of generating electricity, the 2,000MW plant – which pumped 1,940MW of that to the grid – has begun a two year-long decommissioning process which could lead to demolition.

Energy supplier E.ON’s plant stopped generating before Christmas but today it officially closed with many workers packing up to go to new jobs or early retirement.

Kingsnorth employed 150 people in its heyday but had been operating with fewer workers over the last few months as some left to take up other jobs in the industry. Twenty staff will continue working on site.

Piles of cardboard boxes in office rooms and an empty control room testified the fact it is the end of the road for the coal plant which must shut to fall in line with EU legislation. The Large Combustion Plant Directive sets a limit on how much carbon dioxide power stations can emit.

Paul Graham, Site Closure Manager who has worked at the plant since 1999 said it was “strange” to find the control room empty.

He told ELN although he was a relative “newcomer”, some of his colleagues had worked at Kingsnorth their whole careers: “To be honest it feels very strange. This plant has been around for forty years and today is the last day when the majority of the staff will be leaving. The thing you notice is how quiet it is, eerily quiet.”

Mr Graham went on: “What we’re doing today is we’re breaking up a community. It’s sad when it has to come to an end. But fortunately many of the staff are of the same age as the plant and are moving on to retirement.”

The plant’s engineers spoke with pride about their plant, with Michael Vann, Operations Manager describing it as still “world class”.

He said: “It had 655 starts in 2012 – it was well known for its flexibility and availability. Even over the last year it didn’t decline and was still at its best. The only reason it closed was the LCPD.”

One woman who had worked at the plant in various roles for more than a decade said she had felt “emotional all day” as many at the plant said goodbye to colleagues.

E.ON says the site could be suitable for other work and has tested out biomass in one of its coal units. Despite this it has not plumped to continue running Kingsnorth with the alternative fuel source, most likely because of the cost.

A Welsh energy from waste plant which could supply power to a district heating system in Cardiff has brought energy supplier E.ON on board.

The district heating system will be the first of its kind in Wales, says waste disposal firm Viridor which will operate the Trident Park plant. The plant will use recyclable material from homes and industry.

Chris Jonas, Viridor’s Head of Strategic Development said: “Whilst these are early stages, we are very pleased to be working in partnership with E.ON and Cardiff Council to explore this innovative solution.

“In addition to the 30MW of electricity the facility will generate, enough to supply the equivalent of up to 50,000 homes, the heat and high-grade steam to support a district heating network will add an additional 20MW to the plant’s energy output”.

The chief executive of E.ON was gunning for the carbon floor price today at a conference on the Future of Utilities.

Speaking in London this morning Tony Cocker criticised the scheme for being unintelligible to bill payers and said his firm wished it could be scrapped.

The carbon floor price was announced by the Chancellor in the Budget 2011 and it will kick in officially from 1 April 2013. Slapping a price on the emissions from large firms’ energy use has been widely derided as a ‘carbon tax’.

Posing the question whether the carbon floor price is “transparent”, the energy boss answered himself: “Absolutely not. How many of our customers understand what that is?”

What it does is raise tax for the Exchequer, he went on to say, suggesting it was “ridiculous” that the carbon floor is “providing a subsidy for old nuclear and old hydropower and energy imports” which don’t need this help, instead of supporting new low carbon technology as the Government claims.

The Chancellor should just be honest and call it an “electricity tax” so that ordinary people understand what it is: “Let’s not delude ourselves, this is a poll tax on energy customers,” he said.

The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme which will be brought in by the Energy Bill – being finalised by the Department for Energy and Climate Change – could stand alone in funding low carbon energy without the floor price, he added.

Mr Cocker was speaking at the marketforce Future of Utilities event.