regulator

Households and businesses across England and Wales are expected to see water bills cut by £25 a year from 2020 to 2025. Water regulator Ofwat said it will set the cost of capital across the sector at a record low of 2.4% – it expects this to have a direct effect on the bills paid […]

Ofgem has announced the winners of its annual Network Innovation Competitions. The energy regulator is providing up to £57.5 million across seven projects this year, with the intention of introducing new technologies and services to benefit consumers. Projects to be undertaken include Northern Gas Networks examining whether the UK’s gas networks can safely transport 100% […]

Water companies must do more to deal with customers who are struggling to pay their bills. That’s according to water market regulator Ofwat, which estimates bad debt currently adds an average of £21 to each customer’s yearly bill. It says tackling this issue now by identifying which customers are having difficulties before they owe too much […]

Ofgem has granted npower a temporary exemption from various terms of its electricity and gas licences. A decision made by the regulator granted a “temporary and limited derogation from various elements of standard licence condition (SLC) 22C and SLC 31C”. It will enable the company to conduct a time-limited trial of a new version of its […]

Ofgem has responded to a Scottish Government consultation on new energy efficiency and heating regulations. The energy regulator said local authorities could play an important role, both in identifying how best to approach implementing heat networks and also setting targets for energy efficiency and decarbonisation. Ofgem said robust information will need to be available on which to base these decisions – […]

The North Sea needs a new “arms length” body to oversee oil and gas extraction on the UK Continental Shelf according to the initial Wood review released yesterday. It said the regulator should be given stronger powers to administer sanctions and incentives, settle disputes between companies, attend operator consortia meetings – common practice in the […]

Government and industry must work closer together on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) if it wants to squeeze out the maximum amount of oil and gas that can be recovered from it. That’s according to an interim report conducted by Sir Ian Wood on behalf of DECC, which claims an extra 3-4 billion barrels of […]

Regulators need to bust some of the myths surrounding shale gas extraction according to the boss of drilling firm Cuadrilla, who gave evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. Referring to the demonstrations at Balcombe, Cuadrilla CEO Francis Egan (pictured) told the committee yesterday: “I’m sure you’ll be aware most of those protests […]

Ofwat is proposing to increase the fees it charges water and sewerage companies to help pay for its next price review. The regulator is changing the way it performs the reviews and says it now needs more money for the next one in 2014. The reviews are paid for with charges levied on the companies […]

Ofwat is to challenge Thames Water’s request for an 8% increase in the annual average household bill next year. The water regulator is assessing the company’s application to work out whether the price rises, which would add £29 to customers’ bills currently at around £354, are justified. Some of the increase could affect customers of […]