Energy Blog

April 2011 Electricity & Gas Renewals - Don't leave it too late.

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:42:00 +0000

Energy Price Update from Utility Masters.

Energy prices for April 2011 renewals have moved by more than 10% in the last 3 months. With only one month left to place April energy contracts, selecting the right supplier is vital.

Clarity, Transparency and Unbiased Expertise.

Utility Masters is one of the most respected energy consultancies and now, as part of the M&C Energy Group. one of the largest in Europe. Our customers are already saving money by locking in excellent energy prices.

April renewals are fast approaching so don't leave your business exposed to last-minute rates. But no matter when your gas or electricity renewals are, it's possible to lock in savings by acting now.

Don't take it from us, listen to what some of our customers say about us:

"Excellent find. Utility Masters helped us to make an amazing saving on our electricity costs. They were extremely committed in finding us the right deal. Thank you."
- FJG Logistics.

"Utility Masters provided the expert consultancy we needed to procure our Electricity and Gas supplies. They provided the right information in order for us to make decisions and have been retained for monitoring and advice going forward. We are really pleased with their contribution."
- Calypso Soft Drinks.

Contact Utility Masters today for a clear and unbiased assessment of your position.

Carbon Allowances - UK ETS Deadline Approaching To Buy UK Carbon Credits

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:57:00 +0000

UK Climate Change Agreement holders are in the final stages of closing off Milestone Year 5. Many businesses have failed to meet the more demanding performance targets, resulting in a need to buy UK ETS Carbon Allowances (or Tonnes, or Carbon Credits as they're sometimes called).

Last week, a major theft of European Carbon Allowances caused UK Carbon prices to rise sharply, but prices always stayed well below EU Allowance levels. This Milestone may be the last one where low Allowance prices can be seen, as the UK Government is proposing a pricing floor for Carbon in the UK.

If your business has a Climate Change Agreement and might need UK Carbon Allowances, you must have your Allowances in your Compliance Account before Monday 7th February 2011.

Don't leave it until it's too late - contact us today for a quotation.

Utility Masters Joins M&C Energy Group

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:29:00 +0000

Visit M&C Energy Group's website by clicking on this link.

Utility Masters clients are used to expert impartial advice, professional consultancy and tailored solutions for their energy needs. It was these attributes that attracted the attention of M&C Energy Group Ltd and led to M&C acquiring Utility Masters on 17th December 2010, to provide these services and more under the M&C brand.

M&C Energy Group is the market leading international energy consultancy headquartered near Edinburgh. The company has grown from a family owned business into one of the world's leading energy consultancies. Employing over 540 staff in 20 offices across 13 countries, the Group services over 3,500 clients in over 40 countries worldwide and purchases in excess of £6.25 billion of energy every year on behalf of its clients.

Utility Masters clients will continue to enjoy the excellent service and solutions they are used to. As part of M&C Energy Group, our engineers and analysts will provide bespoke services as before, but with the resources of our international network of experts, ensuring that the best, most up to date information and solutions are made available to our clients.

If you have an questions about M&C Energy Group please contact your Account Manager for more information.

The full press release can be read here.

An Internal Email About Gas Prices... And The Message For Everyone

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:56:00 +0000

Today a colleague emailed an article from The Telegraph, which discussed how gas prices haven't dropped with global gas market prices. I've attached the article, and our Head Of Purchasing's response below. I don't think I need to write any more, really!

The Article:

Everyone is telling us the global gas glut will last longer than anticipated. From the International Energy Agency to the Energy Networks Association, the message is that we're meant to be swimming in the stuff for another 10 years.

"The gas glut will last longer than many exporters believe or hope," the IEA said in its most recent energy outlook.

So you'd forgive the 20m customers of British Gas and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) for wondering why their prices are rising 7pc to 9pc this winter.

Ian Marchant, chief executive of SSE, told The Daily Telegraph that people are confusing the abundance of gas in the United States with a tighter supply situation in Europe.

Britain still gets around a third of its gas from the domestic North Sea, half from the rest of Europe via pipeline and 15pc via tanker in liquid form.

Operational problems with liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipped in from Qatar, the flow of Middle Eastern gas to Asia, where customers are willing to pay higher prices, and rising demand following the recession, have combined to help push up UK prices 25pc this year.

There's some merit in these arguments. For example, just because the world has an oversupply of cheap labour, doesn't mean Britain can't be short of unskilled workers.

But the picture still doesn't account for the mismatch between the way energy suppliers seem to wait longer before cutting prices than they do before raising them.

Britain is still well supplied with gas, according to National Grid, and is about to take its first US cargo of liquefied natural gas this week at the Isle of Grain station. All the signs are that wholesale gas prices should be stagnating – or even falling.

Many observers are therefore struggling to see why retail prices should be as high now as they were during much more severe wholesale price spikes.

"There are no obvious reasons why energy companies should be raising retail prices this winter," says Andrew Horstead, risk analyst at Utilyx. "The market is well supplied, and prices have risen from the lows that we saw back in March, but they still remain well below historic levels for this time of the year."

Although EDF has committed to freezing prices until March, the chief executive of one other major supplier told The Daily Telegraph that it was likely to follow British Gas and SSE's lead in raising bills, arguing that prices are a third higher than they were in 2007.

Part of the problem in working out the reasons why retail gas prices are rising is the lack of transparency surrounding how suppliers get their gas and the prices they pay for it.

Suppliers argue that they buy gas months ahead – maybe up to a year on the futures market – and therefore their wholesale commodity costs don't necessarily track prices on the spot market.

Consumers are therefore hostage to how effective their supplier is at hedging. SSE had to admit this week that it had been less than effective at predicting which way the gas price would go, leaving it facing a loss in its retail business for the first half of this year.

"To me, it raises questions about how SSE target their buying strategy and how exposed they are to the wider wholesale energy market," Mr Horstead says.

There are some signs that the gas glut is going to force prices lower in Europe, where the market is dogged by even more opacity than Britain's more liberal model.

Big European suppliers have recently been putting growing pressure on gas giants such as Total and Gazprom to start offering gas contracts linked to spot prices, which are up to 50pc lower than 30-year contract prices wedded to the oil price. Immediate prices are so low because of the gas oversupply.

Paul Newman, head of energy trading at ICAP, the inter-dealer broker, believes that the market is on the verge of a revolution.

"Much of what we are seeing in European natural gas markets is the same as what we saw in oil markets during the 1980s and 1990s," he says. "The second shock in 1979 led to the end of fixed-supply/fixed-price contracting, and led to an explosive growth in the use of free-market price references, such as spot prices."

All of this should be good news for UK gas retail consumers, since Britain is partly dependent on supplies via pipeline from the continent.

The UK is still vulnerable to short-term shocks such as restricted pipeline flow from Russia indirectly via Europe and disruptions to North Sea supply.

But in general, the gas glut ought to mean lower gas bills. There just hasn't been too much sign of that yet. RM

Our Head Of Purchasing's Response:

"Join the Utility Masters Gas basket if you want cheaper gas."

The Spending Review's Effects on UK Energy Users

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:41:00 +0000

What Does George Osborne's Spending Review Mean For UK Energy Users?

Hidden beneath the headline of a 5% average annual cut for DECC (the Government Department responsible for Climate Change schemes) are some serious implications for the UK's more energy-intensive businesses.

Climate Change Agreements

A further consultation on the Climate Change Levy is now expected in November 2010, with announcements following in Spring 2011 at which point we hope to learn more about the next phase of Climate Change Agreements. The latest Milestone period is closing soon, so many businesses are keen to know what lies around the corner. An increasing Carbon Allowance price is a virtual certainty, but other developments will affect how the CCA scheme impacts businesses.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

There will certainly be major changes to this scheme as a result of the Spending Review. The first payment for Carbon Allowances has been delayed for 12 months, from 2011 to 2012.
Initial information also points to a completely different treatment of these payments by the Government, with recycling abolished altogether.

Next Steps

Utility Masters will be issuing a Briefing Note to all affected customers in the near future.

If you think you might be affected, whether you're a Utility Masters customer or not, contact us now.

Triad Warnings For 2010 - 2011

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 10:31:00 +0000

Triad Warnings Savings 2010 - 2011

The Triad season runs from 1st November 2010 to 28th February 2011, giving opportunities for many electricity users to make significant savings on energy bills.

Utility Masters' Triad Warnings Service has proved more accurate than similar services provided by energy suppliers, by combining multiple streams of market and weather information with the knowledge of our experts. Utility Masters has successfully predicted every Triad since the service began years ago, issuing fewer warnings than other services.

This means that your business can avoid Triads, without needing to react to large numbers of Triad Warnings through the winter period.

For more information, see our Triad Warnings page, or download the information sheet.

CRC Management - Make the Energy Efficiency Scheme Work For You

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:50:00 +0000

Registered With The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme? ...

... then this is where the hard work really starts.

New Obligations

- The CRC makes your Energy and Carbon information more transparent than ever before
- Your Directors will be personally liable for any failure to meet your CRC obligations
- CRC League Tables will publicly display your energy performance
- Annual Carbon purchasing will have a financial impact on your business

New Opportunities

- Good League Table performance will highlight your green credentials
- Achieving the Early Action Metric will save your business money and demonstrate a proactive approach to energy savings
- Higher recycling payments will give you a direct financial benefit

How Can You Manage CRC Better?

To benefit from better management of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, your business needs a management structure that delivers meaningful information, class-leading expertise and clear advice.

To get an unbiased view about how you can succeed in the CRC, contact Utility Masters today.

CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme - 3 weeks to go and 60% not compliant.

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:24:00 +0000

Make Sure Your Organisation Doesn't Miss The Deadline - 30th September 2010

We're already into the final month of the registration period for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. Utility Masters has been registering clients and submitting Information Disclosures throughout the last 6 months, protecting our customers against the possibility of punitive late-registration fines of £5,000 or more.

Information Disclosures From Only £250

If your business has only one half-hourly electricity meter, it needs to be registered within the scheme. If you spend less than £500,000 on energy, an Information Disclosure will probably meet your needs. From only £250 for a single site, Utility Masters can take this headache away from you.

Is your organisation ready for the CRC? Surprisingly few of your peers are...

Less than 30% of CRC-Affected Businesses Registered So Far, according to the Environment Agency

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:20:00 +0000

According to the latest information released by the Environment Agency (as we write this), only 1,500 full participant registrations and 5,000 information disclosures have been completed. The deadline for this important process is the 30th of September. With only 30% of expected organisations having complied, the Environment Agency is expecting a late rush of new cases.

More importantly, the penalties for not registering or submitting an Information Disclosure are potentially heavy. Fines of £5,000 minimum are built into the scheme as a minimum for non-compliance.

All sites with one or more half-hourly electricity meters must be registered within the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.

Make sure your organisation is not flouting the law: contact Utility Masters for clear, unbiased advice on your position.

LED Replacement Lights - Exercise Care!

neil.nospam@nospam.scarletpartnership.co.uk (phill) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:13:00 +0000

There has been a lot of interest in the energy-savings potential of replacing existing lighting schemes with LED units. It's certainly true that LED lights use much less energy than the halogen units they usually replace, but some of the LED lights being promoted are providing unsatisfactory lifespans.

The main problem lies with inadequate cooling of the new LED lights, resulting in premature failure.

Some LEDs do provide excellent performance and longevity, however. Utility Masters' advice is to contact us before going ahead with any light replacement scheme where LED lights have been put forward. Utility Masters is not connected with any light supplier or manufacturer, so you can be assured of a clear, independent and unbiased view.

Call us on 0161 785 0404 before going ahead with any new lighting scheme. Impartial advice from our experts can save you wasted money and time, plus government funding for your scheme might be available.