Despite the recent snow and ice, and a near grounding halt of the country due to the horrendous weather, the team at the npower owned and operated Tilbury Power Station in Essex have managed to cope with the increased demand for electricity.

Tilbury is a coal-fired power station – not the favourite type of the green lobby of course – and had to bring all three of its units into operation in order to handle the evening peak load.

Station manager Nigel Staves explained:
“When we were informed of the expected snow storms we put our plans into place to ensure that all essential workers were able to get into work. There are no problems with power generation and although we have obviously seen a rise in demand the situation is well under control.

“Tilbury Power Station has good supplies of coal and we have contingency plans in place to ensure that all other vital supplies to the power station are not affected by the poor weather. Weather like this shows the need for a balance of fuel supplies for generating electricity across the UK. Demand is high at the moment but within the levels anticipated during the winter months and Tilbury station is playing a major part in keeping households and businesses warm throughout the region.”

Ironically it’s not the increased demand for power, or coal supplies that cause the true problems for stations like Tilbury, it’s more about staff having to fight their way through snow drifts, battle along icy roads and keep their cars on the road in order to get to work. And the power station has to be manned 24/7, including Christmas.

And it’s a good job they do, bearing in mind that Tilbury produces some 1,063 Mega Watts of electricity, which is enough to power some 80% of Essex, around 1.4 million people.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

British Gas is asking for volunteer customers to join a 20-strong panel which will help write a report on how the company is operating. Advertisements were today placed in a number of national newspapers outlining their intentions.

At the same time, and as part of a much publicised move, British Gas is offering its customers the chance to pay accurate energy bills, rather than paying an amount based on an estimated meter reading.

Bills based on estimated readings have been the thorn in the side of many energy companies and research by British Gas has shown that such bills are very unpopular amongst its 16 million customers.

Instead, the energy giant is asking for customers to send their monthly readings either by text, or online. And people who opt for this service will receive a monitor, provided free, which accurately displays their use of electricity on a minute-by-minute basis.

A British Gas spokesperson said:
“Instead of issuing you with a bill we will contact you by email or text and ask you to submit a reading from the normal meter. Estimated bills were seen as a source of frustration by customers as they didn’t accurately reflect the energy they had used.”

British Gas apparently were at pains to point out that the new monitors are different from those currently being recommended by the Government.

The monitors from British Gas are designed to be installed by the user and come in two parts. One gets attached to the house’s existing meter and this communicates, via a wireless link, with the second part, which is the display. This is powered from an ordinary plug socket. And the display not only tells the user how much they are paying for their electricity on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, but also tells them how much C02 they are generating.

Although readers of this blog might remember a story a few weeks back about an Eaglestone pensioner who opted for a free gas meter upgrade found herself with a bill of £168.

And what made matters worse, she was left with no heating, or hot water. The 73-year-old responded to a British Gas offer to update customer’s technology which is part of a countrywide initiative.

An engineer made the visit, fitted the new meter and then tried to relight the pensioner’s boiler. After three attempts he gave up and left, saying it was no longer his responsibility, leaving the boiler unlit and the house cold, and without hot water.

The problem was eventually sorted out and to be fair to British Gas, it appears that the boiler might not have been regularly serviced, which meant that when it came to relighting, it would not operate properly.

But it does alert user’s to the fact that although modern monitors and meters are the future, some care should be taken as to what might happen if, after their installation (and this new one is to monitor electricity, not gas), systems don’t work as before.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

npower have introduced free home energy monitors for new customers. This customer incentive is available for all new Go Fix customers but is not available for signups to npower Juice green energy.

Switch energy provider to npower to claim your FREE Home Energy Monitor:

Recommended retail price: £39.99

Home Energy Monitors are estimated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to help save up to 15% on your fuel bills.

Features of the Home Energy Monitor are:

• Check and monitor how much energy you are using in real time
• See what your electricity is costing you in Pounds and Pence
• See an instant response when you turn on an appliance – how much energy are your appliances using?
• Compare your usage from one day to the next

How to claim your Home Energy Monitor:
Switch your energy supply to npower online – once your energy supply with npower commences, you will be sent an email to which you’ll need to respond and confirm that you still want to receive your FREE energy monitor.

<< Click here to switch energy supplier to nPower and get your FREE monitor >>

Subject to terms and conditions:
† Maximum of 1 monitor per household. Offer to residents of Great Britain only (not Northern Ireland). This offer is subject to availability. Monitors will be distributed on a first come first served basis. There will be no alternative or cash offer. You will be sent an email once your supply with npower commences to which you will need to respond and confirm that you still wish to receive this offer. Your personal details will be used for cross checking for Ofgem compliance and may be used for marketing purposes. By accepting this npower home energy monitor you agree to receive survey’s from us about your usage of the device.

Article by Alan Potts
 

After my latest round of exhaustive (and frankly quite tedious) research into the UK energy marketplace, I’m starting to despair at the plethora of offers available for domestic energy supply. With over 4,000 different energy tariffs available in the UK alone, choosing the right one is becoming incredibly confusing and time consuming.  A fine example of ‘confusion marketing’ at its very worst!

Nevertheless, I’m pleased to report that Scottish Power have again won this month’s top slot in the BUYability rating contest with their Online Energy Saver 7 tariff.  The combination of excellent customer feedback and very good ‘dual fuel’ savings for average households have convinced me that they are still one of the very best value deals currently available.

The Online Energy Saver 7 offer runs until the end of November 2010 and guarantees that prices will stay at least 3% cheaper than Scottish Power’s standard gas and electricity prices for customers who pay by monthly direct. It’s effectively a fixed term deal because customers who cancel early could incur cancellation fees of up to £50. That’s £30 for electricity & £20 for gas.

Our comparisons assumed an average annual electricity and gas usage for selected three bedroom dwellings in several different locations.

Customers whose gas is supplied via an Independent Gas Transporter pay an extra £42 per year on top of the Online Energy Saver 7 tariff.

The offer is subject to limited availability and may be removed without notice by ScottishPower at any time. 

<< Check how much you can SAVE with Scottish Power here >>

A summary of the benefits are shown below:

• Guaranteed discount until 30th November 2010.
• Limited Availability, could be removed at any time
• Early redemption charges inclusive of VAT of £30 for electricity and £20 for gas apply.
• Cash back on credit balances at annual reassessment.

Article by Alan Potts

Ofgem says it’s going to cost the UK £200 billion to secure energy supplies and meet carbon targets.

The figure was revealed after Ofgem’s report that they claim is their most comprehensive review of Britain’s energy supplies yet.

Labelled Project Discovery, the initial report outlines the challenges for Britain’s energy industry and concludes that if the targets are to be met, then customers could face potential price rises to fund this investment.

The report focussed on the challenges facing Britain’s gas and electricity supplies, and identified that the main cause of concern is the country’s exposure to a volatile global gas market and power stations nearing the end of their life.

As part of the report, Ofgem has drawn up a total of four energy scenarios applicable for the next ten to 15 years. And in each of the four scenarios there are reductions in carbon emissions of between 12% and 43% (from 2005 levels) and increases in energy infrastructure investment of between £95 billion and £200 billion.

The first scenario is called Green Transition. This one involves rapid economic recovery and a significant expansion in investment in green measures. Targets for domestic renewables are met and energy efficiency measures are effective. Also, UK gas demand falls, but electricity demand increases due to greater use of electric vehicles and heat pumps. This causes quite a hike on domestic consumer bills, with an increase of 23% by 2020.

The next scenario is Green Stimulus and this one is based on a slow recovery from the recession and restricted availability of finance. As a result, world Governments implement green stimulus packages to achieve environmental goals and boost economic activities. High carbon prices and government policies support investment in renewables, nuclear, and carbon capture and storage. Consumer bill impact is less at 14% by 2020.

Third up is the Dash for Energy scenario and plays out the theory that global economies bounce back strongly, but security of supply concerns outweigh the emphasis on environmental targets. This means that the UK’s renewables targets and the Government’s carbon budgets are missed. The result is competition between countries for energy resources, which in turn leads to tight gas supplies and high fuel prices. What’s worse is that planning and supply chain constraints means that new nuclear power stations can’t become operational before 2020. This leads to a doomsday scenario of an incredible 60% rise in domestic consumer bills by 2016, before eventually falling back.

The final scenario is called Slow Growth. This plays out the scene of a continuing recession which results in gas and electricity infrastructure being considerably lower than before the credit crunch. Once again, nuclear power cannot save the day, because incentives to rush to the atom are reduced because of low gas and electricity prices. And the result, an increased dependence on imported gas for new gas-fired power stations. And domestic consumer bills get clobbered by 22% by 2020.

Alistair Buchanan, Ofgem chief executive, said:
“Our scenarios suggest that Britain faces a tough challenge in maintaining secure supplies whilst at the same time meeting its climate change targets. However, there is still time to act. Ofgem will be putting forward proposals in the New Year based on today’s consultation to ensure that Britain’s energy industry can meet the challenges ahead.

“These are big challenges. Consumers are already enduring high energy prices,” said Mr Buchanan. “This is why we are consulting with consumer and environmental groups, the academic community and industry to ensure any policy proposals we make are grounded on the best evidence available. Early action can avoid hasty and expensive measures later.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp