SSE will today complete the £500m sale of its retail customer book to Ovo. The deal will propel Ovo to the top table in terms of scale, with SSE bowing out of the domestic retail market to focus on renewables generation and networks. SSE will also keep its 550,000 business accounts and is pinning its Read more…

Business utilities supplier Yü Group has struck a hedging agreement with Smartest Energy in order to free up cash. Under the deal, Yü will only buy energy from Smartest and will receive a £13m variable credit facility in return. It will transfer outstanding forward trades in order to unlock that cash benefit over 2020. “Traditional Read more…

Eon has moved to stem big losses at Npower, planning major job cuts and removing CEO Paul Coffey. The company plans to fuse Eon and Npower back-ends, though Npower’s larger business customer unit will remain separate. “We will then be upgrading just one set of IT infrastructure instead of two separate systems and teams,” said Read more…

Centrica’s 386MW gas-fired power station at King’s Lynn, Norfolk, is now fully commissioned. It is the first CCGT delivered in the UK since the introduction of the Capacity Market (CM), designed to ensure security of supply and incentivise new build power stations facing revenue uncertainty in the face of near zero marginal cost renewables. Centrica Read more…

SSE’s business energy supply division saw operating profit fall 93 per cent to £2.9m for the six months to 30 September. The utility cited increased bad debt, lower volumes of energy sold, industry mutualisation and disposals. SSE said the collapse “reflects challenging market conditions” within business energy supply but said profitability is expected to improve Read more…

NUS Consulting has agreed a basket deal whereby some 150 companies will switch to renewable power from Smartest Energy. The group purchasing arrangement means smaller firms that might not usually have the resource to take a flexible supply contract can do so. Under contract, expected to be worth around £180m over four years, businesses ranging Read more…

Simec Atlantis’ plans to develop a 220MW power plant that burns paper, card and plastic at Uskmouth continue to advance. The Gupta-controlled firm has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPS Europe) for the plant’s combustion system design. Simect Atlantis shares rose 18 per cent on the news. The Uskmouth plant, which Read more…

North East-based energy supplier Green has launched a ‘carbon neutral’ green gas offering. In addition to already supplying their members with 100% renewable electricity, Green’s newest tariff, called Birch, now gives customers the option of using carbon neutral gas. For every tonne of carbon gas consumption emitted, the firm offsets it through verified carbon offsetting Read more…

UK universities have earned what is believed to be a UK-first: an aggregated renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) across 20 education establishments worth £50m. The deal, which includes Newcastle, Exeter and Aberystwyth universities, was brokered by not for profit buying group The Energy Consortium. It is sleeved through EDF Energy, TEC’s framework supplier, with renewable Read more…

Eon will move “quickly” to clarify the future of Npower after its asset swap with Innogy was cleared by competition authorities. Chairman and chief executive Johannes Teyssen described Innogy’s loss-making UK retail operation as “an open wound that is bleeding profusely.” He added that the board is likely to make a statement about its future Read more…

SSE and Ovo have agreed a deal where the former challenger supplier will acquire SSE’s domestic customer book for £400m in cash and £100m in loan notes. Subject to clearance by the Competition and Markets Authority, the deal would make Ovo the second largest of the ‘big six’ UK suppliers, though an anticipated Eon-Npower amalgamation Read more…

Third party intermediaries keen to keep abreast of Ofgem’s review of the small business market might want to attend a meeting later this month in London. Ofgem launched a review of the small business market in May, stating that a “key focus of concern … is the activities of some brokers” and that “weak broker Read more…

Ørsted will no longer pursue SME and mid-market customers, focusing its energy supply business instead on large industrial and commercial businesses that use at least 30GWh of power per annum. The company will still sell through brokers and third party intermediaries but aims to offload more of its offshore wind power through corporate PPAs, as Read more…

SSE has confirmed it is in talks with Ovo as the big six supplier attempts to exit domestic energy retail. The company has been seeking buyers for its domestic retail book since merger talks with Npower owner Innogy collapsed last December. Following speculation, the firm issued a statement over the weekend: “SSE is actively progressing Read more…

Npower posted an €81m (£75m) operating loss for the first half. The retailer shed 238,000 customers versus the first half 2018. Parent company Innogy said competitive pressure and that the domestic price cap were the main factors in the negative result with the UK market environment “persistently difficult”. Earlier this year Innogy announced plans to Read more…

Haven Power outlines ways businesses can navigate the changing energy landscape in this sponsored post – and offers a free report produced with Cornwall Insight. The energy landscape is changing – and your business can benefit. Cornwall Insight’s report identifies five transformations with the potential to help you save money and increase revenue. Download the Read more…

Inspired Energy has paid £5m for a 40 per cent stake in Ignite Energy and has a two-year option to acquire the remainder of the company. The deal sees Inspired bring clients including Halford’s, SSP, Network Rail and WH Smith into its portfolio. The third party intermediary said Ignite’s specialism in energy efficiency projects and Read more…

Centrica has confirmed it will exit oil and gas exploration and production and that CEO Ian Conn will step down next year. The group posted a statutory operating loss of £446m in H1 2019 compared to a statutory profit of £704m in H1 2018. Adjusted operating profit collapsed by 49 per cent to £399m. The Read more…

Energi Mine is working on plans to launch “a global energy exchange that enables peer-to-peer trading” underpinned by blockchain. Chief executive Omar Rahim, a former energy trader with Engie, SSE and Vattenfall, says Energi Mine is building “an AI-driven marketplace where trades can occur between two parties”. He says the aim is to match business-to-business Read more…

Octopus Energy for Business plans to quadruple its customer base in the next couple of years. Director Zoisa Walton thinks creating products for business verticals will help power growth. The company has just launched a new tariff for vertical farmers – companies developing novel agricultural methods, and who tend to grow indoors (Bristol-based Lettus Grow Read more…