In 2018, energy managers faced pressure on both sides of their bills as both commodity and non-commodity costs pushed their energy bills higher. Now, we’ve started to see commodity costs fall – and Inenco is encouraging all businesses to take the opportunity to optimise their procurement strategy. Last year, volatility returned to the wholesale market, Read more…

Nicola Lovett has been appointed CEO of Engie’s UK & Ireland business as of 1 May. Current CEO Wilfrid Petrie will join the group’s executive committee in Paris and lead development of its French B2B business. Lovett joined the firm in 2013. She was most recently divisional CEO for Business Energy and Services. She said Read more…

Third party intermediary Monarch Partnership is set to acquire Energy Intelligence Centre, formerly the corporate division of failed TPI Utilitywise, according to people familiar with the matter. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. Neither company immediately responded to request for comment. However, some EIC clients have been informed of the move. (Story updated, Read more…

ZTP, the strategic energy software and management consultancy, recently launched its new platform, Kiveev, which has been designed to digitalise the procurement and management of flexible power and gas contracts, providing users with enhanced clarity of position, risk mitigation, time saving and budget control.  ZTP spotted a gap in the market whereby many domestic and Read more…

Green Energy Consulting gives its take on European energy challenges – and its expansion plans – in this sponsored post. Uncertainty around the European energy market is the latest red flag with the deadline of Brexit fast approaching. There are mounting concerns on European energy prices and potential price or tax increases. Factors affecting European Read more…

Eon has signed a deal to build a combined heat and power plant at DS Smith’s Kemsley paper mill in Kent. The energy company said the 75MW development is its largest customer solutions project in a decade. The plant, due to start generating in 2021, will provide steam required for DS Smith’s processes as well Read more…

Flogas has been granted planning permission to convert National Grid’s former LNG site at Avonmouth to store LPG. The aim is to create a facility capable of holding 34,564 tonnes of LPG, the largest of its kind in the UK. Flogas said it will bolster gas security for both commercial and residential customers. Flogas Britain Read more…

Innogy chief finance officer Bernhard Günther said all options are on the table for Npower, including winding down the business. On an analyst call, Günther said Innogy expected a negative Ebit contribution from UK retail of around €250m in 2019 and perhaps €150m in 2020. “Based on the current market situation, we don’t give any Read more…

Increasing levels of bad debt hit returns for Drax-owned business energy suppliers Opus Energy and Haven Power. The companies increased market share by 1 per cent, but margins were below target and the market remains challenging, said CEO Will Gardiner. Drax will continue investing in digital technology to lower cost to serve and improve retail Read more…

Centrica’s UK business division returned £40m profit in 2018, a 900% improvement after the collapse of 2017. The company shed a further 9 per cent of its larger business customers, with industrial and commercial (I&C) accounts now standing at 106,000. Centrica said it is “focusing I&C acquisition and retention activity on those that have a Read more…

This spring, the London Energy Project will launch a tender for up to £500m worth of energy per annum for public buildings and street lighting. The aim is to find the greenest, best value contracts that enable local authorities, health authorities and other public sector customers in London and the South to cut carbon and Read more…

Utilitywise is in administration having failed to find a buyer or raised enough money to stay in business. The company will immediately close its enterprise division, by far the largest part of its business, which acted as a third party intermediary (TPI) for the SME and micro business sectors. Andrew Johnson and Chad Griffin of FTI Read more…

Npower is to cut 900 jobs, 14 per cent of its workforce. The company blamed tough market conditions, the price cap and intense competition on fixed price tariffs. CEO Paul Coffey said the company would still make a “significant” loss for the year after slashing headcount and wage bill. He said the recent spate of Read more…

Share values for business energy supplier Yu Group doubled in early trading after the company said losses for the full year 2018 would be no worse than anticipated. The firm’s value plunged 80% in October when it notified the stock market of an accounting black hole that would lead it to post a loss. The Read more…

Third party intermediary Inspired Energy expects to post a 21% revenue increase and 22% rise in adjusted profit before tax for the full year 2018. For full year 2017, reported group revenue stood at £27.46m, adjusted profit before tax at £9.7m. In a trading update, the company said net debt is expected to be £24m, up Read more…

Ofgem will launch a review of the microbusiness energy market this year. The regulator will examine whether to put in place similar protections for the UK’s smallest firms to those afforded to households. The review, should it lead to action, will be welcomed by those that have long called for oversight of third parties. Many Read more…

Utilitywise is seeking buyers. It needs £10m to fund a new strategy and renew its £25m credit facility which expires in April. The company’s share price collapsed to around 2p on the news, giving it a market cap value of £1.7m. The future of Utilitywise, led by former Sage boss Brendan Flattery, has been the Read more…

Utility Alliance has opened another office and set up an industrial and commercial division. The TPI can now provide energy services across the business-to-business sector. Utility Alliance was set up in Hartlepool in February 2015, initially with six staff, serving the SME and mid-market. Now, with around 250 staff employed from its Hartlepool headquarters in Read more…

The Network Edge is on the tip of our tongue as we discuss 2019 data center trends, writes Rob Johnson, chief executive officer at Vertiv. For several years now, Vertiv has undertaken an interesting experiment as we head toward the new year. We have gathered many of our leading experts on the data center space Read more…

Pöyry has launched its Retail Energy Price Index to show industrial and commercial firms how market movements will impact their future energy bills. In a rapidly shifting energy landscape Pöyry has created this index to help businesses plan their future electricity and gas sourcing. The global consultancy will host the service on The Energyst’s website. Read more…