Drax has completed its £702m acquisition of gas, pumped storage and hydro assets from Scottish Power parent company Iberdrola. The deal was announced in October but faced a hurdle when the Capacity Market was suspended. Drax and Iberdrola then agreed a risk share arrangement to mitigate exposure to uncertainty about Capacity Market payments – with Read more…

Former Utilitywise director Andrew Richardson manages an energy price comparison and switching platform for small firms. For businesses that still use brokers, he suggests they ask the following questions before signing anything. A significant proportion of businesses use a broker to procure their business energy. Brokers can typically mark-up supplier base rates by up to Read more…

The proposed merger of SSE and Npower’s retail businesses has been scrapped. SSE said its board and that of Innogy’s had been unable to agree revised commercial terms. Many in the market had suggested the deal was dead after SSE flagged problems last month. SSE said it will now look at other options and potentially Read more…

Inspired Energy’s acquisition spree shows no sign of relenting. The company has conditionally agreed a £19.5m cash deal for Inprova Finance and now seeks to raise £19m via a new share placing. One of the top ten industrial and commercial third party intermediaries, Inprova Finance is a significant operator in the TPI market, with some Read more…

The energy sector accepts the transformational ‘three Ds’ of decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitisation – but suppliers are behind the curve on the latter aspect, according to a study. The Bearing Point report, which looked at 593 companies across eight countries, suggested UK suppliers in the main could benefit commercially by developing coherent digital marketing and Read more…

Public sector energy procurement platform, Energy For Good, outlines its credentials in this sponsored post. Energy For Good (EFG) is a market leading company dedicated to providing best in class energy price sourcing to public sector organisations, using an adapted and fully OJEU compliant Dynamic Purchasing System. This DPS is also fully compliant with Public Read more…

Energy from waste continues to drive Pennon profit. The company predicts income growth for years to come as demand outpaces supply. Earnings before interest, taxes, deductions and amortisation (ebitda) from its energy recovery facilities increased 29% to £66.6m according to half year results. Group ebitda increased 8% to £274m for the six months to 30 Read more…

Selkirk-based Spark Energy Supply Limited has been closed down by its parent company. It had 290,000 domestic customers. Other businesses within the Spark Group, such as Spark Business Utilities, which serves commercial customers, remain trading. The company also operates gas shipping, energy finance and home telecom subsidiary businesses. Earlier this week the company was named by Read more…

Third party intermediary Utilitywise has split out its corporate division, rebranding it as Energy Intelligence Centre – or EIC. The choice of name is interesting. Utilitywise bought industrial and commercial third party intermediary Energy Information Centre, also known as EIC, for £15.5m in 2013. The move comes as the company attempts to repair its balance Read more…

More small and medium energy suppliers will go bust because they fail to grasp the basics of risk management. For some, the problem is more fundamental, according to Gary Huish, director at Energy Potential, a consultancy that specialises in energy risk management. He suggests they step back and define what they do. “Many are not Read more…

Toshiba has scrapped plans for a new nuclear power station in the UK. The company said it has been in talks with potential investors in the NuGen project, but cannot see them completing before 31 March 2019. As such, it has decided not to take further financial risk. “Toshiba recognises that the economically rational decision Read more…

Business energy supplier Yü Group has appointed PWC and DLA Piper to support a “forensic review” of business and accounts. The company last month announced it had discovered a hole in its accounts that sent share prices tumbling from 595p to a low of 86p. The company’s share price has since partially recovered, though dipped Read more…

In this sponsored post, Gazprom invites energy and procurement managers to an event in Manchester to learn from industry experts, network with peers and enjoy dinner at El Gato Negro. Gazprom Energy is delighted to invite you to Energise – our exclusive energy event for procurement and energy professionals. Join us on Thursday 15 November at our brand Read more…

Inenco, one of the UK’s largest third party intermediaries, has hired Richard Harrison as chief executive. He replaces Gary Stokes. Harrison was CEO of boiler installer Help Link until May this year, following its integration into Homeserve, which bought the business in 2017. He has held senior positions at reputation.com (as managing director) and webuyanycar.com Read more…

Large and medium sized companies in the UK have paid more for their electricity this year than any other EU 15 nation, according to latest government figures. Figures for a year earlier show medium sized firms in Germany and Italy were paying more, but that has since changed. Data for the six months to June Read more…

Business energy supplier Yü Group has revealed a hole in its accounts that will lead it to post a loss for the current year. Its share price plunged 80% on the news. Last month Yü posted 57% year-on-year profit increase for the six months to 30 June. Revenue increased 73%. Adjusted profit before tax stood at Read more…

Andy Skelton has been appointed as chief financial officer at Drax. His role will commence 2 January. Drax, which owns the UK’s largest coal and biomass power station, had sought a new CFO since Dorothy Thompson retired as chief executive and former CFO Will Gardiner stepped into her role. Skelton joins from software and services firm Fidessa Read more…

SSE and Npower’s retail businesses will merge following the nod from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), bringing an end to the era of the ‘big six’ suppliers. The CMA had indicated in August that SSE-Npower deal was in the clear, today it granted official confirmation. Its investigation centred on whether customers on Npower and SSE’s Read more…

Nottingham-based Yü Group has won the contract to supply energy to Trent Bridge, home of Nottinghamshire County Cricket. The three-year deal also includes provisions for renewable energy solutions and other energy related initiatives. “Our partnership will allow Trent Bridge to benefit from our offering, with the convenience of bringing together the gas, electricity and water Read more…