Energy supplier npower has predicted that energy bills will rise by 19% to 2020 – and that the government’s energy efficiency policies must shoulder its burden of the blame. The report, entitled Energy Explained, has sought to dispel the widely held view that energy suppliers are using energy price rises to make record profits at the expense of UK homes and businesses. “A recent npower survey... 

A 12 month delay to the government’s smart meter roll-out has been branded as “thoroughly disappointing” by energy managers. However, the industry has been unanimous in its calls for the government to get the smart meter roll-out right first time – which might just make the delay worthwhile. “It’s disappointing that consumers and small businesses will have to wait longer for smart meters,... 

Energy Minister Greg Barker The Energy Managers Association (EMA) is to launch a code of conduct for Energy Performance Contracting (EnPC) this summer, in an effort to reduce the associated costs of energy contracting and open up the energy savings market. The cost of drawing up bespoke contracts was identified as a key barrier to mass take-up of EnPCs by delegates at the EMA-led Energy Performance... 

Steven Fawkes In March 2011, a small group of advisers including Steven Fawkes of the Energy Managers Association (EMA) and Graham Meeks of the Combined Heat and Power Association were asked by Greg Barker, Minister of State at DECC, to propose five priority actions to promote energy efficiency. Two years later, Steven Fawkes looks at how far we have come in implementing these actions. After nearly... 

The Energy Managers Association (EMA) has gone on the record to state that the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC EES), the government’s energy efficiency scheme for large UK companies, needs to be phased out. “The EMA is opposed to the CRC EES in its current format and believes that the merits of the [performance] league tables have been lost,” Steve Wright, chairman... 

Tim Yeo – “Long-term price guarantees for new nuclear power stations need to deliver value for money to consumers” The government’s efforts to deliver much of the UK’s electricity from newbuild nuclear power stations could end up pushing up consumer energy bills much more than originally anticipated, MPs have warned. In a report released last week, MPs sitting on the Select Committee... 

Pascal Mittermaier, who heads up the sustainability team for the owners of Bluewater shopping centre, criticised the UK government for failing to lay out exactly how it planned to incentivise UK businesses to tackle energy efficiency issues. The government’s pay-as-you-save scheme – the Green Deal – could be re-targeted at UK businesses in future, according to sources at the Department... 

Energy managers have given a cautious welcome to government plans to simplify the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme – while calls for a “coherent” UK energy efficiency policy are getting louder… Energy Demand investigates. Last month the government announced a package of measures aimed at streamlining the CRC and reducing some of the administrative burden on businesses. Amongst the... 

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced a “simplification” of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme that it says will cut admin for the scheme by 55% and save participants £272 million. From 2013 the Performance League Table used to detail performance of participants in the scheme will be abolished. Also from 2013, the number of fuels required for reporting will be reduced... 

This piece is taken from a Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) white paper. There is a simple truth — energy efficiency belongs at the heart of a low-carbon economy. By reducing energy use and cutting down on waste, we can reduce energy bills, make our energy system more sustainable and drive down greenhouse gas emissions. UK energy efficiency varies from good to dreadful “We...