Community heating projects in Scotland have been awarded a loans boost of £1.9 million, which will aid the installation of nine small community biomass heating systems. The loans, all of which were capped at £400,000, will see West Whitlawburn Housing Co-operative in Glasgow replace electric storage heating in two tower blocks with a wood-fuelled heating […]
Year: 2011
Energy Debt Forces Pensioner to Live by Candlelight
The plight of a pensioner in Skipton has highlighted one of the many discrepancies of the privatised energy market. Pamela Barton, a widow living on Brougham Street, Skipton, has this month received an energy bill of £2,843.41 – a final demand for payment that includes current usage and arrears. The bill was issued by E.ON, […]
RHPP Scheme Severely Underused
Come March, the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme will be underspent by a whopping £4.5 million, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). As if those figures don’t make for gloomy enough reading, statistics released recently by DECC make it appear unlikely that anything remaining in the budget will be rolled […]
Energy Firms Need to Restore Consumer Confidence
Industry regulator Ofgem is urging energy providers to restore consumer faith in the badly tarnished energy market, just as they have handed out a £2 million fine to a leading energy company for the mishandling of complaints. The fine was awarded to Npower shortly after Ofgem announced that it would do everything in its power […]
Trump Teams Up With RSPB As Wind Farm Battle Rages On
They may seem like the most unlikeliest of allies, but billionaire businessman Donald Trump and the Royal Society For the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are joining forces to fight a Scottish wind farm project. Over the last few months, the property developer has battled the proposed building of an offshore wind farm, which he says […]
Get Behind the Mirror’s ‘Fair Price For Power’ Campaign
The Mirror is running a campaign which calls upon the Government and fuel bosses to act now over rising energy bills. With more and more people being hit where it hurts the most – in their pockets – the paper is calling on its readers to back their ‘Fair Price For Power’ campaign. And so […]
Insurance Firm to Offer Refunds Over Mis-selling
Recently forced to suspend staff over widespread mis-selling of insurance cover for broken boilers and burst pipes, Homeserve is advising its customers to seek a refund if they feel they have been mis-sold a policy. Known as Britain’s ‘fifth emergency service’, the insurance firm provides insurance cover for domestic problems ranging from blocked drains to […]
Half of Under 40s Not Winter Savvy Says British Gas
According to the results of a British Gas survey, half of those under 40 are clueless when it comes to servicing their homes for the winter. The last two harsh winters seems to have highlighted a lack of knowledge when it comes to preparing our homes for severe weather conditions. The survey of 2,200 adults […]
Npower Handed £2m Fine For Poor Behaviour
Energy regulator Ofgem has handed npower a £2 million fine, after they found the energy provider guilty of mishandling customer complaints. This is the second time one of the so-called “Big Six” has been fined for the same offence; British Gas was ordered to pay £2.5 million back in July. In an industry tarnished by […]
EST Leaks Details of FITs Cuts
Details of the cuts affecting feed-in tariffs (FITs) have been published online by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) – only to be removed almost immediately. The leaked information has come as a shock to homeowners and solar PV installation firms. According to the EST, the UK Government will slash the rate of the feed-in tariff […]
Extra £1m For Social Housing Renewable Heat Fund
Under the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme, funding for social landlords to install renewable heating technologies has been increased to £4 million. The announcement was made at yesterday’s Solar Power UK 2011 conference in Birmingham, with Greg Barker, the Minister for Energy and Climate Change confirming that funding set aside for social housing has […]
Confused.com and EST Team Up For Energy Saving Tips
It’s Energy Saving Week, and money saving website Confused.com has teamed up with the Energy Saving Trust to offer consumers energy saving tips. A recent poll conducted by Confused.com revealed some surprising, if not shocking, results, not least that more and more people seem to be engaging in desperate measures to fight rising gas and […]
Renewable Heat Incentive Gets EU Seal of Approval
After some delay, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme has finally been given the EU seal of approval, and will launch at the end of November. The green heating scheme had initially been scheduled to kick off for business users at the start of October, but was subjected to a delay at the last minute […]
Renewable Energy Projects Boosting Local Economies
If a community is looking for ways to become more sustainable and create local jobs, then they should look to invest in renewable energy, says the Co-operative Bank. Whether it’s solar electricity, wind farms or hydro-power projects, renewable energy schemes can be a key factor in helping to boost local economies, and since 2007 the […]
Brits Will Bank Energy Savings Rather Than Invest Them
The British public are far more interested in banking energy savings, rather than invest in further energy saving measures, says the Energy Saving Trust. The findings of a new study – released to coincide with the launch of the Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Saving Week – reveal that five times as many UK householders would […]
Turning Up the Heat With Energy Saving Week
Today sees the start of the Energy Saving Trust’s Energy Saving Week, which highlights how you can take back control of your bills by implementing a variety of energy saving measures. A unique annual event, “Take back control of your energy bills” will give homeowners the opportunity to learn how to become more energy efficient, […]
