Utility Week

4 | 29TH MARCH - 4TH APRIL 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Seven days... US judge calls a halt on drilling projects In the first significant check on the Trump administration's "energy- first" agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account. Drilling had been stalled on more than 300,000 acres of public land in Wyoming a er it was ruled the Trump administration violated environmental laws by failing to consider greenhouse gas emissions. The federal judge has ordered the Bureau of Land Management, which manages US public lands and issues leases to the energy industry, to redo its analysis. The Guardian, 20 March Centrica cuts pensions as perks row escalates The boss of Centrica has taken a pay cut of about £140,000 as the operator behind British Gas seeks to dodge an escalating row over executive pensions. Executives at the FTSE 100 energy company, including its chief executive, Iain Conn, will see their pension contribution rate halved in a bid to bring their arrangements into line with those of ordinary staff. The Times, 25 March Fracking to 'emit same CO2 as 300m new cars' The government's fracking proposals would release the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as almost 300 million new cars, fatally undermining ministers' obligation to tackle the escalating climate crisis, according to new research. Analysis by the Labour party shows that the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere if the government's plans go ahead would be the same as the lifetime emissions of 286 million cars – or 29 new coal-fired power plants. The Observer, 24 March National media First Utility is rebranded as Shell Energy Retail A year aer Shell acquired First Utility it has rebranded the supplier as Shell Energy Retail and has this week confirmed it has switched more than 700,000 homes in Britain to 100 per cent renewable electricity. Shell Energy Retail said it will roll out a "range of smart home technology offers" throughout the year. It will start with smart thermostats and home electric vehicle charging and will also offer customers discounts at Shell service stations across Great Britain. Shell said it will offer renewable energy sources "as standard" as it highlighted an Ipsos Mori survey of 1,867 UK household electricity bill payers conducted between 8-12 March 2019, which revealed that almost 60 per cent want to power their homes with electricity from renewable energy sources. Colin Crooks, chief executive of Shell Energy Retail, said: "We are building on the disruptive nature of First Utility to give customers something better. We know that renewable electricity is important to them and we are delivering that, while ensuring good value and rewarding loyalty. "We want to attract customers with fair pricing, strong customer service and innovative offers that set us apart from anything available today," he added. Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president of Shell New Energies, added: "This is a good example of our approach to building a significant electricity business, in line with customer needs. "Shell recognises the world needs more energy with lower emissions and this will give customers more flexibility, greater control and cleaner energy." Shell Energy Retail also supplies gas, smart home technology and broadband to households across Britain. The company said all of its electricity comes from 100 per cent renew- able sources such as wind, solar and biomass. KP Read our premium report The Future of Oil Firms as Energy Suppliers at www.utilityweek.co.uk "We're going so far offshore now, why not carry on and connect to the next country?" Matthew Wright, the head of the UK arm of Danish renewable developer Orsted, suggests combining the transmission links for offshore windfarms with interconnectors. STORY BY NUMBERS Renewables obligation report Ofgem has released its annual renewables obligation (RO) report for 2017/18. 103.22 million renewables obligation certificates (ROCs) were presented by suppliers over the year. 87.6% This was 87.6 per cent of the total obligation of 117.8 million ROCs. £51.43 was the value of each ROC. £5.3bn was the value of the scheme. 75.2TWh ROCs were issued based on 75.2TWh of renewable generation.

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