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4 | 2ND - 8TH SEPTEMBER 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Summer switching soars The number of customers who switched their energy supplier in July reached a record high, Energy UK figures reveal. 333,653 The number of people who switched in July. 22% increase from July 2015. 2.5m Total of switches so far in 2016. 23% Percentage of customers who switched to small suppliers. 40 Approximate num- ber of suppliers now in the market. £300 Amount customers can save by switch- ing, according to BEIS. STORY BY NUMBERS Storage wins eight EFR contracts worth £65.95m Seven days... N ational Grid has awarded eight contracts worth a total of £65.95 million to energy storage companies to balance frequency in the UK energy system. The winning bids for National Grid's new enhanced frequency response (EFR) ser- vice will provide 201MW of EFR. This is the first time storage has been used to balance system frequency to protect appliances from damage. The service is to be provided at an average price of £9.44/MW of EFR/h and will cut both the cost of providing the service, by £200 million, and the time, from 10 seconds to 1 second. The largest contract awarded was to RES to provide 35MW at £11.93 £/MW of EFR/h and is worth a total of £14.651 million. National Grid launched the EFR tender to facilitate the use of new technologies for main- taining frequency in the face of increasing "inert" renewable generation and the continued closure of thermal plants. National Grid received ten- ders from 37 different providers across 64 sites. Although the service is technology neutral, 61 of the tenders were battery assets, with just two demand reduction and one thermal generation. National Grid system opera- tor director Cordi O'Hara said: "These awards show that we can work with industry to bring forward new technology and I believe storage has much to contribute to the flexible energy system of tomorrow. This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the industry." LD "All sorts of bizarre outcomes" A poll of business leaders conducted by the Institute of Directors suggests that governments of "all stripes" have failed to provide secure, affordable energy. While we were away… Ofgem adopts CMA remedies Ofgem has outlined how it will approach the remedies from the CMA report. It said it would be "making clear to suppliers that they cannot pick and choose the remedies". SMR contenders revealed On 5 August, the government revealed which organisations will be eligible to take part in the first phase of its competition to find the "best value" small modular reactor (SMR) design for the UK. Out of 38 bidders, the government approved 33, including EDF; China National Nuclear Corporation; and GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy. National Grid rejects DSBR this winter National Grid has decided not to procure any demand side balanc- ing reserve (DSBR) for the coming winter. The announcement came aer the results of the tender, which closed in June, "showed minimal volume would be available across this period". China Hinkley backers accused of US spying The China General Nuclear Power Corporation, which has a 33.5 per cent stake in Hinkley Point C, was accused of espionage in the US. It is charged with illegally obtain- ing US nuclear technology in a conspiracy lasting from 1997 until April this year. First CfD energy generated On 22 August, the first energy was generated with a contracts for dif- ference subsidy, at Lightsource's Charity Farm solar project in Shrop- shire. The project was connected to the grid earlier this month. It has a capacity of almost 12MW. 3.6% Ovo Energy has increased the price of its pay monthly fixed tariff, blaming the rise on an increase in wholesale commodity costs.