energy Archives - Page 2 of 3

North Yorkshire Tories call on next government to ‘get real’ over energy bills

Tory councillors on North Yorkshire County Council have told the Conservative Party leadership candidates that direct targeted help will be needed to support residents through the energy cost crisis.

Senior members of the party in the traditional Conservative stronghold of North Yorkshire say they are becoming increasingly concerned about how the most vulnerable members of the community will cope financially ahead of Ofgem confirming October’s energy price cap tomorrow.

They have pointed towards demand for North Yorkshire County Council’s Local Assistance Fund, which provides support for vulnerable people needing help with essential living costs, doubling in recent months.

Energy bills are forecast to top £5,300 annually in April next year, representing a huge increase from previous predictions.

Prime ministerial candidate frontrunner Liz Truss has promised an emergency budget if she is selected, saying she would reverse National Insurance rises and stop business tax hikes.

She has also suggested extra cash support may be available for families struggling with energy bills.

Meanwhile Rishi Sunak said he would prioritise tackling inflation and introduce more targeted support for households, pledging to reduce VAT on domestic energy bills.

A meeting of North Yorkshire County Council’s executive this week heard its finance boss and deputy leader, Councillor Gareth Dadd, say while he remained confident the authority could rise to the challenge of tackling inflationary pressures, some residents would struggle.

Gareth Dadd

Cllr Dadd (pictured above) said:

“If I can just give one message to either one of the, well one in particular, of the prime ministerial candidates, call it hand-outs, call it what you want, there is no two ways, given the rising price cap that we are expecting in a few days’ time, direct support will be needed to those most in need.

“A pound a week saving via a tax cut will not make the cut as far as I am concerned across the most vulnerable residents in North Yorkshire.

“It’s about time we got real and recognised this and it’s direct support that’s needed as there’s an impact on our services and our costs. I think we’ve already seen evidence of that through the Local Assistance Fund.

“The plea is direct target help with those energy bills will go a long way to seeing off some of the demand rises that we’ve seen lately.”

£70,000 energy bill increase forces Harrogate district farm shop to close

Ainsty Farm Shop is to close next month after its owners were told their annual energy bill was set to jump from £20,000 to £90,000 a year.

Farmers Lily and Stuart Beaton have run the popular store for 22 years and have been in their current premises off the A59 near Kirk Hammerton since 2005. The shop sells meat from their farm as well as other produce grown locally.

The couple’s annual energy bill is due to renew next month and they received a new quote last week that was so shocking they didn’t think it was real.

Ms Beaton said:

“I said they’ve sent the wrong quote, this can’t be right. Are you sure they sent the right quote?”

Massive price hike

They contacted an energy broker, who managed to get the quote down to £76,000, but it was still far more than they are able to afford.

It led to the heartbreaking decision to close the farm shop, which has turned their lives “upside down”.

Ms Beaton added:

“We just don’t have that extra £50,000, it’s not the type of money that sits spare.

“If we were to try and put an increase on prices and charge customers more, that wouldn’t be fair, it would exclude a lot of customers. We’d just price ourselves out of the market.”

The cost of living crisis is now being felt by just about everyone, with wholesale energy prices soaring due to the war in Ukraine as well as high demand post-covid.

But for owners of small businesses like Ainsty Farm Shop, it can sting seeing oil companies like Shell and BP post record profits whilst they are forced to close their doors.

Ms Beaton said:

“It’s just phenomenal the record profits they are announcing for these businesses, yet everybody else underneath them is going out of business because they can’t sustain the rises. That’s where the problem lies, that’s what needs sorting out.”

‘Tip of the iceberg’

She believes the closure of their business is the “tip of the iceberg” and fears for how the food and retail landscape could eventually look.

The couple hope their plight acts as a warning to show that small businesses need more help if they are going to weather the current crisis and come out the other side. Ms Beaton said:

“It will be a very sad day when there are only supermarkets and no independents. It’s what will happen unless something is done now, but it’s been too late for our shop”.

Since announcing their closure over the weekend they have been heartened by the messages of support and goodwill from customers.

After September, they will continue to sell meat and produce from their farm via their online shop.

“Some of the customers came through the doors when we opened our first shop. They are very loyal, lovely customers. It’s heartbreaking to think these people you see weekly you won’t see them again.

“Its been a long time, our kids have been born since we’ve had the shop, they’ve worked here too during school holidays. It’s just all going to end which feels very strange.”

To sign up to the Ainsty Farm Shop mailing list for updates on how to still buy meat from them after they close, email sales@ainstyfarmshop.co.uk or call 01423 331897

Northern Powergrid criticised over ‘unacceptable’ Storm Arwen failings

Energy regulator Ofgem has today published a damning report into how Northern Powergrid handled Storm Arwen.

The storm battered the Harrogate district and much of the UK in November and caused widespread disruption to homes and businesses. Over one million customers lost power as winds hit 98mph.

The storm struck during bitterly cold weather and left some rural homes in the district, including in Beckwithshaw and parts of Nidderdale, unable to cook or heat their homes.

Northern Powergrid is the company responsible for the electricity distribution network across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

Six-month review

Ofgem published its findings after a six-month review into how Northern Powergrid, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and Electricity North West responded to the storm.

The review focused on whether the power outages could have been prevented and whether correct and timely information was given to customers.

A fallen tree in Jennyfields during the storm.

It also looked at whether power was restored quickly enough and how customers were supported after the storm including the processing of compensation payments.

It found some households remained off power for an “unacceptable” amount of time, received poor communication from their network operator and compensation payments took too long.

It highlighted Northern Powergrid in particular for not contacting vulnerable customers prior to the storm.

Below standards

The report warned Northern Powergrid that the performance at its call centre fell below standards, which could be a breach of licence conditions.

It also suggested that some of the electricity poles that fell onto power lines were susceptible to damage because of their age, although it said this needs further investigation.

Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said:

“The frequency of extreme weather events is only set to increase so it is really important that industry, and those involved more widely, learn from Storm Arwen to better respond in future.”

The three energy firms have already agreed to pay nearly £30m in compensation to affected customers but following the report, they have agreed to pay a further £10.3m.

Read the report in full here.

Northern Powergrid’s response

Phil Jones, chief executive of Northern Powergrid, has published a full response to the Ofgem report on its website.

Mr Jones said:

“As we said at the time, we understand how challenging Storm Arwen was for our customers and we are sorry for the difficulty and disruption it caused to their lives. We appreciate the patience that they showed and the dedication of our team who worked through some of the most difficult conditions we have ever faced.

“The extreme nature of the event meant we learned some difficult lessons. It highlighted some limitations in our systems and showed us things we can do to be able to provide a stronger response to more extreme storms. We are committed to doing those things to make the communities that we serve more resilient to extreme weather events.”

Harrogate council opens applications for energy rebate to more households

Applications are now open for thousands of households to apply for their £150 energy rebate from Harrogate Borough Council.

There are around 15,000 households that must fill out an online form because they do not have a direct debit set up with the council.

Other people who have yet to receive the payout because their bank account name does not match the name on their council tax records can also apply on the council’s website.

The payments are to help with soaring energy bills and are being made to homes in council tax bands A-D.

Around a third of Harrogate district households have yet to receive the money, including some of those who will be paid automatically because they pay council tax by direct debit.

Those who are non-direct debit have had to wait until now to apply.

The council said these households will need their latest council tax bill and bank account details if they want the £150 paid into their bank.

The council added:

“Your rebate will be paid into your bank account within two weeks of a successful application

“Please note that we will not contact you by telephone for this information.”

There is further funding set to be made available for households which do not qualify under the initial scheme. This will include people on low income in council tax bands E-H.

Separately, the government has also announced a £200 discount on energy bills for all domestic electricity customers from October.

However, unlike the council tax rebate, this discount will be automatically recovered from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over a five year period from 2023, when it is hoped global wholesale gas prices will have come down.

For more information on how to apply for the £150 energy rebate go to www.harrogate.gov.uk/energyrebate

Energy crisis could mean £796 increase for Harrogate district households

Harrogate district residents will be among the hardest hit by the energy crisis with households paying around £796 more this year, according to analysis by the Liberal Democrats.

The Lib Dems have hit out at government proposals to deal with soaring energy bills and urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to scrap the planned National Insurance tax hike, which will pile further pressure on household budgets from April.

Their calls come as figures show the Harrogate district will be the 12th hardest hit area in England during the energy price hikes.

Bryn Griffiths

Councillor Bryn Griffiths, leader of the Lib Dems on North Yorkshire County Council, said:

“Residents across North Yorkshire have been sorely let down by this Conservative government, they are shouldering the financial pain of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s poor decisions.

“The Lib Dems demand better and object to the Chancellor’s approach, he is not fit to lead.”

Windfall tax

The Lib Dems are also calling for a windfall tax on big profit oil and gas companies, something Spain’s left-wing government has already announced.

However, the UK government has argued that a one-off tax like this would stop companies investing as it also defended its own plans for a repayable £200 discount on all energy bills and a further £150 council tax rebate for most households.

Andrew Jones

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones said:

“I understand the arguments for a windfall tax and can see it is superficially attractive.

“But we can only tax UK companies and the current tax rate on oil and gas profits is already 40% – double that on most other sectors of the economy.

“In the gas and oil industry we have investment needs of £11bn in an industry and supply chain which supports almost 200,000 jobs.

“Putting that investment and those jobs at risk would be a very dangerous and potentially hugely damaging blow to British industry.”

“Global gas prices are high due to various factors but primarily driven by an increase in demand, a reduction in the availability and because the number of suppliers and the length of the supply chains has decreased.

“Many expect these changes to be medium-term effects and that the factors that have driven the price increase will ease but not totally disappear.

“Anyone claiming that there is a way of avoiding these global higher energy prices for domestic customers going forward is simply making it up.”

Council tax rebate

The council tax rebate will apply from April to homes in council tax bands A to D, benefiting around 52,000 households in the Harrogate district.

It will be made directly by Harrogate Borough Council and will not need to be repaid.

The further £200 discount on energy bills will apply to all domestic electricity customers from October, with the government meeting the costs.

Announcing the measures earlier this month, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:

“I know the number one issue on people’s minds is the rising cost of living.

“That’s why the government is stepping in with direct support that will help around 28 million households with their rising energy costs over the next year.

“We stood behind British people and businesses throughout the pandemic and it’s right we continue to do that as our economy recovers in the months ahead.”

Administrators reveal state of Harrogate firm CNG Energy’s finances

The state of CNG Energy’s finances has been revealed after its administrators published its first report into the company.

The Harrogate-based company, which had offices on Victoria Avenue, fell victim to spiralling wholesale gas and electricity prices and went out of business last year.

A report published by Interpath Advisory, the administrators appointed to take charge of the company, has revealed CNG owes £3.6 million to HMRC and other “secondary preferential creditors”.

Although the administration process is still in the early stages, the report says it expects to pay “a dividend” to those creditors.

The report says:

“Based on current estimates, we anticipate that secondary preferential creditors should receive a dividend.

“We have yet to determine the timing and quantum, but we will do so when we have completed the realisation of assets and the payment of associated costs.”

The company also owes more than £4 million to trade creditors and £6 million to consumer creditors.

London-based IT consultancy firm Gentrack UK Ltd is owed £450,759 and is among the highest creditors in the report.

Meanwhile, the company has also made all but 21 employees redundant. CNG employed around 145 staff in Harrogate.

Staff still working are currently assisting with the transition of customers over to new suppliers.

Company was operating on ‘thin margins’

Administrators also found that the company had been experiencing financial difficulty for some time due to “significant cash flow pressures primarily caused by sharp price increases in wholesale gas prices and the general volatility in the energy market”.

The company was already operating on “thin margins” prior to the covid pandemic and had taken out a secured loan of £35 million from Glencore, a multi-national oil and gas firm.

However, the failure of a number of key customers and spiralling wholesale costs left the company unable to finance itself. The report says:

“In the absence of the financial and operational support of CNG Wholesale and other group entities, the company did not have the financial resources required to operate as a standalone business or bear the £35 million loan that was due to Glencore.

“As a result, the directors and Glencore began to explore ways to facilitate an orderly exit from the market.”

No.11: Harrogate energy firm CNG goes out of business

Harrogate energy company CNG became the victim of a global phenomenon this year when it ceased trading after 27 years.

Wholesale energy prices spiralled this year, and the impact was dramatic, with CNG one of more than 20 UK companies exiting the market.

Paul Stanley, chief executive of CNG, told the Stray Ferret the company failed because four of its main customers went out of business within two weeks, leaving it with unpaid bills.

Attempts to raise capital or sell the business were unsuccessful due to continued market volatility and high prices in the energy sector.

The company supplied about 15 to 20 retail energy companies through its wholesale business arm and also has around 50,000 business customers. About 150 jobs were lost.

CNG’s headquarters on Victoria Avenue

Swift collapse

Despite being regarded as a local success story for the majority of its 27 years, CNG’s collapse was swift and unforgiving.

Alarm bells began to ring on October 14 when Mr Stanley sent a letter to customers saying it was exiting the wholesale market. Two weeks later the company entered liquidation.

With Christmas approaching, it couldn’t have come at a worse time for staff.

A series of meetings were held between company bosses and worried employees, who had questions about redundancy pay.

Staff have been paid for November but were not expected to be offered a redundancy settlement until after Christmas through a government scheme.

A source told the Stray Ferret it was a “stressful time to have no income.”

Administrators

CNG then entered the Supplier of Last Resort process operated by the government’s energy regulator Ofgem.

The SoLR procedure was established by Ofgem as a safety net to ensure that when a company stops supplying energy, affected customers are guaranteed continuity of supply through other companies.

However, businesses that were supplied gas by CNG were warned that their energy bills will be expected to rise.

Interpath Advisory has now been appointed as administrator, and around 30 staff are working to close the company.

CNG was also synonymous with Harrogate Town football club, becoming the first-ever sponsor of their Wetherby Road ground from 2008 until 2020 when it was rebranded the CNG Stadium.

The company was also well-known in Harrogate as a supporter of local charities and community projects.

New energy plant to be built at major Harrogate district employer

A new heat and power plant is to be built at a major Boroughbridge company in an effort to create “cost-effective” energy after plans were approved.

Reed Boardall, which stores and delivers frozen food to UK supermarkets, employs 800 staff at its site off Bar Lane and operates a fleet of 196 vehicles 24 hours a day.

The company submitted plans for a combined heat and power plant, which would be built on its site and generate electricity.

Now, Harrogate Borough Council has given permission for the plant to go-ahead.

According to documents lodged with the borough council, the plant would work by “igniting air and natural gas to produce hot, high-pressure gases”.

The gas would then be fed through a turbine to drive an electrical generator and produce electricity.

Andrew Baldwin, managing director of Reed Boardall’s cold storage division, told the Stray Ferret previously:

“We’re investing in a new combined heat and power system as a way of protecting the energy needs of our business for the future.

“It is more cost-effective than buying power from the National Grid and is generally considered to be a greener alternative. We expect it to be fully operational by the end of the year.”

A drawing of the energy plant at Reed Boardall as submitted to Harrogate Borough Council.

The company added that the energy would be used to power its headquarters in Boroughbridge. Any excess energy would be exported back to the local electricity network.

Construction of the plant is expected to take place over three months.

Once up and running, the plant would run for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. However, it would be unmanned and operated remotely.

CNG staff expected to be made redundant tomorrow

Staff at the collapsed Harrogate energy firm CNG Group are expected to be formally made redundant on Friday.

A meeting was held this morning between around 100 staff members, CNG management and Interpath, the financial advisory company that is expected to be appointed as administrators tomorrow.

CNG’s chief executive Paul Stanley told the Stray Ferret that the majority of staff will be made redundant once Interpath is appointed.

Around 40 people will continue working to help wind the company down, a process that is expected to take several weeks.

An anonymous source at the meeting told the Stray Ferret that “everyone is very sad” about the end of the company.

Staff have been paid for November but are not expected to be offered a redundancy settlement until after Christmas through a government scheme. The source said it was a “stressful time to have no income.”

Mr Stanley, CNG’s CEO, said the company has had regular online meetings with staff since September 14 to discuss the future of the company.

He said:

“At each session, we have had extensive Q&A following the initial presentation.

“As we have been discussing the situation with colleagues since September, many people have thankfully already found new roles, and were eager to understand what the next stage would be and when they might be able to move on.

“We provided this information today so that colleagues can start to make plans and many of them had asked for clarity on when they might be released.

“Colleagues have also been advised about the redundancy process and the likely timescales for payment being made through the redundancy process. As you can imagine, we are all incredibly sad that this has happened to a business that has played such a significant part in the Harrogate community for so many years.”

For the majority of its 27 years, CNG was regarded as a Harrogate success story.

Mr Stanley said the reason CNG failed was that four of its main customers went out of business within two weeks, leaving it with unpaid bills.

Attempts to raise capital or sell the business were not successful due to continued market volatility and high prices in the energy sector.

Harrogate energy firm CNG ceases trading

Harrogate-based gas and energy supplier CNG has ceased trading after 27 years.

It has now entered the Supplier of Last Resort process operated by energy regulator Ofgem.

The SoLR procedure was established by Ofgem as a safety net to ensure that when a company stops supplying energy, affected customers are guaranteed continuity of supply through other companies.

An email sent to staff this morning by CNG chief executive Paul Stanley, which has been seen by the Stray Ferret, informs employees that the SoLR process has been approved by Ofgem.

The company has posted an update on its website this afternoon that says “After 27 years we are saddened to say CNG Energy Limited is ceasing to trade.”

The email from Mr Stanley said:

“Ofgem has confirmed that the SoLR process has been approved by them and will be on their website from 3pm today.

“We will be amending our website at the same time and we will then be able to offer clearer statements for customer service teams and sales people to use in discussions with customers, broker and other third parties.”

The company, which is based on Victoria Avenue, supplied energy to about 15 to 20 retail energy companies through its wholesale business arm and also had around 50,000 business customers.

It had been impacted by spiralling global gas prices over the past few months.

The company is now expected to enter administration and the vast majority of staff made redundant.

Staff have been told that wages for days worked this month are not guaranteed to be paid.

The Stray Ferret has approached CNG for comment.

Read more:

Massive price hike

Read more:

‘Tip of the iceberg’

Six-month review

Read more:

Below standards

Northern Powergrid’s response

Read more:

Windfall tax

Read more:

Council tax rebate

Read more:

Company was operating on ‘thin margins’

Swift collapse

Read more:

Administrators

Read More:

Read more:

Read more: