Scottish Power, has the best online service of any energy provider in the UK. Uswitch has revealed that the company has been recognised for its online excellence. IT Director at ScottishPower, Andrew Neilson, has credited Graham Technology – the technology provider behind ScottishPower’s Online Energy system – for the success. He said: “We are delighted to have been recognised by USWITCH for the quality of our online service.” “At the core of our success has been the excellent process-based technology platform from Graham Technology, which has revolutionised other areas of our business and is now powering Online Energy as well.” ScottishPower also revealed that it has recently surpassed the key milestone of 500,000 online users, and continues to grow. The energy company is conscious of the role that Graham Technology has played in driving its online success. “Being able to reuse already defined business processes from one area of the business to the Online Energy system definitely helped,” said Neilson. “We have also been impressed by the system’s ability to scale – we’ve gone from zero to over half a million online users with no problems.” Graham Technology has worked with ScottishPower on a variety of customer-facing technology projects and the value of using a business process platform as an underlying technology was realised during the Online Energy project. A host of business benefits have been realised since the deployment of Online Energy, from major reductions in inbound contact centre queries to improved billing and customer service levels. “With Online Energy we have delivered a solution that has an immediate impact on improving customer experience, and we are pleased to see that ScottishPower has been recognised for this,” said Mike Hughes, managing director, Graham Technology. “We look forward to continuing to help ScottishPower lead the field in customer service.” The Online Energy system allows customers to manage their accounts more efficiently and reduce paper bills by entering meter readings, and accessing, paying and amending bills online. The service also allows new customers to register and apply, and generates quotes to calculate potential savings by switching supply to ScottishPower.

About Graham Technology

Graham Technology specialises in contact centre software and services. Since 1986, Graham Technology has worked with blue-chip organisations striving for operational excellence and who, in partnership with Graham Technology, have realised exceptional return on investment. Headquartered in Scotland, Graham Technology has seven global offices, supporting a worldwide customer base. With its flagship customer interaction software, ciboodle, the company has become recognised as one of the most visionary CRM solution providers in the world. www.grahamtechnology.com

Water bills will not have to rise to pay for flood costs, the industry regulator promised yesterday. Ofwat chairman Philip Fletcher said that, unless there were “exceptional circumstances” involving new obligations, current price plans would remain untouched until 2010. His declaration follows warnings from Lady Young, chairman of the Environment Agency, that bills would have to rise to cover flood costs. He refused to comment on Lady Young’s statement at the weekend, but Ofwat points out that Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, has said the Government will meet the cost of improvements in flood defences. There may be little comfort in Mr Benn’s commitment since the growing flood costs will have to be met by taxpayers, but Mr Fletcher is anxious to avoid becoming embroiled in a tug of war over further price rises when the wider issues linked to flood defences and climate change will form part of the official inquiry into the flooding. Water companies were also surprised at Lady Young’s statement. One executive said: “She isn’t running the industry.” A spokesman for Water UK, the industry body, said: “We are very involved in terms of responsibilities for safeguarding water and sewage services but the issue of flood defences isn’t directly linked to water bills.” Consumers are already facing average increases of 18pc before inflation in the five years up to 2010. The extra money is helping to finance a £17bn investment programme, which will include replacing old water and sewage mains and reducing leakages. Spending in the first year lagged behind Ofwat targets but investment has speeded up over the past year and both Ofwat and Water UK are confident the five-year total of £8.4bn earmarked for infrastructure spending will be achieved. The industry says the improvements would have started earlier but for the EU-led programme to improve water quality, including bathing water. Water companies, alerted by the supply disruption to hundreds of thousands of homes in Gloucestershire and flooding risks at sewage plants, have been checking defences at installations around the country to see whether they need strengthening.

British Gas announced today it is launching two new green energy tariffs, Zero Carbon, which will be the greenest tariff available on the domestic market and Future Energy. British Gas has launched the tariffs, which will be available from 31 July, in response to the increasing demand for green energy products.

Householders signing up to the Zero Carbon tariff will:
• reduce their household energy carbon emissions to zero through Kyoto compliant offset schemes which will meet the new Defra requirements
• help fund a direct increase in investment in renewable energy generated in the UK
• contribute to the new British Gas green fund which will:
• invest in developing new renewable technologies such as wave power
• oversee a programme to help schools in the UK reduce their CO2 emissions

Gearóid Lane, Managing Director British Gas New Energy said, ”Our new tariff responds to consumer demand for truly green energy solutions. It is essential that customers have confidence in green energy tariffs and that their credibility is not damaged by tariffs that claim to be green but in reality do not deliver any incremental environmental benefits. Green tariffs are moving from niche to mainstream products and we’re leading the industry by offering a tariff that will do more for the environment than any other product currently available.” Under the government’s Renewables Obligation (RO), electricity suppliers in the UK are already required to produce an increasing percentage of their electricity through methods such as wind farms which, unlike traditional power plants, produce zero carbon emissions. For 2007/2008 this figure is set at 7.9%. In a recent report, the National Consumer Council (NCC) raised concerns that some energy suppliers are packaging electricity which is produced under the RO scheme as “green”, yet it delivers no additional environmental benefits. The NCC called on energy suppliers to take steps beyond their legal requirements and offer green energy tariffs that provide genuine additional environmental benefits, in particular CO2 emissions reduction. British Gas worked with Global Action Plan and The Climate Group’s ‘We’re in this Together’ campaign to develop Zero Carbon which goes further than any other green tariff in meeting these requirements offering consumers the only zero carbon option on the market. The tariff carries a premium of £84 per year, reflecting the higher cost of producing energy through lower carbon emission schemes. Virginia Graham, Chair of Global Action Plan, said, “The British Gas Zero Carbon tariff delivers on all three of the essential requirements of a green tariff which are: additionality, transparency and verifiability. As such it is a very welcome new offering in the market. Consumers signing up to the tariff can be confident that they are getting 12 per cent more renewable energy than they would otherwise have got. The carbon emissions from their electricity and gas will also be offset with emissions reductions from projects accredited by the United Nations.” Zero Carbon is one of the first initiatives launched through the ‘We’re in this Together’ campaign, which was launched in April 2007 as an alliance of some of the UK’s biggest brands who are all working to help their customers reduce their impact on the climate. Dr Steve Howard, CEO of The Climate Group and founder of ‘We’re in this Together’ said, “We’re committed to offering people ways to make a real impact on climate change through Together.com. We’ve worked with British Gas to ensure that Zero Carbon is a genuine step forward in delivering more environmental benefits than any other tariff currently available.” British Gas’ second green energy tariff, Future Energy, offers an alternative green electricity tariff at a premium of just £20 per year. Customers signing up to this tariff will contribute to a green fund which will provide solar panels and other renewable energy technologies to UK schools. Money from the fund will also be invested in development of future renewable technologies and sources.

Around 40,000 households will be taking part in energy saving trials in a bid to cut household bills and help in the fight against climate change, according to Business and Enterprise secretary John Hutton. And Housing Association Accord is giving away energy saving lightbulbs in an attempt to encourage tenants to go green. The energy saving trials will see around 15,000 households receiving state of the art smart meters and 8,000 more receiving clip on real time display units for their existing meters. The other households in the trial will be testing new ways of receiving information to help them cut their energy use. Clip on real time display units can tell people how much energy they are using, and how much it is costing when individual appliances are turned on. Smart meters allow energy suppliers to communicate directly with their customers, removing the need for meter-readings and ensuring entirely accurate bills with no estimates. Smart meters tell people about their energy use either through linked display units or in other ways, such as through the internet or the television. John Hutton said: “Changing consumer habits is vital if we are to cut our energy use and reduce the impact of climate change. Smart meters provide the cutting edge technology to enable this to happen. The results of the trials will provide invaluable evidence to support the future rollout of displays and smart meters; helping to cut consumer bills and cut our carbon emissions.” Meanwhile Accord Housing Association will be giving two free energy-saving bulbs to every tenant in Walsall, Sandwell, Birmingham, Dudley and other parts of the Midlands as part of its campaign to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide it produces each year. Accord is one of the first housing associations in the country to measure its annual carbon footprint and have a target for reducing it. The bulbs will be distributed to around 7,000 residents in the coming months and are expected to cut annual electricity bills by around £20. Accord has also become one of the few housing associations to take part in a national pilot scheme to complete Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) on its properties. EPCs assess how energy efficient homes are and show where improvements could be made. The Housing Corporation has launched the £2m pilot project with the aim of completing 71,000 EPCs, which will become compulsory for social housing in October 2008.

The Central Area Transmission System gas pipeline in the U.K. North Sea is expected to restart in September after work to repair damage, pipeline operator BP PLC (BP) said Monday. “Following a comprehensive engineering assessment of the inspection data, it has been determined that the pipeline has suffered damage and a permanent repair will be required before the pipeline is safe to start up,” the statement said. “A metal sleeve will be installed to strengthen and protect the affected area of pipeline. Design and fabrication of the sleeve is already underway and it is expected that the system will restart during September,” it added. The pipeline shutdown has been affecting a significant proportion of the U.K. North Sea’s oil and gas output. All gas production is shut in at the fields connected to the pipeline – Andrew, Everest and Lomond operated by BP; the Eastern Trough Area Project, or ETAP, operated by BP and Royal Dutch Shell PLC Jade and J-Block operated by ConocoPhillips Corp. and Armada operated by BG Group. These fields produced around 30 million cubic meters of gas a day in March 2007, according to data from the U.K. department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The price of gas for delivery at U.K. hub the national balance point for August and September rose Monday as the extended CATS outage and other field shutdowns for scheduled maintenance threatened to disrupt gas supply, said a U.K.-based gas trader at a European utility. The August gas contract rose 5% to 32 pence a therm and September was up 4% to 30p/therm at 1120 GMT compared with Friday’s close. Oil production at the above fields plus Chevron Corp.’s Erskine and ConocoPhillips’ Jade field are also affected. BG Group said last week that 80,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day have been shut in at Armada. ConocoPhillips said all oil production was shut in at Jade and J-Block. These fields produced around 40,000 barrels a day of oil in March, according to government data. Chevron said oil production was impacted at Erskine, which produced around 10,000 barrels of oil a day in March. BP and Shell are able to re-inject associated gas production at ETAP so can continue production. The companies haven’t commented on how oil production from these fields has been affected. The extended CATS outage was also expected to support the price of benchmark crude oil Brent. “There’s going to be a big backlog of production and that should buoy Brent,” said a U.K.-based oil trader. September Brent crude was down 0.4% to $75.97 a barrel at 1120 GMT from Friday’s close. The pipeline was damaged by a ship dragging anchor on June 27. An initial remote-operated vehicle inspection showed some damage to the pipeline’s concrete casing. Divers later removed part of that concrete casing to discover the damage to the pipeline itself. Summer is the time when most North Sea operators conduct routine maintenance on their offshore infrastructure. During this time most divers and dive boats are fully committed and a person in the diving industry said it is difficult to find crews at short notice. BP said the dive vessel that performed the inspection was only secured after wide-scale industry cooperation. CATS is a 36 inch diameter gas pipeline transporting gas from the central North Sea to terminals at Teesside in the northeast of England.

U.K. power for delivery in September rose as the cost of natural gas increased. Electricity for the next working day was unchanged, maintaining a premium over corresponding prices in France. U.K. power for delivery in September increased 2.3 percent to 26.50 pounds ($53.72) a megawatt-hour, according to prices on Bloomberg from the broker GFI Group Inc. The contract traded at a record-high 26.75 pounds a megawatt-hour on July 23. Electricity gained as the corresponding price for gas advanced. Gas for September delivery gained 4.9 percent to a record 30.1 pence a therm, according to prices from the energy broker Spectron Group Plc. The higher gas cost may make generation more expensive for operators of gas-fired plants, which produce about 40 percent of Britain’s power. Electricity for the next working day was unchanged from the last price on July 27 for electricity delivered today, trading at 25 pounds a megawatt-hour. The equivalent contract for power delivered in France traded at 25.25 euros ($34.50) a megawatt-hour. France is connected to England by a 2,000-megawatt subsea cable, which enables traders to take advantage of price differences between the two countries. The U.K.’s price premium over France suggests that Britain will import power via the cable tomorrow. Britain was scheduled to import power from France at maximum capacity for most of today, according to information on a Web site run by RTE France, the power-transmission unit of Electricite de France SA. “Technical investigations are still ongoing” regarding a reduction in available capacity for exports from the U.K. to France on the cable, Gemma Stokes, a spokeswoman for National Grid Plc, said today in a telephone interview.

National Grid said Monday that the overall outlook is ahead of expectations. During the period National Grid has continued to make good progress in implementing its strategy. “We are close to completing the acquisition of KeySpan”, National Grid said. In June, the Long Island Power Authority Board of Trustees voted to approve the renewal of contracts for the provision of electricity transmission and distribution system management and operation services on Long Island. In July, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission issued an order approving the acquisition, and we reached agreement in principle with the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) staff on the transaction. The latest procedural schedule indicates that the merger approval may be before the NYPSC for a vote on Aug. 22, and completion of the acquisition is expected shortly thereafter, the company said. In May, Ofgem published initial proposals on the U.K. Gas Distribution Price Control Review for the five years to March 2013. The company continues to work closely with Ofgem to reach a fair settlement that balances risk and reward, ensuring a safe and reliable network for customers, and an appropriate return for investors. Updated proposals are expected in September. The sale of Basslink, our interconnector in Australia, is well advanced and the company expects to announce a sale shortly. The board remains confident in National Grid’s earnings growth prospects, which it expects to be enhanced by the KeySpan acquisition. “We will be announcing a revised dividend policy later in the financial year, which will reflect the strong outlook for the earnings of the enlarged business from this new base”, the company said. National Grid’s outlook for the year is ahead of previous expectations. In June and July, the U.K. has seen some of the wettest weather since records began, and the resultant flooding has affected our Transmission and Gas Distribution operations in many parts of the country. Initial assessments suggest that the impact to date on operating profit is not significant. The earlier than anticipated completion of the sale of U.K. Wireless business is expected to result in an interest charge lower than it had previously projected. During the period, the pound has continued to strengthen against the dollar this is expected to have only a small impact on earnings, the company said. Both cash flow and capital expenditure remain broadly in line with plans. The financial position remains strong, with around 80% of net debt either at fixed rates or index linked, and the company has committed financing in place to complete the acquisition of KeySpan.

National Grid said Monday that the overall outlook is ahead of expectations. During the period National Grid has continued to make good progress in implementing its strategy. “We are close to completing the acquisition of KeySpan”, National Grid said. In June, the Long Island Power Authority Board of Trustees voted to approve the renewal of contracts for the provision of electricity transmission and distribution system management and operation services on Long Island. In July, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission issued an order approving the acquisition, and we reached agreement in principle with the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) staff on the transaction. The latest procedural schedule indicates that the merger approval may be before the NYPSC for a vote on Aug. 22, and completion of the acquisition is expected shortly thereafter, the company said. In May, Ofgem published initial proposals on the U.K. Gas Distribution Price Control Review for the five years to March 2013. The company continues to work closely with Ofgem to reach a fair settlement that balances risk and reward, ensuring a safe and reliable network for customers, and an appropriate return for investors. Updated proposals are expected in September. The sale of Basslink, our interconnector in Australia, is well advanced and the company expects to announce a sale shortly. The board remains confident in National Grid’s earnings growth prospects, which it expects to be enhanced by the KeySpan acquisition. “We will be announcing a revised dividend policy later in the financial year, which will reflect the strong outlook for the earnings of the enlarged business from this new base”, the company said. National Grid’s outlook for the year is ahead of previous expectations. In June and July, the U.K. has seen some of the wettest weather since records began, and the resultant flooding has affected our Transmission and Gas Distribution operations in many parts of the country. Initial assessments suggest that the impact to date on operating profit is not significant. The earlier than anticipated completion of the sale of U.K. Wireless business is expected to result in an interest charge lower than it had previously projected. During the period, the pound has continued to strengthen against the dollar this is expected to have only a small impact on earnings, the company said. Both cash flow and capital expenditure remain broadly in line with plans. The financial position remains strong, with around 80% of net debt either at fixed rates or index linked, and the company has committed financing in place to complete the acquisition of KeySpan.

Britain’s big household energy suppliers have come under withering attack from the industry’s consumer watchdog over their failure to pass on cheaper prices to customers, just days before British Gas is expected to announce a £600 million rebound in profitability. Energywatch, the consumer protection group, accuses the dominant players in the multibillion-pound sector of operating in an “anti-competitive” market that is effectively closed to new entrants and of “laughing all the way to the bank”. Allan Asher, Energywatch’s chief executive, claims that household gas and electricity bills are 15 per cent – or an average of £135 a year – more expensive than they should be because of the “anti-competitive” nature of the energy market. He told The Times:“Earlier this year we were talking about how there was going to be a price war, given how wholesale gas prices had come down. There hasn’t been one and there was never going to be one. “There is no rivalry between the suppliers. They control the generation and they each have a comfortable number of customers. They’re laughing all the way to the bank. Not even a company with the power of Tesco could break into this market.” The comments will pile pressure on Centrica, the parent of British Gas, as it prepares to unveil interim results on Thursday. Those are expected to show that British Gas made a profit of £500 million in the six months to the end of June dramatically up from a £143 million loss recorded in the same period a year ago. The turnaround comes after a sharp fall in the wholesale gas price since last summer. Despite a rally in recent weeks after the closure of a North Sea pipeline, forward gas prices for this winter are just 44p per therm nearly half the level of a year ago. In March British Gas became the first supplier to cut residential bills for seven years and its annual dual-fuel rate has come down by £200. However, City analysts believe that the lower wholesale price means that it has managed still to restore margins to between 6 and 8 per cent. Analysts add that BG’s rivals are operating at similar margin levels, despite announcing price cuts of their own in the spring. There is now a difference of just £6 between the average standard dual-fuel rates charged by five of the six suppliers. Mr Asher argues that this shows that instead of fighting for customers, companies such as British Gas are more content to protect what they have. “If this was a genuinely competitive market, prices would have come down by more,” he said. Centrica is expected go on the offensive this week by insisting that one of the only reasons that wholesale prices have come down is the investment that it has made to bring more gas to the UK. There is speculation that it is considering new supply deals in Algeria, Nigeria, Trinidad and Malaysia. Ofgem has pointed continually to the increase in the number of consumers switching suppliers as a sign of the competitive nature of the British market. Four million people switched to a cheaper supplier in 2006. A British Gas spokesman insisted that Britain was “the most competitive energy market in Europe”. He added: “To suggest otherwise flies in the face of the facts.” Patrick Heren, managing director of Heren Energy, an energy consultancy, said that there was “more room” for suppliers to cut bills. However, he said: “These companies have lost a lot of money in the past two years and, while there are concerns about them being vertically integrated, there is immense competition. “While a lot of people point the finger at British Gas, they have done more than anybody else on price this year. Powergen, Scottish & Southern Energy and EDF all held on to their higher tariffs for longer.”

Tens of thousands of homes in areas devastated by floods will get water flowing through their taps in the next 24 hours, but water bills could rocket to cover the cost of the crisis. Around 140,000 properties across Gloucestershire, which have been without running water for a week, were told the water supply would be restored to all areas by Thursday. But it could be a further two weeks before tap water is safe enough to drink. Fears of more flooding in the South Midlands and Thames Valley areas have faded and drier weather is forecast for the week ahead, as residents finally see an end to the long crisis in sight. Beleaguered residents in Gloucestershire also reacted with anger to reports that senior managers at the Environment Agency had been handed substantial bonuses. The Sunday Times reported that the agency’s chief executive, Baroness Young, received a 15% bonus of £24,000 on top of her £163,000 salary. Eight other executives, including the director of water management, received awards averaging 10% of their salaries. Shoppers queuing for bottled water at a supermarket in Quedgeley, near Gloucester, called on the managers to hand the money over to victims. John Edwards, 63, said: “It’s disgusting. They should hand it back and use the money for flood defences or to help people who have lost everything. It’s not showing any community spirit like we’ve been trying our best to do.” Other shoppers criticised the flood defences in the city, and said they were paying the price for a lack of investment in them over the years. An agency spokesman said that the bonuses were “modest” and were awarded to reflect success “across a range of objectives”. Concerns were also beginning to be raised about who will end up paying to improve defences to counter future deluges. With price limits for water already set for up to 2010 by regulator Ofwat, any rises could only come into force from 2011 onwards, when bills could rocket.

Controversial Home Information Packs aimed at speeding up the process of buying and selling houses are due to come into force this week. The launch of the packs follows a two-month delay and a watering down of their content. intended to end the 30% of sales that fell through each year, leading to around £350m being wasted in fees. This is equivalent to 500,000 transactions. When plans for legislation to bring in the packs were included in the Queen’s Speech in 2003, the Government said they would “help create a fairer housing market and protect the most vulnerable”. It was envisaged that the packs would include everything a buyer needed to know about the property before they made an offer. This included the title deeds, local authority searches and a survey, which became known as a Home Condition Report. The Government argued that having the information up front would not only speed up the buying process but would also help end practices such as guzumping. However, the idea of Home Information Packs was met with scepticism from both members of the public and the industry. Pressure groups argued that consumers would not trust a survey commissioned by the person selling the property. Others expressed concern that people would face an upfront cost, at that time estimated to be as high as £1,000, before they had even put their property on the market. Due to political opposition, the packs being launched are a far cry from what the Government originally envisaged. In May, Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly announced a two-month delay in their introduction and said they would initially apply only to properties with four or more bedrooms.

Centrica is in talks with four foreign governments to secure gas supplies to make up for diminishing output from its Morecambe Bay fields that provide Britain with up to 8 per cent of its gas requirements. The company, which trades as British Gas, is believed to be negotiating with Nigeria, Algeria, Trinidad and Malaysia in the hope of acquiring stakes of up to 50 per cent in new production projects. Analysts say that Centrica is ready to spend £1bn-plus over the next few years to clinch supply contracts as output from Morecambe Bay tails off – in 2005, production from the fields halved. The dash for gas comes as forecasters working for both Centrica and National Grid predict that the UK will look overseas for at least half its gas requirements by 2009. Supplies from the North Sea are running out faster than expected. But Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw is determined the company increases the amount of gas it controls by setting up joint ventures with countries in the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East. Centrica reports its interim numbers this week when it could warn that gas bills will go up this winter as the cost of energy has risen steeply since January. The gas futures market indicates that the cost of gas per therm is up 21 per cent in seven months. Laidlaw is expected to face questions at the results presentation on Thursday about whether the board has held merger talks with Gazprom, the Russian energy giant. Last month, deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev said Gazprom was close to a deal that would increase its presence in Britain. There has been speculation for over a year that Gazprom could buy Centrica, although such a move would create a political storm as the Russian firm is closely linked to the Kremlin. Investment bankers say that Laidlaw has sounded out UK gas producer BG, which was part of Centrica before 1997, about a ‘defensive’ merger that would keep the Russians out. Some observers say that Gazprom may stop short of trying to acquire Centrica and buy a minority stake in return for a long-term supply contract. Earlier this year, in an exclusive interview with The Observer, Jake Ulrich, head of Centrica Energy, said that if Centrica owned more of its supplies it could better deal with price fluctuations. The need is urgent as last year British Gas lost one million customers after imposing huge price increases – a hike of 22 per cent in the spring and then 17 per cent in the autumn. Ulrich said: ‘Integration makes the business less volatile. We need to replenish reserves and get our own production up to 35 per cent of the gas needed to meet customers’ needs.’ Analysts agree. One said: ‘If Centrica owned more supplies, it would no longer be as vulnerable as it is today to rises in wholesale gas prices.’ Laidlaw has refused to rule out the option of a merger with another energy company. But valuations of oil and gas producers are high and may put groups such as BG out of Centrica’s reach.

The UK government recently unveiled a GBP20 million scheme to test domestic smart meters. While EDF Energy, E.ON UK, Scottish and Southern Energy and ScottishPower have signed up to the trial, it appears British Gas and RWE npower are not taking part. As yet, however, it is unclear whether this was a deliberate move by the two firms to allow them to create their own, more competitive alternative. Smart metering (also known as advanced metering or AMR) will provide a higher level of service to customers, primarily by enabling accurate on-demand billing. The technology will also reduce disconnection and reconnection costs, and eliminate the need for suppliers to read customer meters. The numerous benefits provided by the technology make the absence of British Gas and RWE from the trial seem conspicuous. Such a trial, especially one with an element of government assistance, would provide a platform for superior service for their customers. Part of the mystery behind British Gas’s absence may lie with British Gas Energy Services, a division of the company that intends to provide customers with information and assistance to help with energy efficiency. British Gas may have chosen not to participate in the trial due to the fact that it is working on providing its own smart metering solution through British Gas Energy Services. By creating individual solutions, both British Gas and RWE would avoid being bound to the potentially complex contractual arrangements that will accompany the other four suppliers participating in the trial, giving them the flexibility to tailor a product to meet their own needs. This could result in both British Gas and RWE being able to construct a superior product, providing them with a competitive advantage in the market. However, this could also potentially hinder market flexibility, as inconsistencies between smart metering set-ups could impact upon competition. Another reason for their absence from the trial could be that British Gas and RWE do not believe that smart metering will be a success in the UK, and therefore would rather spend their resources in other areas of energy efficiency and customer service improvement. This is a risky move as, if the trial is a success, the two companies will be at a disadvantage compared to the four utilities that are participating. The industry will be eagerly waiting to see how British Gas and RWE will proceed with the issue of smart metering.

BG Group received nearly 9 percent less for its gas in the UK over the last three months than during the second quarter of last year but expects prices to recover in the long-term, CFO Ashley Almanza said on Friday. British gas prices rose strongly for years until last autumn, boosting producers’ profits, but dropped after Norwegian producers flooded the market through new pipelines opened last year ahead of one of the warmest winters on record. in Britain plunged as a result and meant BG got an average of 23.88 pence per therm for its gas in the second quarter, down 8.85 percent on the same period last year. BG’s average gas sale price in the UK market during the first half of the year was 31.48 pence per therm, down 4.5 percent on the year. But the decline of the UK’s own production and strong demand for the fuel used to heat most of Britain’s homes should keep upward pressure on gas prices in the long-term, producers say. “We expect the cost of gas coming to the UK will continue to increase because it will have to come to the UK from further away,” Chief Financial Officer Almanza told a conference call with reporters. Total gas production from Britain’s ageing North Sea fields fell by another 8.5 percent last year, government figures show. Although new import pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals and a warm winter have helped keep Britain comfortably supplied over the last six months, many analysts expect supplies to get tighter in the long term as UK fields dry up. North Sea gas producers like Exxon Mobil and Norway’s Norsk Hydro have also said they still see the UK market as attractive in the long term because of it. BG reported a 13 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Friday, as asset sales and strong earnings from its global liquefied natural gas business outweighed lower gas prices and production.

One hundred jobs are being created at Scottish and Southern Energy’s (SSE) headquarters in Perth. The energy giant is also hiring an extra 200 workers at its customer service centres in England. The company’s chairman made the announcement at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Perth. Sir Robert Smith said more staff were needed to deal with enquiries from the firm’s eight million gas and electricity customers across the UK. Sir Robert told the AGM that SSE, which operates under the brand Scottish Hydro Electric in Scotland, had attracted a million new customers in under a year. He said: “We are now firmly established as the UK’s third largest supplier of energy, and if we maintain the rate of growth we have achieved over the last few years, it’s only a matter of time before we become the second largest. “Our success is down to our ability to maintain the highest possible standards of customer service and this reflects the efforts and professionalism of our staff across the board. “To support our customers going forward, I’m pleased to say we are planning to recruit an additional 100 people here in Perth, with another 200 jobs being created in our customer service centres south of the border as well.” The recruitment drive will take the total number of people working for SSE in Perth to more than 1,800, with nearly 1,000 in customer service roles.