Centrica has been recognised as a leader in tackling climate change following a ranking assessment of the ‘big six’ UK electricity generators. Generating climate change, a benchmarking report for WWF-UK by Innovest, commended Centrica’s policy on climate change as going beyond the expectations defined by WWF. The study focuses on a range of criteria including actual practice, performance against regulatory standards, and coherence of carbon management and strategy. It compares the ‘carbon profiles’ of the UK electricity generation companies by assessing portfolios, emissions over time, performance against renewables and energy efficiency commitments, and company initiatives. Gearoid Lane, Managing Director British Gas New Energy, said: ‘We’re delighted to top the green league table of energy suppliers. It recognises how seriously we are taking our responsibility to manage our own carbon impacts and the lead we’re taking in providing customers with low carbon products and services. It also highlights the fact that the electricity British Gas provides has the lowest CO2 emissions of all the major UK suppliers. ‘Today’s announcement further reinforces the Carbon Disclosure Project’s recent report, which recognised Centrica among only 60 companies worldwide as a sector leader in the area of carbon disclosure and climate change strategy.’

In particular, the WWF/Innovest report commended:

• Centrica’s best-in-sector electricity generation carbon intensity and the fact that is also the only company to report a year-on-year reduction in carbon intensity
• The launch of British Gas New Energy, which confirmed Centrica as the clearest ‘first mover’ to identify demand from consumers for low-carbon energy services
• The central role of Sam Laidlaw, Centrica’s chief executive, particularly surrounding the launch of the company’s British Gas New Energy business
• Centrica for disclosing the clearest understanding of the capabilities of carbon capture and storage solutions
• Centrica’s recently relaunched environmental awareness campaign which engages employees and highlights the company’s position on climate change

Water service watchdog Ofwat is planning to fine Thames Water £12.5m for reporting and customer service failings.

Average four bedroom homes are getting an ‘E’ energy rating, according to a survey from the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and Home Information Packs (HIPs). New information six weeks after the launch of EPCs and HIPs, shows that average four bedroom homes and above could save hundreds of pounds off heating, lighting, and water bills. Most homes are receiving an ‘E’ rating in their EPCs on the A-G scale, but this could potentially rise to a ‘C’ if consumers undertake measures recommended in the certificates, such as loft and cavity wall insulation. The Government is today extending EPCs and HIPs to three bedroom homes so more buyers will get the same information to cut carbon emissions and reduce fuel bills. The early findings come from a snapshot survey of energy assessors and EPCs provided since the launch of HIPs, which show average 4 bedroom homes are being rated ‘E’ and could typically save £180 on heating, £60 on lighting and £30 on hot water bills, a year. The top 5 recommendations given by assessors for improving energy efficiency have been: cavity wall insulation, changing to low energy lighting, putting thermostatic valves on radiators, loft insulation, and double glazing. The introduction HIPs is already starting to reduce costs and improve transparency in the housing market. More than 85 local authorities have reduced their search costs, in some cases by more than £100. The average pack is taking around 5 days to compile, with major estate agents charging in the region of £300 plus VAT for a HIP, on an upfront or deferred basis – £200 to £250 of which is already paid under the current system. “Families buying four bedroom homes are getting clear information which shows how they can save hundreds of pounds on their fuel bills and cut carbon emissions too. It is important that this should be available for people buying three bedroom homes as well.” Typical ‘green grants’ of £100 to £300 for energy saving improvements like loft insulation are available to many home owners from energy suppliers as part of their legal obligations introduced by government to improve energy efficiency. Consumers can now access details of green grants and offers by tapping in their postcode on the Energy Saving Trust’s website. Energy suppliers are also providing direct information about grants to home buyers when they sign up to an energy contract.

Notes to Editors

1. EPCs and HIPs were introduced for four bedroom homes and above on August 1, and are today being rolled out to three bedroom homes. A further announcement on rolling out the packs to the rest of the market will be made in due course. Our key criteria will be ensuring a smooth implementation and that the necessary energy assessors, both nationally and regionally, are in place.

Public Enquiries: 020 7944 4400; Email:News Releases: http://www.communities.gov.uk

It might have slipped your memory, but this week is national Water at Work Week, so here’s an image to catch your attention. It’s published as sustainability experts Envirowise remind employers in Worcestershire that they should involve their staff in helping to reduce the significant amount of water which still goes to waste in workplaces every day. Research has shown that UK businesses are tipping the financial equivalent of just under 40 bottles of champagne down the drain every minute in wasted water. In Worcestershire, an Envirowise poll revealed that as many as 62 per cent of employees surveyed felt their employer was doing “nothing they were aware of” to address the issue of water wastage. John Barraclough, regional manager for the West Midlands, said: “With water being wasted daily across bathrooms, kitchens and factory floors, it is vital employees are encouraged to be the eyes and ears of any business campaign to reduce water use. “More than half of those surveyed in the West Midlands said they have seen evidence of water waste around their workplaces, including dripping taps, leaking pipes, hoses left running or dishwashers being run only half-full. “Employers should ensure they make information available to staff on how they can help prevent and report incidents of waste.” The best ways to share information include using posters to raise workplace awareness, adding information to the staff intranet or newsletter, offering training on environmental topics and running staff initiatives or campaigns. To help employers get started, Envirowise is inviting firms to sign up to its water efficiency campaign, the Big Splash, where companies can access free information packs, workshops and interactive tools, as well as a confidential telephone advice line. Mr Barraclough said: “The results will be improved profitability and reduced environmental impact. Since the launch of the Big Splash in June 2004, we have helped UK businesses identify water-related cost savings worth more than £8 million. West Midlands companies should make sure they grab their share.” For more information about Water at Work Week or to register your interest in the Big Splash initiative, visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/waww or call the advice line on 0800 585 794.

Big British companies should enjoy cheaper energy next year but could miss out if they haggle any longer over annual contracts. After tumbling last winter, one of the warmest on record, wholesale gas and power prices have risen in recent weeks and those who have not yet settled their contracts could lose out as a colder winter approaches. Britain’s largest power and gas users have traditionally negotiated annual contracts with their suppliers in early autumn or spring, while more and more are buying on flexible contracts to try to cut costs. A slide in wholesale prices since new gas import pipelines boosted supplies last autumn means big consumers should be getting 10-15 percent off their bills, compared to fixed contracts signed last year, said Jeremy Nicholson, director of the Energy Intensive Users Group. “The prospects certainly for this winter coming and the one after look pretty reasonable, certainly much better than the situation we were in two winters ago… although there has been some tightening in the forward market in recent weeks,” he said. Damien Cox, a senior energy analyst at John Hall Associates said that while annual contracts should be cheaper than a year ago, consumers should grab those savings quickly. “Our advice is that if you are making a saving then you should really take that,” he said. “You hold out for the bottom of the market, but that was actually reached back in February.” Cox said strong oil prices and rising coal prices had helped push up energy costs in recent weeks U.S. light crude oil prices soared to around $82 a barrel on Thursday, a dollar below the record high seen last week. The UK’s Met office on Thursday said this winter would probably be much colder than last, meaning more gas demand for heating, while Nicholson warned that much higher prices for carbon emissions rights for next year would also probably lead to higher electricity costs. Britain’s biggest energy supplier, Centrica, said the majority of its business customers were already enjoying lower energy costs but agreed the market bottomed out in the first quarter. “Most buyers have concluded negotiations already but a proportion who haven’t may now be caught out by the volatility of the market and may not benefit from same falls in prices as those who bought earlier,” a spokesman for Centrica said. Soaring forward gas prices in the years up until last autumn, on growing concern over declining UK production, spurred companies to take the risk of buying it for themselves on spot markets. And suppliers increasingly offer customers the option of buying a portion of their energy on those markets. Around a third of Centrica’s business customers now buy their energy on flexible contracts to spread their risk, which is part of a wider trend. “For the very large industrial consumers amongst our members, particularly on gas, there has been a trend towards buying on a day-ahead basis, or at least on a contract that allows you to buy on a day-ahead basis,” said Nicholson, who represents some of Britain’s biggest energy users. Residential customers have to wait for their suppliers to pass on savings from falling wholesale markets but are also protected from price volatility. Playing the spot markets can be cheaper for companies big enough to employ people to monitor them constantly and manage the risk because they can get cheaper energy as soon as wholesale prices fall, rather than waiting for their suppliers to pass on the savings. “It has turned out to be more economic, on average,” Nicholson said. “But you don’t get something for nothing and the reason it’s cheaper is because the customer bears more of the risk.” Some companies have even decided they would rather risk having to shut down their production if short-term energy prices rise too high than be tied to uncompetitive long term contracts. And even if the spot market goes against them, big consumers are unlikely to go back to relying on fixed contracts again. “People have changed their buying strategy,” said Cox. “Once people have entered into that sort of culture, I don’t really see people going back.”

British retailers are to phase out traditional incandescent light bulbs and offer customers only low-energy fluorescent bulbs by 2011. The plan, which will cut UK carbon dioxide emissions by five million tonnes a year, was announced by Hilary Benn, the Environment, on the last day of the Labour Party conference this morning. Mr Benn said that the move was the result of a voluntary initiative by major retailers and energy suppliers “with the strong support of the lighting industry and the government” to phase out old-fashioned light bulbs. “We need to turn them off, for good” he said. “So our aim is for traditional 150W light bulbs to be phased out by January next year, 100W bulbs the year after, 40W the year after that and all high-energy light bulbs by 2011. “This will save five million tonnes of CO2 a year and take us closer to our 2050 target.” Retailers said that the initiative was an attempt to pre-empt EU-wide rules expected to be introduced some time after 2011. In a statement, the Co-Op said that it would stop selling incandescent – or tungsten filament – bulbs will start next month at 50 of its supermarkets. They will be phased out across the group’s 2,300 food stores by 2010. Around 80 per cent of bulbs sold in UK stores are high-energy bulbs, even though fluorescent bulbs use 75 per cent less energy and last up to 12 times longer. Retailers said that they can reduce electricity bills by £9 per yer per bulb, or £100 over the bulb’s lifetime. The Government has already set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 and Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, announced earlier this week that he had called for a review on whether that target was sufficiently ambitious. Mr Benn said today: “Britain can either lead the world in a low carbon transformation of our economy, in protecting our countryside and wildlife, and in renewing our cities, with new jobs in new environmental industries, or we can be left behind. “As individuals, we can either learn to live more sustainably today or, in a few years’ time, face having to tell our grandchildren why, as a generation, we did not act while we still had some time.” But Mr Benn’s announcement was dismissed as a publicity stunt by his opposite number on the Conservative front bench, Peter Ainsworth, who asked: “How many ministers does it take to change a light bulb?” He added: “In a ten-minute speech about the environment the only thing Hilary Benn has announced is a policy we’ve heard before re from other ministers. If this is the sum of Labour’s commitment to the environment it is clear why they have consistently failed to meet our emission targets.”

The UK should have enough gas to get through this winter after benefiting from increased investment in pipelines and storage facilities, a report has said.National Grid revealed that the outlook for gas supplies has improved by more than 70 million cubic metres of gas a day – the equivalent to around 15% of the gas used on a cold winter’s day.But consumers are unlikely to see any benefit this winter, with energy firms set to leave prices on hold because of the increasing cost of wholesale gas. Forwards gas prices for January to March 2008 are currently around 49p a therm amid record oil prices, continued risks to production from the hurricane season and the threat of higher demand in a colder winter in Europe. Energy regulator Ofgem also added that the improved supplies had already been factored into gas prices for the winter. British Gas owner Centrica reiterated that it is unlikely to implement further cuts to fuel bills, following similar comments from chief executive Sam Laidlaw at the group’s interim results last month. National Grid warned there were still risks and uncertainties relating to imports from Europe and how international gas price movements might affect imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). A cold winter in Europe could curb imports for the UK, while events like hurricane Katrina which destroyed gas production facilities in the US can also disrupt imports and increase prices in the UK. Centrica added that while the improvements to infrastructure would help boost gas supplies for now, the UK needed to maintain its investment in importing gas as the UK’s reserves in the North Sea continue to decline. Significant improvements this year include the connection of the Langeled pipeline from the Ormen Lange gas field in the North Sea to the UK. Gas storage facilities also increased with a new facility at Aldbrough in East Yorkshire and the expansion of an existing facility at Hole House Farm, Cheshire.