Keeping you updated with the latest releases, updates, events and opportunities we're working on to improve competitive innovation for our customers.
Keeping you updated with the latest releases, updates, events and opportunities we're working on to improve competitive innovation for our customers.
For many years we have donated a vast amount of toys and games to all the children and young people at Derian House. However, due to Covid they are unable to accept physical gifts this year. At Utiligroup we didn't want to cancel our traditional toy donation so instead we have decided to raise funds online for the charity which will then be used to buy vouchers for the children and help put a smile on their faces at this very difficult time!
The very first dedicated car-charging forecourt has opened near Braintree, Essex. This is the first of over a hundred electric forecourts being built by Gridserve over the next five years. Charging at these forecourts will initially pay 24p per kWh of energy, meaning a typical charge from 20% to 80% will cost, on average under £10. Gridserve founder and CEO, Toddington Harper says that "charging has to be simple and free of anxiety, which is why we've designed our electric forecourts entirely around the needs of drivers".
Normal life was majorly disrupted in 2020, however the climate emergency persists and the planet continues to be threatened. DNV.GL have released a new report, the final in their 'Transition Faster Together' 2020 series which summarises industry insights on renewables, power grids and energy efficiency. Their latest report puts forward five calls to ations, which could help us transition faster together a clean energy future.
Understandably the first UK lockdown from 24th March to the start of June caused a considerable drop in daily installations of SMETS2 meters. However, the autumn lockdown saw installations drop by only 2.5% on the previous month of October, which was itself a record month with an average of 17,579 each day. This is a very promising sign and proves that energy companies, DNO's and installation engineers have successfully adapted their working practicing since mid-summer.
In response to the Government recently announcing its 10 point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, our customer Northern Powergrid are at the forefront of delivering a net zero network. Northern Powergrid is the Distibution Network Operator for the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire. Their aim is to create an energy transition that benefits everyone, with the use of innovative technologies to drive down costs. As well as supporting their customers they also want to achieve net zero in their own operations by 2050 at a minimum.
We're proud sponsors of both Solar & Storage and the Future of Utilities Online Summit. Both events bring a wealth of expert speakers, transformative ideas and excellent networking opportunities across the new virtual events industry. Both events are free to attend, so sign up today and drop by our sponsor hub to find out how we're empowering energy leaders globally. You can also find out more about engagement with the future of energy over on our Energy Insights page where Mark Coyle, Utiligroup CMO has recently added a new article 'Building a bridge towards future energy'.
15 energy suppliers have voluntarily signed up to Energy UK's Vulnerability Commitment - pledging to improve the support they provide to vulnerable households. Each company's performance will be independently assessed, with recognition in the Citizens Advice energy supplier rating from December 2020 onwards. The commitments - published recently by Energy UK - include providing a freephone number for customers, training call centre staff to identify and assist vulnerable callers and appointing a Board level 'champion' responsible for improving support to vulnerable households. You can read the full story at Energy UK's website.
The National Infrastructure Strategy builds on the already released Spending Review and the government's 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution, in what the Prime Minister describes as "ambitious commitments on energy, decarbonisation and clean economic growth". Measures outlined in the strategy include the creation of a UK infrastructure bank, a ramping up of EV policy and funding for hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
The National Grid says it is confident that it can cope with the significant uptake of electric vehicles after the Prime Minister brought forward the diesal car ban to 2030. Graeme Cooper, Transport Decarbonaisation Director at National Grid said "the energy industry will now have to focus on ensuring there is adequate network capacity in the right locations". However, another report has identified a regional disparity in electric car-charging points.
Following a 2019 consultation conducted by BEIS, the government have announced a new 4-year smart metering policy framework to commence on 1 July 2021. This proposes to set each energy supplier an individual target on a trajectory to 100% coverage, subject to annual tolerance levels that apply across the industry as a percentage of their customer base.
We are pleased to confirm that we have successfully competed formal Switching SIT testing between AFMS & Halo and Landmark Central Switching Service (CSS), with a final pass rate of 99.1% (across all parties involved). Both our new technology items – AFMS & Halo and the NGINX Reverse Proxy performed pretty much flawlessly throughout the test process.
Boris Johnson has unveiled his 10-point recovery plan for a green industrial revolution which will create 250,000 British jobs. Much of the plan is powered by the wind turbines in Scotland and the North East, propelled by the EV's made in the midlands and advanced by the latest technologies developed in Wales. The PM has confirmed that the UK will end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, ten years earlier than originally planned in order to tackle climate change.
As World Kindness Day falls in the middle of lockdown 2.0 it has never been more important to spread some positivity. At Utiligroup we are encouraging our staff to check in on family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time and to do their best to make someone smile and brighten their day. These times are hard on all of us for different reasons but one small act of kindness can go a long way.
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently issued Order No. 2222 to remove barriers that have hindered aggregations of distributed energy resources from participating in regional wholesale markets. The order allows energy resources like rooftop solar, energy storage, and electric vehicles to compete in regional wholesale electricity markets as storage or distributed resources for the first time. The order will lead to benefits such as lower prices for ratepayers due to increased competition, improved grid resilience and more flexibility in the US. You can read more about Order 2222 at Resource Magazine.
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