How HeatingSave Helps Businesses | Page 20

Digital waste is an unknown but huge quantity – almost everything we do online increases our carbon footprint. Antivirus company McAfee has measured that the electricity needed just to transmit the trillions of spam e-mails sent every year is equivalent to powering two million homes in the United States and generates the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as that produced by three million cars.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is saying the high price of oil is starting to affect demand for energy. The body said it was concerned about supply shortages. The IEA added that global oil output fell by around 700,000 barrels per day in March due to unrest in Libya. It surmised that the price of oil could begin to moderate itself over time, but thought a policy response from oil producers’ group Opec was unlikely.

Attacks on Libyan oil fields means the commodity has breached the $124-a-barrel mark for the first time since August 2008 after concerns were raised about supply. Brent crude surged by $1.05 to $124.65 a barrel on Friday (April 8). The price rises bring increased inflationary pressures around the world. There are fears that unrest in the Middle East could spread at a time when demand is increasing on the back of strengthening economies in countries such as China and the US.

The government wants to slash the feed-in tariffs available to domestic and small-scale solar business installations, from 43p per kWh to just 21p per kWh. Under the proposals the new tariffs would apply to all new solar PV modules with an eligibility date on or after December 12, 2011. This has resulted in criticism from the solar industry, with one Twitter remark stating: “So you ‘consult’ until 23 Dec but cut off tariff from 12th?

Chris Huhne has urged consumers to switch energy suppliers as a method of gaining the cheapest available deal. The energy secretary said people also have to check that they are on the cheapest tariff and whether they could save money by paying by direct debit. Mr Huhne was talking after a summit with the six biggest power firms.

A new poll has revealed consumers trust modern smart meters offered by mobile phone and tech firms far more than those from energy firms. According to those surveyed, power and utility companies are seen as a having an “impersonal and transactional” relationship with their customers. Many questioned the motives of energy firms’ involvement in the rollouts and failed to understand why power companies would want to provide them with tools to reduce their energy bills.

A local scheme offering discounted heating oil has become so successful it is being expanded nationwide. The idea generated with Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC) as a means to raise extra income.

The government has been warned that there will be a 30 per cent rise in consumer energy bills by 2020 as a direct result of the coalition’s policies. The projected figure is blamed on policies like carbon pricing which are designed to promote the use of renewables.

Energy giant Npower blamed the “volatile global wholesale market” for making a big hike in its prices. Npower will raise gas prices by 15.7 per cent and electricity prices by 7.2% from the first day of October, it said. The firm said customers with a dual fuel tariff would see prices rise by 12.2% from October.

Energy regulator Ofgem has stepped up its investigation into the ‘big six’ suppliers. Five months ago Ofgem said it had evidence the leading energy companies had pushed up prices in response to rising costs more quickly than they reduced them when costs fell.

Unleaded petrol is close to its record price at the pumps, even though there has been a sustained fall in the cost of oil in the medium term. Since April, the cost of Brent crude has dropped by 18 per cent while this week unleaded petrol cost an average of 136.58 pence a litre across Britain’s forecourts. The petrol industry responded that prices are only partially dependent on the cost of crude oil.

The Government has announced big changes in the way Britain organises its electricity production partly in a bid to cut high fuel bills. It will offer generating companies long-term contracts at fixed prices to produce low-carbon power – in other words, from renewable sources and nuclear installations.